Comments on: Classic and timeless toys are the way to go

By: Luke Gedeon

Luke Gedeon — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 04:52:18 +0000

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.

By: falwyn

falwyn — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:34:42 +0000

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?

By: Andrea Dickson

Andrea Dickson — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:28:54 +0000

My father made me a dollhouse when I was three. It was amazing, and it got years of use.

By: philip

philip — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:08:06 +0000

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.

By: Joy (from Just Plain Joy)

Joy (from Just Plain Joy) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 07:29:12 +0000

Some of you may be interested in this post on 20 Tips for Simple Parenting (http://justplainjoy.blogspot.c.....nting.html).

By: jgodsey

jgodsey — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 04:17:42 +0000

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.

By: Bob Allen

Bob Allen — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 02:58:11 +0000

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.

By: tabatha

tabatha — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:52:39 +0000

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.

By: Organize Room

Organize Room — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:41:52 +0000

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 =)

By: momofthree

momofthree — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:39:02 +0000

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!!!

By: Beverly D

Beverly D — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:16:27 +0000

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.

By: infmom

infmom — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:45:52 +0000

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.

By: Peter (a different one)

Peter (a different one) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:33:33 +0000

I just give my son a rusty can and a sharp stick! That’s what we had and darn it we like it!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:15:38 +0000

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!

By: Michele

Michele — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:39:18 +0000

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.