Toys, Toys, Toys

 I recently read a post decrying the purchasing of toys.  It cited all the real objects that could be used as toys and the boxes that become fun toys at Christmas.  I disagreed with the author.  I didn't write to them or object, but I have been bothered by that post ever since I read it.  I like toys.  I really like toys. When my son was young I bought a lot of toys.  Many of them were yard sale finds and some were hand me downs or on sale, but I liked a lot of toys for my son.

I don't think that I was particularly materialistic.  It isn't the stuff I liked, but all the kinds of play that toys wake up in the brain.  And play leads to thinking.  Thinking leads to talking and planning and maturing.  I don't regret any of the toys I got for my son.  I don't regret any of the toys I get for my grandchildren.  I choose toys with thought and care.  I choose toys that I want to play with them.  I don't choose electronic toys for these young ones.  I select a variety.  I also have a lot of books, had a lot of books when I was a parent.

The article talked about the junk that could be made into toys and the real things like spatulas that can become toys.  The thing is, I don't like a lot of junk laying around my house.  I do make recycled toys, but usually these are short use things that are thrown away fairly quickly.  Shabby junk homemade toys really don't belong in my house.  Also, I don't like hunting for my timer or my spatula in the toy box. There are some real objects that lend themselves to being toys, but something I use, I would rather not lend for playing. Also many of these recycled toys or real objects are not as safe as toys made for that purpose and require careful supervision.  I don't trust my homemade toys for free playtime.

In the olden days before the pandemic most children went to day cares, schools, or other programs.  Most of these places have a lot of toys and activities so the need for play at home in the few waking hours most kids spent with their parents wasn't as great.  These days, spending most of the time at home, without even parks or playgrounds, kids need toys to help build their brains. Kids need toys.

I would argue that every kid needs a collection of toys.  Not a house full or even a room full, but selected toys to encourage play.  Some good books. maybe lots of books since libraries are closed are needed.  Blocks, imagination toys, toys that move in some ways, toys that are funny, toys that show or teach things, these are good things for childhood.  Everybody decries too much screen time and I hope that everyone is aware that screen time should be as limited as feasible, but if that is going to happen, kids need toys.

I would challenge the post author to answer whether she or her spouse have their own toys.  Many adults have a variety of gaming things, sports things, hobby things, collections or interests.  Kids need toys to help them explore and find out what they like and what they don't.  Toys are for more than keeping busy.  Toys are to stimulate play and play is the work of childhood.

The Wooden Blocks

It wouldn't surprise anyone who knows me well to discover that I have a love of toys.  When my son was a little kid I got him almost every kind of toy that was available for kids. We had barrels of monkeys, play keys, play cars, farms, stuffed animals, writing things, spinning things, robots, monsters. Lots and lots of books supplemented by library trips. We had blocks, lots of kinds of blocks.

I knew that my son had a giant tub of his Legos in the basement of his house.  We sold him our house and left some of his toys behind for him.  Lately he brought up a tub to show me.  It was a tub of wooden blocks and little monsters.  Some of the blocks were plane wood and some were colored.  I was surprised to see them.  A good many of those blocks were acquired when he was his son's age when we lived in Japan.  That was nearly 40 years ago.  It took me back.

The funny thing was, as soon as my son showed me the blocks, his son immediately wanted to build things.  He stacked up a tower.  The triangle blocks found their place at the top.  I hope they let him play with them again.  It took me back to another little boy who played blocks endlessly.

One story I remember with those very blocks was, my son and I liked to play together.  We often built towers in tandem.  I build one and he built one side by side.  A favorite game was that my son liked to knock over my block tower and laugh.  Once, and only once, after he knocked my tower down, I knocked his tower down.  He lost it.  It made him so angry he screamed and ran around the house like a crazy man.  I had to let him calm down, there was no reasoning with him.  I never tried that again.  But I was mindful that my only child lacked certain social skills and I tried to find opportunities to teach him things like what to do when someone knocks your tower down.  I think I did okay because I haven't seen him throw any fits like that these days.

I hope that the grandchildren have lots of fun with those old blocks.  They are a lot of fun.  But, I don't plan to knock over anyone else's tower any time soon.