Kids (and Parents) Talk Toys

Are parents and kids on the same page when it comes to toys?

By
Parker Barry
Categories

Toys are an essential part of childhood, whether homemade, mass-produced or kid-improvised — like a treasured stick found on a walk. As parents, we have fond memories of our most-beloved toys, and our preferences for what our kids play with may not always match their wishes. Toca Magazine talked to some kids and their parents to find out what they love about toys.

What was your favorite toy as a kid?

  • Elizabeth’s dad: I’d have to say my 201 Electronics Kit from Radio Shack.
  • Jacob’s dad: I had a collection of Muscle Men — probably a hundred of them.
  • Lucas’s mom: LEGOs.
  • Eleanor’s mom: My dollhouse.

What do you look for in toys you buy for your kids?

  • Elizabeth’s dad: I want toys that are sturdy. I like toys that aren’t passive, that challenge them to create.
  • Jacob’s dad: Something that allows for imagination. Things that help develop fine-motor skills with hands-on manipulation.
  • Lucas’s mom: Something they can build with, things that promote creativity.
  • Eleanor’s mom: Educational and durable.

What toys do your kids most enjoy playing with you?

  • Elizabeth’s dad: LEGOs, chess, board games, electronics kits.
  • Jacob’s dad: Outdoor stuff: swings, soccer, Frisbee. We’re just getting to the age where card games are fun. He got UNO for Christmas, and we’re really enjoyed playing that.
  • Lucas’s mom: Board games.
  • Eleanor’s mom: LEGOs.

What’s your favorite toy?

  • Elizabeth, 6: My Gross Science Kit.
  • Jacob, 6: LEGOs! That’s it!
  • Lucas, 7: LEGOs.
  • Eleanor, 9: Rollerblades.

What’s a toy that you miss playing with? What happened to it?

  • Elizabeth, 6: Chutes and Ladders. I’m not sure what happened to it. (Dad says: Mom didn’t like playing it and got rid of it.)
  • Jacob, 6: I’m missing Thomas the Train stuff. I don’t play with them anymore because I grew up and I don’t like those trains now.
  • Lucas, 7: My Chuck and Friends truck set. I broke it.
  • Eleanor, 9: A baby doll that broke. It used to talk, but its head fell off. We put the head back on, but the doll won’t talk anymore.

What’s the BEST gift you remember getting? What was so great about it?

  • Elizabeth, 6: My gumball machine! I really wanted it.
  • Lucas, 7: LEGOs! You can be creative and build all sorts of things.
  • Eleanor, 9: My iPad. I like playing games on it.

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