Recently, I watched Toy Story 5, expecting nothing more than a light-hearted animation that would give me a few hours of entertainment and an escape from the routines of everyday life. Instead, the film left me thinking about a problem that is becoming increasingly difficult for parents to ignore: the amount of time children spend on electronic devices.
At the centre of the story is Bonnie, the young girl who loves playing with her toys. Her world is one where imagination, creativity and make-believe are part of everyday life. Through her toys, she creates stories and adventures, giving each character a role in the world she imagines. Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Hamm, Slinky Dog, the Aliens and Forky are all part of this imaginative world that Bonnie has created around her love for traditional play.
However, Bonnie’s relationship with her toys begins to change when technology enters more deeply into her world. Karen Beverly and Lilypad, a technology-based tablet device, becomes Bonnie’s new favourite plaything, presenting a different kind of entertainment from the imaginative play she previously enjoyed with her toys. The arrival of Lilypad introduces an important contrast between traditional play, where children create their own stories, and digital entertainment, where much of the content is already created for them.
This is where Toy Story 5 becomes more than just an animation. It becomes a reflection of the childhood many children are experiencing today, as smartphones, tablets and internet-enabled devices become increasingly accessible and integrated into everyday life.
For busy parents, a phone or tablet can sometimes appear to be a convenient way of keeping a child entertained, occupied or connected with friends. Parents may also see technology as useful for learning and communication. But perhaps we need to ask ourselves a difficult question: are we giving children technology at the expense of giving them childhood?
Bonnie’s experience illustrates the tension between traditional play and digital entertainment. Her toys encourage her to create stories, use her imagination and actively participate in her own adventures. With a device such as Lilypad, however, much of the entertainment is already created for her. The difference may appear small, but it is significant because the way children spend their leisure time can influence how they interact with the world around them.
When a child creates a story with a toy, the child becomes the storyteller. When a child builds something from blocks, the child decides what it will become. When children play together, they have to negotiate, communicate and sometimes disagree before finding a way forward. These experiences require children to think, communicate and participate actively rather than simply consume content.
Technology, on the other hand, can provide an endless supply of ready-made entertainment. This does not mean that technology is inherently harmful. Technology has become an important part of modern life, and children can benefit from using digital devices to learn, communicate, explore their interests and access educational material. For some children, technology can even provide opportunities to connect with others and develop confidence.
The concern arises when the screen stops being a tool and starts becoming a substitute for childhood itself. Children need opportunities to experience the world beyond a screen, including opportunities to play, explore, interact with other people and develop their imagination.
Play may look like nothing more than children running around, building things, drawing, pretending, arguing about the rules of a game and then making peace. Yet beneath this apparent simplicity, children are learning some of the most important lessons of life. Through play, children explore their surroundings, experiment with ideas, make mistakes and discover ways of solving problems.
When children build blocks, solve puzzles, draw pictures or create imaginary games, they develop their ability to think, plan, make decisions and solve problems. When they pretend to be doctors, teachers, shopkeepers or superheroes, they develop language, creativity and the ability to understand different perspectives. Play is therefore not simply a way of passing time; it is an important part of how children learn and develop.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recognised play as an important part of children’s cognitive, physical, social and emotional development. Through play, children learn to explore their environment, express themselves, regulate their emotions and interact with other people. These abilities are important not only during childhood but also as children grow into adults.
There is also something that happens when children play together that a screen cannot completely reproduce. They learn how to share, wait for their turn, negotiate and understand that other people have feelings and opinions that may differ from their own. They learn how to lose, how to win and how to resolve disagreements. These are social skills that children will need long after they have forgotten what they watched on a particular afternoon.
Physical play is equally important. Running, cycling, dancing, climbing and playing football help children develop strength, balance, coordination and motor skills. Outdoor activities also give children opportunities to explore their surroundings and develop confidence in their physical abilities. These experiences are difficult to replace when most of a child’s free time is spent sitting with an electronic device.
This is where the concern about excessive screen time becomes important. Every hour a child spends passively in front of a screen is an hour that could potentially have been spent running outside, playing with friends, reading a book, talking with a parent or creating something with their own hands. The question, therefore, should not simply be whether children should use technology, but how much technology they should use and what other experiences their screen use is replacing.
If a tablet is used for an educational programme for an hour and then put away so that a child can play outside, interact with family and get adequate sleep, the situation is very different from a child spending most of the day moving from one digital video or game to another. What matters is not simply the presence of technology in a child’s life, but whether technology is taking the place of other important activities.
Parents therefore have an important role to play. It can be tempting to hand a child a phone whenever they are bored, restless or demanding attention. However, boredom itself is not necessarily a problem that must immediately be solved with a screen. Sometimes boredom gives children the opportunity to discover their own interests, create games and use their imagination.
A child who has nothing to watch may start drawing. A child without a game to play on a tablet may build something from cardboard. A child without a digital friend may walk outside and find another child to play with. Children need opportunities to create rather than simply consume, and parents can help provide those opportunities by making time for activities that do not involve screens.
This is perhaps one of the strongest lessons from Bonnie’s story in Toy Story 5. Her toys represent a form of play in which she controls the adventure. Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the other toys are not simply providing entertainment; they become instruments through which Bonnie exercises her imagination and expresses herself.
Lilypad represents something different. As a smart tablet and Bonnie’s new favourite plaything, it offers entertainment and interaction through technology. Its attraction is understandable, particularly in a world where children are increasingly growing up surrounded by digital devices. However, the question is whether that attraction should come at the expense of the things that make childhood meaningful.
A screen can show a child a story, but imagination allows the child to create one. A device can provide a game, but playing with another child teaches cooperation, patience and empathy. A digital platform can connect people, but face-to-face friendship provides experiences that cannot always be reproduced online. Technology can therefore complement childhood, but it should not replace the experiences that help children develop socially, emotionally, physically and creatively.
Parents need to find a balance rather than completely banning smartphones, tablets or other electronic devices from children’s lives. Such an approach would be unrealistic in a world increasingly shaped by technology. Instead, parents can establish reasonable boundaries around screen use while deliberately creating space for outdoor play, reading, family conversations, creative activities and face-to-face friendships.
Most importantly, parents should resist treating technology as the automatic solution to boredom, loneliness or a child’s demand for attention. Sometimes children do not need another video or another game; they need someone to talk to, someone to play with and the freedom to explore their surroundings. They also need opportunities to experience boredom, because boredom can sometimes become the starting point for creativity and imagination.
Perhaps this is what makes Toy Story 5 particularly relevant to parents today. Beneath the colourful characters and humour is a reminder that childhood cannot be reduced to the consumption of digital content. Bonnie is a child who loves playing with her toys, and through that play she creates, imagines and connects. Her relationship with Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the other toys reminds us that play is not merely something children do to pass time; it is part of how they understand themselves and the world around them.
Technology has its place in childhood, but it should support childhood rather than take it over. Parents should therefore not necessarily ask whether their children should use electronic devices, but whether those devices are taking away time that children need for play, friendship, physical activity, creativity and family interaction. A tablet can occupy a child, but play can help a child grow.
The challenge for parents is therefore to ensure that children grow up knowing how to use technology without allowing technology to use up their childhood. Before handing a child the next phone or tablet, perhaps parents should pause and ask themselves one simple question: What could my child be doing instead?
