What Toy Story 5 Reminded Me About Parenting Today

This article is also available in Indonesian.

I went to see Toy Story 5 on its very first day in theaters. Since it coincided with the school holidays, the theater was packed to the brim with families. I watched parents settling in with toddlers, older siblings sharing popcorn, and I even noticed a group of students who had come along with their homeroom teacher.

But as the credits rolled and the house lights came back on, a realization hit me. Toy Story 5 isn't just a movie for kids.

Honestly, it felt like a message aimed directly at Gen Z and parents. Especially those of us who grew up alongside Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the rest of the gang since the very beginning. This time, the story moves past simple playtime adventures and dives straight into a reality we are all living through right now: our children's relationship with technology.

When Screens Become Our Go-To Solution

What struck me most about Toy Story 5 was how beautifully it captured the changing landscape of how children play and connect today.

Where toys used to be the absolute center of a child's universe, screens are quietly taking over that space. It’s a shift I see all the time in daily life. So many parents hand over a gadget for reasons that make total sense. We do it to keep them calm in public, to catch a breather when we're overwhelmed with work, or even to help them socialize in a digital world. Modern parenting comes with its own unique set of pressures, and nobody can blame parents for using the tools available to them.

The movie left me wondering, is the convenience of technology making our kids miss out on the essential experiences they need to grow?

We Need to Learn from the Real World

Watching the film brought back a rush of memories from my own childhood. Back then, the moment school was out, we would all gather in front of the house to play. Even if all we did was play on the porch with the same toys, we were happy.

Looking back, those unstructured moments were exactly where we learned how to navigate the world. We learned how to cooperate, how to resolve our own fights, how to read a friend's feelings, and how to speak up when something felt wrong. These are deeply human lessons, and no screen—no matter how advanced—can teach them.

I feel like that is the heart of what Toy Story 5 is trying to say. It’s a gentle reminder that the physical world still plays an irreplaceable role in a child's life.

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A Reflection for Parents

As I sat there reflecting on the movie, a few key lessons stood out to me as incredibly relevant for today's parents:

1. Reclaim the Joy of Physical Play

We need to protect the balance between screen time and real-world play. While technology is a permanent fixture of daily life, it shouldn't fill every single empty slot of a child's day. Kids need moments to step away from the glass and interact with tangible toys. Through physical toys, they learn to imagine, create, and build their own worlds. Instead of reaching for a device the second a child complains of boredom, we can give them the space to just be, well, kids.

2. Encourage Real Conversations

The importance of open communication really hit home for me during the film. When a child is dealing with a problem, they need to know a real adult is there to listen. Nothing quite replaces the comfort of a genuine conversation.

3. Let Them Choose, But Teach Responsibility

Children still need the freedom to make their own choices. It's okay if they choose to play a video game, use a gadget, or dive into another hobby they enjoy. However, we also need to guide them to understand that choices come with consequences. That is how they learn to take ownership of their decisions.

4. Keep Technology as a Tool

We can’t avoid technology; it is part of modern life. But gadgets should not ultimately be the entire experience of one’s childhood.

No app can ever replace the magic of growing up alongside friends and family in the real world.

Guiding the Changing Times

Toy Story 5 x never portrays technology as the enemy. In fact, it acknowledges that progress is inevitable and will keep moving forward. But amidst all this rapid change, the movie reminds us that human connection is the one thing we cannot afford to lose.

Children still need space to play, talk, imagine, and learn from real-world experiences. It is our job as parents to safeguard the world where that is still possible.