well guns should be out of the questine they are things of war and distrustion

My Grandaughters love their L.O.L. dolls. They have built quite a little empire with a big dollhouse and vehicles and they play with them every day. Most recently, their dolls held a concert. There were about 100 dolls in attendance and they had a stage with all their band equipment set up. They used their phones to stream the music. I love to see imagination in action and the children cooperating for a common goal. We encourage collections instead of random toys.

what answer were you searching for?

Books are always good because you can read them to your child and they can read them to you (social). They eventually get bored of the same old story though. Lego and building toys are good and can be social. Creativity never ends so will keep em happy throughout the ages. Everyone knows an adult who still loves Lego lol.

lawn darts with no helmets,, through caution to the wind ;-))

correct and has been the case as long as I can remember and there are 2 markets. those toys which engage and those which do not. Toys which are more than 1 dimensional and expand the creativity of the user last the longest.

As mentioned by Elizabeth J, best option is to join a Toy Library. I was a coordinator at the local Toy library, for a very small fee families could borrow 3 toys per child. Saves money, saves waste, satisfies the need for wanting something new, and children will try toys, puzzles and games that they mightn’t normally be exposed to.

correct - too much violence in online games, cartoons, tv shows etc and not enough imagination development

Kids love toys.

My grandkids have all the pros and cons at home with toys and devices, but when they come to my place I have Lego, dolls and puzzles and games which they all seem to enjoy. If it’s a nice sunny day they are outside playing or riding bikes.

I had very few toys. I had a doll and a pram and some cut out figures. I don't know what happened to the dolls pram and I think mum threw the cut outs away but I still have my doll. She was born in 1954 and no matter how many times I tell my grandchildren she is NOT to be touched I find after they have gone that she is wearing a new outfit.

It has been a long time since I bought toys for my children, but I always knew what they wanted. Not so with my grandchildren. Only one plays with dolls and dolls prams while a few will happily undress the dolls but not really play with them. Two will play with jigsaws but the others play with a new toy for a short time before wanting a tablet or want to watch a DVD or TV. When they come here they nag and nag but MY rules are no TV before lunch. No wonder they all seem to have ADHD and can't concentrate for more than 5 minutes. No self control but no-one attempts to take control and DVD;s and the TV seem to make good babysitters. I know this will make me sound like a cranky nanna, but that was not the case with my children. They played outside or played with toys and didn't need entertaining.

Too many toys -- what happened to sending your children out in the back yard for an afternoon of discovering and making up their own games and toys.

As long as mobile phones are kept at bay.

If in doubt...toy cars, action figures, Lego, building blocks, dolls and dress up costumes, these have stood the test of time.

It is not the children but the adults. The most popular toy here are the cardboard boxes at the supermarket. Being in the toy trade for over 30 years I have seen it all The walkie talkie dolls mothers tried to out do one another and buy the tallest and all the girls wanted a baby doll to mother and cuddle. A mother broughyt her husband to buy a toy for their 6 month he wanted a metal mechanical robot, her a fluffy rabbit

Totally agree, as an ex teacher we saw time and time again that the best toys are those that are natural and open ended. They have the best potential for learning. Even better though is little to no toys at all, the natural environment has so much potential in it self. We used to take groups of two, three or four year olds to a park and spend the entire day there including sleeping out there on mattresses. They never got bored and so much great learning took place.

Soooo much plastic

Too much is spent keeping Kids quiet, instead of interacting with them as parents

I agree - my mother currently runs her own home based school care for toddlers and preschoolers and she's overwhelmed by the amount of options for one specific toy - whether it be soft toys or educational toys. It becomes too much to find what could be right for her kids or what is right for educational purposes. She encourages outdoor play more and trips out when the weather allows.

Adults have more say (i.e. they have the cash to spend and are the responsible decision makers) than children. So take the opportunity to consider carefully which toys to purchase.

There are so many toys in the house but children get bored with their toys after sometime so it's better to take them out in the park and make them physically active and take fresh air and meet up with their friends

I still like the ones that are classic..lego, play doh, puzzles, books…but you need to play WITH the kids!

My mum and dad said this when I was little. My wife and I said this when our kids were little. Now my grandchildren have to many toys. When is it going to stop? It wont because we want more for the kids.

I agree children have too many toys and the interest is shortlived.

Kids need to spend more time outside instead of playing with toys that do nothing for them and they lose interest in them anyway

Totally agree, and why do they have to have guns?

I agree with the comments, there is a vast variety of toys out there, children have their favourites and there is also what’s being promoted at the time and peer pressure to have the up to date toys. Ultimately it’s the purchasers prerogative if they purchase anything.

I had a wooden sword and shield and a home made go-cart....little Johnny now needs a new app for his I-phone....things change...humans evolve different needs and develop different skills as a consequence...who knows if its good or bad....it IS different...maybe it depends on your viewpoint...I can do maths in my head...tell you heaps of facts and figures...and tell you what temperature it is...without reaching for a mobile phone....but those skills aren't valuable anymore!

