1 euro bow and suction arrows, Toys Need not be Expensive
PSP, Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, are some of the consoles my kids were used to playing with. :/ Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against such gizmos especially since they have brain-training games that would really make kids think.
I however believe that giving kids inexpensive toys is practical and would make more room for creativity. Younger kids tend to be careless of the toys they have and they also have shorter spans of enjoyment. I mean, they ‘d play with a toy for 5 minutes and would look for something else afterwards.
It’s also good when kids get to tinker with their toys – just like my husband was when he was younger. My mother-in-law would often relate such stories that when he was young, he would always open up or “dissect” toy cars and any toy with screws to know what’s inside and how it works. He would then carefully put them back together. He took that habit until now. Yes, I have a very able handyman at home. Also, when dissected toys broke, your pocket won’t yell ouch at all!
Imagine giving a memory game card box to your 5-year-old and getting to play it with him for the whole afternoon…I bet that would be priceless and he’ll surely appreciate the time. I remember watching the movie Battle Ship with the kids and hubby showed them, although online, how the game is played (despite being a lousy film, we give credit to a game that we played as kids). He bought a set later on and played it with the boys, up until now, they play it by themselves.
Getting inspiration from Friedrich Fröbel and Maria Montessori, I bought the kids wooden blocks years ago which they can play with as long as they put them away afterwards. (That’s making a promise first before being allowed). We had bucket fulls of blocks in different sizes, wood and colored. Eight years after, the blocks are still played with even though some of them faded and/or has graffiti (read: pen marks) in them. It’s fun stacking them up together to see which one holds steady the longest.
I totally agree with you … toys doesn’t have to be pricey. What’s more important is the quality time they get to spend with you. Nowadays playing time had lost its essence. No longer for the activity but simply to gets the kids away from the parents. 🙁
That’s one of the attributes I like about kids, they don’t worry about monetary value of toys as long as they can have fun with it. At times, it’s the cheaper toys that can really stretch their imaginations.
We never had to buy expensive toys to have fun. My Barbie dolls were all gifted, and frankly, I had more fun playing street games than with my dolls. For “Piko”, all I needad was 3-4 paperclips as my “pamato”. For 10-20 or Chinse garter, all I needed was a few yards of garter.
The price of the toy isn’t an indicator of how much fun it’ll be. Its usually about the bonding itself. 🙂
Kids who enjoy these kinds of toys are very lucky. Back when I was a kid, I never had toys bought from pricey shops. But I enjoyed my childhood still even without expensive toys.
I didn’t have toys when I was a kid too but I enjoyed my childhood a lot just playing piko under the moon with my friends, it completes my whole day.
I agree with you… high tech gadgets are not physical games that will exercise only their mental abilities. Those inexpensive toys like these bow and arrow. Kids will definitely move and exert effort that will help them develop their motor skills.
sometimes, the cheaper toys are more educational and promote physical growth. Yahweh bless.
I agree with you. In my time, there was no PSP and those super techie gadgets that we have nowadays. But i did enjoy my childhood. Haha!
toys has to be not expensive but educational at the same time … i had it too when i was a kid … also toys that will last that when you grow up , it will remind you how your childhood was… sometimes the condition of th outgrown toys reflects the person’s personality on his adulthood.
I have always believed that physical games are more beneficial to children than computer games.
It was board games for us growing up – and lots of playing outside! Now, it’s all computers, ipad, iphone, wii for my kids..totally different! So now, I’m pushing them to go out and play outside! lol!