Playing with toys will bring joy and happiness to a child. It is important that we, as parents provide toys for our children so they can experience the same feelings as we did. If we don't, we are robbing our children from the same fun, joy and memories that we had as a child. Another disadvantage of not providing our children with toys is that we are restricting their development of their senses, creativity and social skills.

So what are the disadvantages of not playing with toys?

Lack of social skills.

As a child they will have imaginary friends and will use toys as the object of their imaginary friends. They will interact with the toys as if they were real and will treat them as real people. Social and communication skills will be developed through this process. Without toys for the child to base their imaginary friends on, the child will have difficulty interacting with other children as they grow older and start preschool. In preschool the child may be withdrawn, quiet, and shy as they do not have the necessary social skills and confidence to approach other children thus affecting their enjoyment of school. The child will have little or no friends which may lead to resentment of attending school and possibly to depression. By providing toys for children at an early age, the child will have developed these important social life skills which will assist during school and throughout their life.

Lack of independence and confidence.

Playing with toys will make your child more self dependent and less attached to you. Discovering the world and expanding their imagination is a result of playing with toys. By not giving toys to your children, you are actually making them dependent on you all the time. If they don't have any siblings, friends or toys to play with they will look for you all the time. Total dependence, neediness, upset and anger are some of the consequences of not being there for your child. Thus, by providing toys for your child, they will learn to grow up with confidence and be more dependent on their own.

Lack of imagination, creativity and mental skills.

Children who play with toys will learn to develop their creativity and imagination skills. Research states in the process of playing with different toys, they will learn to develop their cognitive thinking, solve problems, expand their imagination and learn to use the creative side of their brain. These skills are shown to be developed at a faster rate than those who do not play with toys. As a result, it is important to provide toys for your child to play with.

Bad influences.

As a child, it is important that you keep your child occupied and playing with toys is one way to achieve this. Keeping your child engaged will distract them from any unnecessary and negative influences around them. Studies have shown that children will learn things quick whether it is good or bad. If their minds are not engaged with constructive and positive activities, they will pickup bad language or dreadful behavior from the surrounding environments. E.g. fights, bad language, arguments.

There are many disadvantages of not providing toys for your children to play with and may cause lifelong effects which can affect them throughout their life. Undeveloped social skills, self attachment, lack of imagination and mental skills can all affect your child by not providing your child with toys to play with. Thus, it is very important for every parent to encourage their children to play with the right kind of toys for their own personal growth and development.