Parents that give time to/with their kids give the best developmental knowledge. Yes toys can give some of that and a bit of freedom from pressures. Let kids be kids

I agree with you.

Too many toys.

Agreed!

seems like we NEED to inculcate fashion, change and demand for multiple products and 'interests' early in our children to ensure that the capitalist mentality is strengthened, and the flock memtality is encouraged

Yes and also alot of violence related toys. not very socially acceptable

Totally agree with you. My 3 year old Granddaughter's favourite toy is her baby doll that she can dress up. She has so many toys with a lot of bells & whistles that are really pointless and she was interested in them at first but never plays with now.

Yes too many toys and parent buy too much

Agree. Get back to family fun games - board games and playing outside or hiking/cycling together if you're not in to sports.

its funny how the parents who grew up in the 60/70s have become the consumer materialist helicopter parents who wrap their kids in bubble wrap and buy them crap brand toys that need batteries that you have to buy seperately.

Kids aren't allowed to play outdoors anymore because their parents are scared they might get a boo boo. besides that all the suburban sprawl has left nowhere for kids to play.

As a grandparent I have learnt NOT to take the 2 kids shopping. 1 knows where the toys are and wants them. Chocolate as well

I loved all my stuffed animals and had a big box of lego that was handed down to me. My sister gave my lego away and I was so upset with her for doing it. It's all plastic stuff, it's meant to last all but 2 seconds if lucky and of course then the children want more. My girls had things like a doll house, a tigger from America that jumped, stuffed animals and they had leap frog which helped them to read. Lots of books and colouring in books. I guess if the parents fall for buying it in the first place then all they can hope for is the child moves onto another fad or grows out of it all together as they do. Just remember that not little for ever and enjoy the time you have with them as you never know when that may end. They grow up quickly these days, maybe too quickly.

Lego is the best toy or Duplo for the wee ones

Obviously people have too much money if they can afford to buy the rubbish that is offered!

It is called fad marketing - makes $$millions for manufacturers and doesn't build children's brain power.

That is right on.

Very true Lisa well said

The toys today can be so expensive for some families to buy!

When I was living in a country town I brought home a Kellogs corn flake box. I found that box became a space ship, big boat, aeroplane, hospital, cave who knows what else, oh yes my daughter's imagination, that and a few bears and dollies and she had a story line for each and every player. It's up to parents what games and toys hold their attention and for parents to intervene as little as needed and to encourage new skills as the child develops. Once she learned to read books this opened even more doors for her imagination and she reads still.

kids are kids. And their thinking pattern and behaviour no one underdtand. Therefore many entrepreneurs try to grab kids attention by making variuos toys. During my life time I wirnessed kids may use toys maximum for 30 days but not continuesly. Most kids keep teddybears with them for two to three years. Every kid is very pond of real mobile phones not for plastic phones make as real phones. Toy Vehicles also like by thekids

My Mum and Dad could not afford to buy us lots of toys so we made do with what we had. We spent a lot of time outside in the backyard or mucking around in the park nearby. Mum had a Great Career: She was a Stay at Home Mum and looked after us, including unknown to us - or not noticed by us which is nearer the truth - kept an eye on us when we were not in the backyard. As Kararaina G says, we appreciated the few toys we did have but for the most part we made our own fun. Unfortunately today the "backyard" has almost disappeared as greedy developers are busy filling them all in or creating so-called Housing Estate with no back yard, no front garden and for all the space between their hideous boxes they may as well have built endless rows of semi-detached houses, that would give them even more land to build an extrra so-called house on!Edited 19-Jul-22 10:44am

i agree Lisa, toys are not always appreciated and some children show their disappointment when they receive them as gifts. my girls had less toys and enjoyed the outside riding and playing. Playing with board games was a common occurance in our home

But toys are definitely not everlasting yet they are way too expensive

These toys are not made to last, do they, and so expensive. Ten years ago at work, someone gave me a gift for our secret Santa for Christmas breakup, and it was a tiny wooden angel with wings, I bough it home and gave it to my grand daughter, she painted it red, and white, out lining it shape and across her wings and hang it on her dressing mirror table, and it shines at night. she loves it, and still have it

Children need to be allowed to use their imagination, think for themselves. they are molly coddled. This is why kids of today expect everything to be laid on as if we owe them something. Let them learn that they have to find their own way by exploring and getting the thrill by knowing that they can do things for themselves and achieve.

Yes I agree. I think there should be more educational toys for each stage of every child's growth development.

Parents need to choose wisely

It's brain washing! Let them play in the mud, prod a bike wheel with a stick around the yard or even roll a used tire around and chase after it, sit on the ground draw a circle and play marbles and when they get tired out and dirty wash their body not their brain!

