Classic and timeless toys are the way to go
I’ve written about keeping children’s toy clutter under control in the past and I also recommended some toy alternatives here and there. Simple Mom has a great post on a similar theme, but specifically classic toys. It’s an article that should be read by anyone planning to give a gift to a child.
My daughter has received some rather gimmicky toys over her first couple years and we have been pretty good at predicting which toys will be the duds. The classics are always reliable and have proven their entertainment value by their staying power. That’s why we purchased our daughter some basic wooden blocks this past Christmas. They are simple, versatile, and provide imaginative play for our daughter. Blocks are among the classic toys mentioned by Simple Mom along with art supplies, dress-up clothes, books, and dolls (among others):
Our general guidelines for toys are that they’re made of quality materials, they appeal to a whole range of kids, and they’re open-ended to make room for all sorts of creative play.
I also encourage you to browse around Simple Mom’s site. It is a great read for those of us who are dealing with being a uncluttered parent.
15 comments posted
Posted by Michele - 01/12/2009
My children are of the four-legged variety, but my husband and I were just saying this weekend that simple, classic toys are the clear winners. Our girls ignore the fancy doo-dads and go right for their cardboard box “condominium” and string-and-dowel-rod toy. My husband is handy and gets a lot of pride out of making toys for both pets and kids, and they almost always win out over something packaged in plastic.
Posted by Stephanie - 01/12/2009
When I was a kid, my grandmother & granddad had that same set of blocks. They were my dad’s when he was a kid. My siblings & I played with them every time we visited! We loved those things. I am so tired of buying my nieces toys that break in a month because of poor quality. I’m going back to the basics!
Posted by Peter (a different one) - 01/12/2009
I just give my son a rusty can and a sharp stick! That’s what we had and darn it we like it!
Posted by infmom - 01/12/2009
My brothers and I had those blocks when we were kids, and so did a lot of our friends.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, take time to drive past the Disney studios in Burbank sometime. Their big addition to the main campus (the one with Dopey holding up the roof peak) looks like it was put together out of a giant size version of those blocks.
Posted by Beverly D - 01/12/2009
We just had my 2 and 1/2 year old grandson here for a week. His favorite “toy” was the large cardboard carton the new hot water heater came in. My husband attached a towel to the open end with duct tape (yes he’s an engineer) for a door and cut a window in the side. All the toys ended up in the box, along with the child, for endless games of his creation and imagination.
Posted by momofthree - 01/12/2009
Oh the joys of a huge appliance carton!!!
adults who pop bubblewrap just didn’t get enough play time when kids, in my humble opinion!!!
My personal childhood favorite is LEGO and my kids, ages 18, 15, 13 all get a kick out of the fact that they can’t tell where my OLD (circa 1960′s) LEGO begins and their new stuff (circa 1990′s) ends!!
My youngest is playing with some right now….I am going to go and join him!!!
Posted by Organize Room - 01/12/2009
That reminds me that I need to get some link n logs for my son, or spend a day at my grandpa’s and make up some blocks myself.
The nice thing about timeless toys it they usually fit in a box, or if not look much better on the shelf then the bright, noisy odd shaped toys =)
Posted by tabatha - 01/12/2009
i love buying classic wooden toys for my friends kids. i got my godson a wooden pizza set and he loved it. i also got him some play money that comes in a wooden box. i think its put up till he gets older but it was really cool.
Posted by Bob Allen - 01/12/2009
When our kids were little (they’re 27 and 25 now), I made them a set of blocks for them — like what you gave to your daughter. Another Christmas, I made them a rocking boat that, when turned over, was a set of steps — a lot like the one pictured here: http://www.communityplaythings.....s/V43.html
They loved them.
Posted by jgodsey - 01/12/2009
have you forgotten something? the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act will put nearly all of the handmade toy companies out of business. As it stands all handmade toys much be tested after Feb 10th, that’s about ten thousand dollars for each product, that will put all them out of business unless congress passes a special rider for them.
Posted by Joy (from Just Plain Joy) - 01/14/2009
Some of you may be interested in this post on 20 Tips for Simple Parenting (http://justplainjoy.blogspot.c.....nting.html).
Posted by philip - 01/14/2009
I grew up with a elderly neighbor a few houses down and she had a small set of blocks in the closet for us to play with. We would sit over there and build stuff for hours, but I honestly think a big part of why it was so great was that she sat there and gave us her full attention while we were doing it.
Dont underestimate the time that you spend with them with those toys, and all the new electronic toys have them sit there and be quiet but it does not matter to them if you are with them.
Posted by Andrea Dickson - 01/14/2009
My father made me a dollhouse when I was three. It was amazing, and it got years of use.
Posted by falwyn - 01/17/2009
I echo jgodsey above – and urge people to go to http://handmadetoyalliance.org and http://nationalbankruptcyday.com to find out more about it – and write your senators and congressmen (they have links that make it an easy process). Please. I love classic toys and hate the idea that all I’ll be able to buy after Feb. 10th will be plastic crap made by the huge corporations who are able to afford the testing – even though why should wool and wood even need to be tested?
Posted by Luke Gedeon - 01/23/2009
I think one of the key criteria for a good toy is if you can lose half of the pieces and still enjoy playing with it. Most games and, of course, puzzles can become useless/un-fun after losing just a few pieces. Actually, Uno has become one of my favorite games because you can still play the game after losing half the cards like we have. Blocks are in the same category. You just play with the blocks you can find.
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