When you think back to the '60s and '70s, all the right-thinking progressive parents thought toys should be natural and open-ended. Crayola and Kinder Blocks and Lego were considered raise-your-kid-smart toys. Then, all this data that came out which said that kids need to be stimulated. They need sound! They need multi-sensory experiences! Now, the more bells and whistles a toy has, the supposedly better it is.
Our parents' generation actually had it right. The less the toy does, the better. Everyone thinks: "Toys need to be interactive." No, toys don't need to be interactive. Children need to interact with toys. The best toys are 90 percent kid, 10 percent toy, the kind of thing that you can use 20 different ways, not because it has 20 different buttons to press, but because the kid, when they're 6 months old is going to chew on it, and toss it, but when they're a year they're going to start stacking it.
FYI - I will be getting my niece a nice hardwood stick, about 3 1/2 - 4 feet in length, very smooth, and almost rounded because, while she may still be a bit young, for most of our childhood such bats, swords, bows, rifles, lightsabers, staffs, magic wands were the greatest toys we ever had.
2 comments:
My 6-year-old spends hours in his room with a tiny stuffed cat which appears to be a kind of mystical totem which enables to kill many people, large and small. I tend to agree with your quote.
Said niece's current favorite toys are: a. a big wooden spoon that she stole right out of my hand when I was cooking, b. stackable plastic cups, c. a carton of plastic eggs that come apart, roll around on the floor, and give the kitty hours of chasing enjoyment. The bat/light saber/sword will no doubt be a welcome addition to her arsenal.
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