Amid a mental health crisis, toy industry takes on a new role: building resilience

As more children emerge from the pandemic grappling with mental health issues, their parents are seeking ways for them to build emotional resilience. And toy companies are paying close attention. While still in its early phase, a growing number of toy marketers are embracing MESH—or mental, emotional, and social health—as a designation for toys that teach kids skills, like how to adjust to new challenges, resolve conflict, advocate for themselves, or solve problems. The acronym was first used in child development circles and by the American Camp Association 10 years ago and gained new resonance after the pandemic. Rachele Harmuth, head of ThinkFun, a division of toy company Ravensburger, and resilience expert and family physician Deborah Gilboa, formed a MESH task force earlier this year with the goal of getting manufacturers to design toys with emotional resilience in mind and to have retailers market them accordingly. “We just need to educate parents and educators just a little bit to know that we could be using their playtime a little bit intentionally,” Gilboa said. Many toys that could be considered MESH happen to already be in children’s toy chests—like memory games, puppets, certain types of Legos, Pokémon trading games, and Dungeons & Dragons. But some worry the MESH approach might end up promising parents something it can't deliver. There’s also a risk of companies preying on parents’ anxieties about their kids’ mental health. “My fear is that MESH will be used as the next marketing gimmick,” said Chris Byrne, an independent toy analyst. “It will create a culture of fear that their children are not developing socially and emotionally. And that’s not really the job of the toy industry.” Dave Anderson, vice president of school and community programs and a senior psychologist in the ADHD and Behavior Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute, applauded the toy industry’s efforts to likewise address emotional resilience. But he said parents need to be careful about claims that companies may be making. While there’s evidence that skills highlighted by the MESH taskforce can build resilience, there’s no evidence that the toys themselves will, he said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.