Toys: 'No thanks, Mom & Dad'

Reeling from kids' declining interest in toys, toymakers are moving into electronics in a big way, the New York Times reports. There's LeapFrog's TicTalk cellphone for 6+-year-olds, Disney's Mix Sticks digital music player, and Hasbro's Zoombox projector. Of course, some tweens simply go overnight from playing with Bratz dolls to playing an iPod, the Times reports, pointing to the discussion this trend is fueling among parents and child development experts. "The push to sell consumer electronics to preteens is touching off an animated debate about … whether it is wise to break down one of the last barriers between children's play and adult technology." All that technology eclipses creative play and imagination, critics say. Another big question, for toymakers, is whether children will want the kid versions of these products or just move right on to the "real" ones.