Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 3, 2004, Winnipeg, Manitoba A10 Canada / world Winnipeg free press saturday july 3, 2004 Beauty lights up the night a 23-minute?long fireworks display Marks the end of the year of China festivities outside the Versailles Castle in Versailles France outside Paris yesterday. Unplug that video game the kids Are gone fishing parents shun virtual reality for More traditional toys misty Harris n of Content to have their children mistaken for to addicted zombies More Canadian parents Are buy ing toys that encourage traditional play. In other words today a kids Are finding Nemo at the Lake not at the video store. And with summer holidays in full swing toy manufacturers Arent wasting any time responding to the trend. Countering the sedentary lifestyle of kids is something that a lot of children a marketers Are working with right now says Stephen Kline a communications professor at Simon Fraser University and noted expert on children a culture. Parents Are trying to look for those old family practices where play was a part of everyday household maintenance and toy companies want to insert their Brand or product into that a Survey released in May by the Ned group which pro Vides sales and marketing data revealed traditional toy categories Are being increasingly threatened by video games most notably among boys aged five to 12. Kline a own research indicates parents Are anxious about this technology recognizing the need for adult supervision and seeking More conventional toy alternatives. Parents have been concerned with providing their Chil Dren with toys that invoke a broader and healthier lifestyle he says. There has been a bit of a backlash against the kind of Raissez Faire parenting where kids disappear into the the new push for traditional toys Kline suggests is largely based on parents desire to project their own lifestyle values onto kids. This is Why elements of Middle class pastimes such As fishing Golf and gardening Are resurfacing on toy shelves. This summer Mattel unleashed an Arsenal of new consumer products that speak specifically to what they Call realistic in both the hot wheels and Barbie brands toy lineups Are looking less like playthings and More like Junior versions of the Canadian tire catalogue. For boys there Are portable Beds and dual suspension bikes. For girls there Are Barbie fishing rods tackle boxes Camp ing equipment and gardening gear most of which supplant ostentatious images of Barbie with understated patterns and grown up designs. Once kids hit the five to eight Range they re More inter ested in emulating real life situations than fantasy play says Tanikka Foster licensing manager for Mattel brands. They still play with toys but How they play with them is according to Foster the change in play pattern has been emerging Over the past 10 to 15 years but Only recently trans lated into new sales for categories such As sporting goods. Canadian kids she says Are putting parents on notice that they re not babies anymore. Or. Steveanna Auerbach author of the new Book smart play smart toys Calls the comeback of traditional toy fare encouraging. But she a worried parents will see the Market ing rather than the meaning behind the trend. Play is not just what you buy for children in toys but using things found around the House As Well she says noting that a mixing bowl and some water can be just As interesting to a child As something bought from a toy store. Adventure playgrounds for example Are a grassroots ver Sion of realistic with no slides swings or Sand the unique Public spaces Are built from the ground up on the sweat and creativity of the kids who play there. New to Canada the do it yourself playgrounds operate Only with participation from parents play leaders and support from surrounding communities. Traditional play says Auerbach Only has Hope against video games if adults get ? can West news service Alberta to introduce health care statements by Mario Toneguzzo Calgary ? the Alberta government will introduce annual health statements this fall for All albertan so they can see How exactly How much the services they use Are costing the health care system. The move was quickly slammed by critics who said it was nothing More than an attempt to justify further user fees and health care premiums. However Howard May a spokesman for Alberta health and wellness said the statement will be a useful tool to make people aware of the costs of the health care the conservative government of Premier Ralph Klein has made headlines in recent weeks for its controversial plans to Reform health care in Alberta ? plans that some say might have Cost the Federal tories the recent Federal election. On wednesday Klein and Alberta health minister Gary mar announced the provincial government would seek Public input this fall on various recommendations for health care Reform in the province. Its not the first time Alberta has provided annual health statements. They were introduced in 1988 but eventually abandoned for a number of reasons one being they were not easily understood said May. Raj Pannu Leader of the Alberta new democrats said the statements were abandoned because they were a waste of Money and warned about the Impact of their reintroduction. These statements will Likely become part of a data base so they can then be used to justify the introduction of user fees and deductibles said Pannu. The idea for the health statement was recommended in an Las task Force report. La Gordon Graydon chairman of the task Force said yesterday that most people he has talked to have told him the health statement initiative is a Good Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said the health state ments could provide an audit Check to see if the services paid and claimed for were actually provided. I can see both sides of this one he said. They re expensive to produce but they can serve two purposes ? to make people More aware of the value of the health care system and the costs of the health care ;