If you still have some shopping left to do this holiday season, let me offer up something to think about. When it’s garage sale time, and people go to purge all the old stuff their kids used to play with, what’s the first thing to go?
All the loud, spinning, whizzing, battery-operated, brightly colored, one trick pony plastic crap.
And the stuff that gets saved and passed down?
The classic, high quality handmade stuff made from natural materials like wood and fabric. Well-constructed doll houses. Sturdy, smooth, hand-stained block sets. Super soft teddy bears.
Of course, all the flyers jammed in our newspapers and mailboxes are showcasing the first group as the hot new toys of the season. Those are the ones touted on the TV commercials. The ones that parents get into fistfights over when inventory has dwindled.
And the first ones to be priced under fifty cents at some future garage sale.
So why do we insist on buying the plastic crap? Is it because we’re too cheap to buy something really nice? Or that we don’t want our kids shunned for not having the newest fads? Or do we believe that more stuff really is better? Perhaps we’ve simply been snookered by the Big Toy marketing machine? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this one.
It seems to me that we should’ve gotten a clue when our kids end up spending more time playing with the cardboard box.
Like this article? Cool. Make sure you’re subscribing to our RSS feed so you won’t miss out on any future installments of similarly inspiring prose. And stuff.
I totally agree. We have for some time chosen only high quality toys for our kids. I think that the reason we end up with all the plastic crap, it a combination of the things listed above. Some of it is pressure from the kids. My daughter is all about Barbie, although we have never bought her one. Then there are the well meaning friends and family. As well as being made to believe that all the electronic educational toys are going to give us super smart kids.
Those are my thoughts.
Yeah, those Baby Einstein toys have the marketing thing down. Funny thing is that the real Einstein didn’t have these fancy gadgets and he seemed to turn out ok…
as usual…great advice!
Laura
(my nearly 13 year old still enjoys a good ol’ cardboard box!)
Heck, I still get excited about oversized cardboard boxes…
The one plastic toys that I consider to be “good” are the good old-fashioned Legos! Gotta have those Legos! I had a lot of fun last year playing with my then-5-year-old nephew with his Legos and seeing how high we could build the tower before it came falllliinnng down!!! (And then we just started up again!)
I agree about Legos, Minette. They’re a good example of a toy that’s NOT a “unitasker.” They leave lots of room open to imagination!
Soap bubbles!
Cheap.
Ironically, sold in plastic containers.
Hours of entertainment for all ages and in all environments – just ask my coworkers, who find them occasionally floating over their cubicle walls.
There’s something about toys that can transcend ages and generations. Those are the best kind, methinks.
The things that my children play with time and time again are: board games, books, puzzles, play food, Barbies, buddies (figurines), cars, and video games. The three of them also love to play outdoors with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and also ride their bikes and scooters. They all have the most wonderful imaginations! I think there is a balance to be found between educational toys and the “plastics.” Some people may scoff at figurines and Barbies, but I have to say that this is when I see my daughters’ imaginations in full swing! They spend hours setting up towns and villages and playing with them. It is so much fun to watch them and hear all their giggles. Ironically this was my very favorite thing to do as a child. In my opinion, timeless!
Good points, Connie. I remember having tons of fun with my Star Wars guys as a kid. We had a few of the official “playsets” but I think we had the most fun building our own command centers our of blocks or taking the adventure outside to play in the yard!
Building things out of blocks – some years ago I had a roommate whose children would use every single videocassette I owned as a building block.
Then again, my brothers and I really wanted some Transformers as kids. My parents wouldn’t get them for us, so what did we do? We created out own Transformers out of Legos! Good enough for us!
I think that it is true that Barbie can lead to tons of imaginative play. I just wince at them because of all the marketing behind them. I feel like I would be opening the flood gates. I feel the same about Disney. I love the movies but get overwhelmed when I walk into Wal-mart and see Princess lifejackets, fishing rods, you name it.
Sometimes it is just silly.
Cardboard boxes are the best thing. We just made a major move across the country and it is amazing what can be done with those huge wardrobe boxes Spaceship anyone?
You can even build cardboard castles, too!
https://escapeadulthood.com/blog/2006-04-04/how-to-build-a-cardboard-castle.html
I think our kids have an important impact for this decision. Since they watch TV, the toy companies do their work. :-)
It always comes back to TV, doesn’t it?
What are your thoughts on TV, Walter? Good? Bad? Indifferent?
I’m stumped as to what to get my child this year, not for lack of ideas from him mind you. He has lists a mile long including wii, more Legos, and all things Star Wars, but I’m wondering just how many more plastic planes, guys, or Legos I can fit in my living room. I was looking up wooden toys last night, and because he is into knights and the like I was thinking about a castle, but I have to agree that if I got him a castle then what does that do to his creativity with the blocks? Hmmm…and he is getting a bunch of old, but new in the box Star Wars guys, which he’ll go gaga over, so I am truly stumped! Merry Christmas!
One idea for keeping the clutter out of the living room: I have friends who have their kids donate a bunch of old toys every year right before Christmas. It’s up to them what they want to give up, but they have to choose a certain number of items. It teaches them about the importance of sharing with the less fortunate and also makes room for the new toys.
Fortunately my kids are getting past the plastic crap and stuffed animal stage. But I can not find the kinds of pre-teen toys I had like Chemistry sets, good basic microscopes (without going high end), electronics board, erector sets, etc…
Lego has some robotics and electro-mechanical stuff which may make use of the billions of lego pieces we now own.
I was most happy building cardboard box forts, so perhaps I should go find some nice refrigerator boxes. Would my kids freak if they unwrapped an empty box?
Eric, check out the Cardboard box castle link I posted above your comment on the blog.
Also, check out this company: http://scientificexplorer.com
They have some pretty neat stuff I can’t to get for Lucy someday. Your kids might enjoy the Soda Pop Kit. I know I would!