A favourite childhood toy may now be a source of concern for parents, after a study revealed Lego was becoming "significantly" more violent every year.
Dr Christoph Barteck from the University of Canterbury has been looking into the changes in the much-loved, building block-based product -- and the findings could cause a worry or two for parents.
Lego was chosen as a case study simply because of its popularity and longevity, with early research revealing that the proportion of sets featuring some sort of weapon -- such as toy knives, swords or guns -- has risen considerably.
"Today, approximately 30 percent of all the sets currently in the market do contain some form of weapon," Dr Barteck explained.
However, he explained that there were "methodological issues" with that initial finding, as it didn't identify exactly how the Lego pieces were being played with.
"Just because a blaster is included in the set, doesn't actually mean that this blaster is being used a blaster [during] play. It could very well be used for something different."
In response to the weaknesses of the first study, the research team looked at Lego product catalogues, because they include images that "show the actual sets and models in a play scenario".
"What we could find indeed is that the number of pages [in the catalogues] that do contain some form of violence has increased significantly -- and that's actually been a very stable increase," Dr Barteck said.
"Approximately, the likelihood that you actually observe a page with a bit of violence on it has increased by 19 percent every year."
He said while Lego did have a policy on "conflict play", there remains a disconnect between the company's intentions and how the product is actually perceived.
"They have become the biggest toy company in the world, so they're definitely doing something right -- but we can also definitely see how our society has changed about what is, for us, an acceptable level of violence in toys," Dr Barteck said.
Dr Barteck says he's pleased with the "considerable discussion" that has emerged as a result of his team's findings.
"It's important that we discuss these things and make it a topic," he said.
"Whether we find the answers, that's a different story -- but I think this discussion is a really important one to have."
TopKids Virginia Ave daycare manager Zara Herrmann says Lego will remain an all-time favourite for the children she looks after.
"It helps children do a lot of problem solving, three-dimensional construction," she said.
She avoids Lego with guns but says they're not necessarily harmful.
"They don't necessarily mean a child who playing with guns is going to grow up and be a violent person.
"However we have to be conscious of guiding children and their thoughts around what's acceptable and what's not acceptable."
In a statement, Lego said: "As with other play types, conflict play is a natural part of a child's development."
"We always try and use humour where possible as it helps tone down the level of conflict."
And Dr Bartneck concedes he still plays with it with his own kids.
"Within the whole spectrum of possible toys that you have, probably Lego is on the good end of things."
What impact it will have on children growing up is unknown. After all, a brick is just a brick -- it all depends on how you play with it.
Newshub.
