Violent Toys (KSUPERIORDAD.WORDPRESS.COM)
A group “working for peace from a faith perspective” will be visiting several Winnipeg stores on Saturday looking for toys that entice violence in children.
Project Peacemakers will be on a mission to rate local stores using a toy store citizen-inspection rating sheet to find out if children will be prone to receive violent toys this holiday season.
The Violence is Not Child’s Play campaign promises to hold stores accountable for the merchandise they stock on their shelves. Stores will be rated in different areas, including toys/action figures, display area for electronic and video games, display area for books, and overall store rating. Once the numbers are tallied, stores will be ranked from excellent to unacceptable in their promotion of violence through toys.
“We’re hoping that most stores will get a commendable ranking, but based on our experience we know that many local toy stores will probably need much improvement,” said Dianne Cooper, chair of the board. “You’d be surprised how much violence you really find in today’s games, and how easy to access those games are for children.”
Project Peacemakers will announce the results of their findings at the Westminster United Church at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.