Books and parents to read them to the children

I belonged to a to Toy Library when my children were small. It was wonderful to bring a new home one a fortnight. There were big things for the outdoor play, puzzle etc etc. Best idea ever. Edited 19-Jul-22 18:06pm

All children are individuals, some of them go to daycare or after school hours activities. Up to the parents what they want for their children, and what the childrens needs are.

I don't buy my child toys anymore is because he doesn't play with toys anymore.

There are to many toys on the market, but at the end of the day it is the adult parent that is buying them. And there are some parents who will buy them just to keep the children occupied so then they as a parent don't have to be bothered.

These days and probable as of always toys are somebody's business aiming to empty parent's pockets. Also it is very difficult to make children use educational toys.

I agree ,kids need to play outdoors and get fresh air.

Definitely way to much toys. We have "have to earn toy i like" agreement so if he is doing well with his chores he can get toy of his choice. I prefer spend money on experiences rather than material things for child.

I agree 100%. When they grow out of toys they still want that extra stimulation and spend as much time as possible on their game machines and mobile phones - needing constant stimulation The don't have to use their imagination the same. Shame really.

So don't buy them. No consumer interest = no market. Nothing wrong with building blocks, lego, books, skipping ropes for double dutch, chalk for hopscotch, etc. You have the money, you make the choices, not the kids.

Kids need toys that help their minds to grow to many kids these days are on screens and lost they art of playing

I agree. Most of the toys are more to line the pockets of the toy companies and they don't really care what it teaches children. I was reading an article on how many toy recalls that they had due to harm and/or death and it was a massive amount over the last 30 years. One of the most dangerous was one they still sell all the time and it was the trampoline. They would recall toys that hurt like say, 8 kids with no deaths really fast it seems if they weren't too expensive, but the more expensive toys had far more injuries and kills before they were recalled...if they even were. Edited 19-Jul-22 05:16am

my wife buys the grand children 's toys

To many toy guns on the market for kids. Kids need to get outside more and play and get fresh air. To many video games that kill each other that the kids play with. Kids need more real games like dong kong and other less killing games. Today that all that is taught with the games and guns on the market. These companies that make these games and guns are making a ton of money and teaching kids its ok to kill and hurt people. What happened to going outside and playing ball or going fishing or playing hide and seek. Todays kids do not know how to play.

Agree. In addition, most of them are plastic, after a while they are thrown away.

capitalism ruins everything unfortunately

ALL CHILDRENS ARE ALWAYS LIKE TOYS AND MAKES THEM HAPPY. LIKE ME WHEN I WAS A CHILD BEFORE IF MY MOM BOUGHT ME A TOY I AM SO HAPPY BUT IF SHE DOESNT BOUGHT ME A TOY I AM SO SAD.

What I preferred to buy for children were games or colouring books. Parents can interact with children as they grow older. Card games were always something we sat together and played.

I dont think this is the case really. When my son was growing up he was really interested in sport and his dad and he used to pick me up from my job and the park was adjacent to where this happened. He was three at the time and athletics was at the park. He begged to go and run with the children so after some discussion about it he was able to go the next week. That started his participation in sporting activities over the years. He turns 50 this year and is still coaching football. Last year it was five teams he coached and loves doing it just as much.

I got my children into sports so they wanted footballs, basketballs, cricket gear, bikes, surfboards, squash rackets, etc. My kids were read to from babies and then it was their turn to read to me. They are still avid readers. Yes they wanted a few of the popular toys and sometimes they got them but I also gave them chores to do like weeding the garden which I paid them for and as they got older they delivered pamphlets, lollies and worked at various jobs and matched them dollar for dollar to buy the more expensive things they wanted but usually they lost interest by the time they had saved the money up. Lego is a good toy as it made them build things but usually they were in the swimming pool for 6 or more months of the year and played all kinds of sports year round.

TOYS ARE MOST FUN WHEN YOU'RE A KID.

lego

Okay (then start becoming a full-time parent). Teach your child to read (before he/she starts Pre-School/Kindergarten or help your child to improve her/his reading skills). That way you can guide (or assistance) them in expanding her/his mind, etc. (anything you consider appropriate for the growth of your child (mentally, physically, socially, etc.)) - which should give them the necessarily skills to handle the harsh realities of residing in an amoral society (aka capitalism).Edited 19-Jul-22 07:04am

can't beet lego for imagination I reckon, I wish it was made from soft rubber though, so many times, so many times I think I have spent a year out of my 60 rubbing and nursing my feet through lego , but a great toy

I will not give my kids any kind of gun toys.

Dolls teddies and jigsaws

When my son was young, he was the first grandchild, my family went crazy at Christmas. My son had more fun with a homemade monkey stuffed animal and a large box. I actually turned to Little Passports for my newest grandchild. They were great projects that the family could do together.