Blog: Toy Story 5 - A Nostalgic Reflection on Modern Parenting and Play by Minoushe Grant

I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and I thoroughly enjoyed computer and console gaming. In those days, we didn’t have the privilege of playing online with our friends. Instead, we would walk over to each other's houses, take turns playing, and offer advice on how to progress to the next level. We couldn’t really save our progress back then; dying meant you had to start the game all over again. Overcoming the frustration of restarting and fighting your way back to the exact spot where you lost a life took real patience. It required the ability to regulate your emotions just to try again and pass the point where you had recently been defeated.

Furthermore, plugging the console into the family television meant we couldn’t hog the screen all day, as our parents wanted to watch it too. Consequently, my friends and I also played board games, did art, and went to the local park.

In the 2020s, life for children is significantly different. Gamers can save their progress instantly, play online without ever needing to visit their friends, and households typically have multiple televisions. They can go online without engaging the household phone line, and they have YouTube, streaming services, and on-demand entertainment at their fingertips. Gone are the days when, at Christmas, my mum would buy me the Radio Times so I could circle the cartoons and films I wanted to watch, ready to record them onto a VHS tape. We had to plan and wait because we didn’t have all these programmes constantly at our disposal.

The Modern Parenting Pressure Cooker

Last week, I went with my family to watch Toy Story 5, and it made me reflect deeply on how play has changed over the last four decades. As a parent in the 2020s (even as an Educational and child psychologist) I find myself constantly wondering whether I am making the best choices for my own children.

As parents, we face an immense amount of societal pressure. Many of the children in my son’s primary school class already have smartphones. When I am asked for the hundredth time whether he can have one yet, I calmly say no. I know full well that he feels slightly left out. While we do own a tablet and gaming consoles, we enforce time restrictions. 

Toy Story 5 addresses this very issue. The plot revolves around Bonnie, whose parents want her to fit in and make friends, which ultimately results in them buying her a tablet called a ‘Lilypad’. The film brilliantly tackles contemporary issues like online group chats, limitless screen time, and the subsequent impact this can have on a child.

Key Takeaway

Watching the film provided a wonderful opportunity to have a discussion as a family about why balance is healthy and why imaginative play remains incredibly important. It supports development, creativity, and vital problem-solving skills. Implementing restrictions on devices provides children with clear boundaries, whilst building their ability to wait and prioritise.

It also opened up a conversation with my youngest about why I only allow him on the iPad when an adult is in the room, and how important it is for us to keep children safe in digital spaces.

Navigating Digital Boundaries

Being a parent has never been easy. However, it is fair to say that parenting alongside the added pressures of digital devices is even trickier, as we are trying to navigate and prepare our children for a world where technology is advancing so rapidly.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about the proposed social media bans. Forcing a ban on children, rather than supporting them to understand the inherent risks, often just creates a sense of unfairness and encourages them to find a workaround. Furthermore, failing to hold massive tech organisations to account, while simply banning children, makes them feel as though they are the ones being punished.

I have always been a fan of Pixar movies. Just as the Inside Out films successfully engaged us in vital conversations with our children about mental health, Toy Story 5 can do the exact same for the digital age.