If toy and game manufacturers actually had real parents and their kids test their products? Not just for 15minutes but sent the toys home with the families to test for a couple weeks. Imagine the possibilities!
Merce had a Fall Party at school today. Among the games the preschoolers played was one called Lucky Ducks. The kids loved the game, me not so much. The game in itself was enjoyable, but the whole time the game is running the ducks are quacking - LOUDLY! Imagine, volume control, or less frequent quacking; maybe only quacking when you put back a duck that doesn't match your card, or get this, the option to turn OFF the quacking while still allowing the game to run. Wouldn't that be grand?!?
Oh the things I would love to see: a return to more imagination toys with fewer batteries. Take the Fisher Price Little People line of toys. I had a schoolhouse growing up. I loved the thing, played with it all the time. No batteries, but there was a bell that rang. My kids have quite a few Little People (known as "dudes" around here) toys. We have a house, a garage, an airplane, bus... on and on. ALL of these use batteries. Yes, the house you can hear the toilet flush, the baby cry, the popcorn in the microwave, the washing machine, etc. Is this needed for fun, really? My kids lug the Dudes themselves everywhere. They don't play with the house or garage that often. When they do, they have more fun with the house and garage when it is turned off and not making noise than when it is - and mommy enjoys it more too. ;-)
And how about those Barbie houses? If I had a kitchen proportionally the same as Barbie's kitchen, It would be a 6ft ceiling, and would be about 3.5ft wide by 5.5ft long. Seriously. Her bed barely fits in the bedroom one way. And those cupboards, what do they fit, like 2 plates? Seriously disproportionate. Of course this is nothing new to Barbie. If I had her proportions, I would be a PERKY 40DD with a 30inch waist, and legs! Of course that couldn't happen, gravity plays in there, 40DDs would start to sag toward the knees without a titanium support system and if by chance you did manage to keep those gals alert, your back wouldn't be able to take the strain and you would walk like the Hunchback of Notredame.
Some toys have made huge improvements since "my day." Especially in educational areas. Leapfrog, for one, has some great learning toys - that are also fun. But in general it seems that toys are more cheaply made, break easier, require batteries and are LOUDER.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I always have to think as I am purchasing items for the boys about how many packages of batteries I am going to need. We also shop each year for toys for needy children and I really *try* to find toys w/o batteries. It is a real challenge!
ReplyDeleteLast year I did purchase a racetrack for the kiddo w/o batteries and he loves it. (I do too!) It was about $15 (on sale at Kohl's) and he can rearrange the set-up of the track in different ways.
I think that the battery dudes got together with the toy dudes so they could both come out richer.
As if we don't have enough noises in our life, lets add batteries to things to make even more noise. I have a couple of things that could use an off switch. I don't understand, is it cost prohibitive to add one? Best toys are still the things that aren't actually toys. Cups, spoons, rocks, tooth brushes.
ReplyDelete