Posted on: Monday, October 1, 2001

Violent toys tucked away, rescue heroes bought up

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Patty Gonzales now keeps soldiers and other military toys in a closet, hidden from her 5- and 6-year-old sons. Instead, she bought them rescue hero figures such as firefighters and policemen.

Lisa Eastman bought Lego blocks and puzzles for her 6-year-old girl and 3-year-old boy.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, more and more parents are trying to rid their children's lives of violent toys.

"We just need a break," said Eastman, a 38-year-old Manhattanite. "My kids now have nightmares about fires and about all those bad guys."

The toy industry has been doing some soul-searching, too, editing product lines, pulling toys from retail shelves and delaying release of items that might be viewed as too violent.

And though it's too early to gauge post-disaster buying trends, retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have noticed more sales of firefighter and policeman figures, as well as rescue vehicles. One hot seller has been Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price "Rescue Heroes," a lineup of 7-inch characters unveiled in 1998.

Toy analysts also believe Hasbro Inc.'s newly relaunched GI Joe could be attractive to parents who want to help children act out their fears. Wal-Mart reported an initial uptick in sales of GI Joe's since the terrorist attacks.

Ann Brown, chairwoman of the Consumer Products Safety Commission, said she's against any toys that "glorify violence."

What's appropriate for children, she said, are toys that help children "deal with violence," such as Army toys and GI Joes. "Kids need to really re-enact their fears as heroes," she said, recommending toys that emphasize rescue workers like nurses and firefighters.

For others, such as Eastman and Gonzales, military figures are just too powerful when the real thing is on city streets.

"It's bad enough that they see the Army in the airports," said Gonzales, a 24-year-old from Brooklyn.

Chris Byrne, an independent toy analyst, predicts "those nasty toys that destroy enemies for the sake of unspecified violent play" will be replaced by heroes who restore order.

"All of this destruction and combat play has been possible because it is so abstract," he said. "Now 'the threat' is real."