Ninos addicts to unboxing adrenaline

This scene is more common than you imagine: The father agrees to his son’s wishes and buys a “surprise” toy, which causes such a level of illusion in the little one that everyone is happy. The problem is that, afterwards, disappointment can become a difficult problem to face.

Toys that are purchased without even knowing what they are buying seem to have become a trend. Although, until a few years ago, they were a strategy to sell sweets, chocolates and stamps, now they have expanded their scope, to serve as an effective way to sell figures from such well-known brands as Lego, Playmobil, etc. In fact, they have gone from being objects of affordable costs to becoming real challenges for parents’ pockets, being possible to purchase packages of “surprises” of more than 250 euros. But what is it that makes this way of offering toys so attractive? And why does it give such good results?

The origins of man and his collecting nature

According to psychology specialists, this goes far beyond the excitement of having a new toy. In fact, if we study a bit, we can find that these toys have in common to be part of a collection. 

To better understand the success of the collections, we have to go back to very ancient times of the human being, when in order to survive we had to remain constantly in search of food and a safe place to sleep. We were by necessity collectors.

This has not disappeared from our behavior, and our brain sets guidelines and objectives for us to comply with this principle as a basis. It makes us, in a certain way, collectors of objects that arouse our interest, although at this moment in history it is not an essential activity to survive. In this order of ideas, we can understand that we are still seekers, just as our ancestors did, that is why we need that sensation of investigating and finding, because it gives us pleasure, something that we can find in the collections.

Furthermore, surprise toys combine two needs that have been extensively studied. The first has to do with the feeling of being complete or perfect. This need is part of being human too. In fact, it is used in knowledge construction techniques. One of the best-known pedagogues who used to take advantage of this need was Maria Montessori, with her self-correcting materials. Due to its special design, the child automatically realizes that something is “wrong”, “incomplete” and by nature, he will seek to repeat the game until everything agrees and is “correct”. This sensation causes an intense sensation of pleasure and motivates the child to repeat such an experience in other self-correcting toys, trying to solve them and facing increasingly difficult challenges.

The second theory has to do with man’s natural tendency to seek pleasure and maintain it, thereby avoiding suffering. Rejecting any circumstance that obscures the feeling of victory that is achieved by obtaining or trying to obtain what is desired with great enthusiasm. As we can understand, the excitement prior to the purchase of surprise toys is very similar to that experienced by a player addicted to games of chance. When throwing the dice, for example, the person can imagine winning. If he does not succeed, the disenchantment will often be overwhelming, so he will seek by any means to repeat the experience to finally win the desired prize.

Any parent who has been in front of a child who longs for a toy from the collection that has caught his interest, will be able to observe the state of excitement that the little one is capable of displaying. A situation that completely contrasts with the pain that can be caused by discovering that it is not the one he had in mind, a circumstance that leads him to frequently throw tantrums, uncontrollable crying and deep sadness.

Other risks

Coping psychological issues and tantrums may be some of the drawbacks that come along with surprise toys, but they’re not the only ones. There are stories related to the opening techniques of these toys that ended up in a hospital emergency room. This is because manufacturers seek to make the moment when the child discovers the toy inside more interesting. Strategies can range from eating a piece of candy to pressing a specially designed button for the cover to come off. This last technique was chosen by the LOL Surprise Glamper line of dolls, which has led to a couple of little girls experiencing some finger injuries, getting stuck pressing the button. The most disconcerting thing is that the girls, far from worrying about the pain,

So are surprise toys a risk?

Having discussed some of the complications that could be associated with buying surprise toys, we do not intend to dissuade anyone from purchasing one of these. Psychological experts also do not recommend removing the element of surprise from children’s games. However, they believe that, in order not to fall into these vicious and frustrating circles, what can be done is to try to offer children variety. Prevent them from being exposed to the constant advertisements that are shown on the channels that the little ones enjoy and allow them to experiment with other educational toys, which also offer the thrill of the unknown and can contribute to their learning or the development of skills.

In conclusion, if on your next visit to the department store where the best LOL dolls of 2022 are advertised, for example, and your daughter is an avid fan, you could have a little dialogue and alert your little one to the fact that she is very It is likely that he will not receive the figure he expects, and that this does not mean that you will later buy another one, however great the sadness that this could cause him. In this way, you can help her think ahead about what she may go through and prepare her, so that she is better able to remain calm.