Despite the efforts of some parents, children still tend to act out the traditional sex roles of our culture. The child's peer group may have more of an influence over this than the parents.

To play is to act out and be willful, exultant and committed, as if one is assured of one's prospects.

The main point for me is that toys are incredibly more important than we realized.

There has to be a culture where students and parents know that if children come to school and act like that, they're going to be dealt with. I don't think we have that now.

The idea that children are passive repositories to be shaped by their parents has been massively overstated. A child's peer group is a far greater determinant of its development and achievements than parental aspiration.

Puritanical attempts to cure society by taking toys away from children are hypocritical and futile.