Five Reasons Why Old Favorites are Still Your Best Best for Holiday Toy Giving
Flashy toys like hand-held video games and singing and dancing cartoon characters might get all the attention on the hot toy lists, but old favorites like dolls, train-sets, easels and toy kitchens will never lose their places in the hearts of children. While it can be tempting to go with the latest and greatest when choosing holiday gifts for your children, there are plenty of reasons why it pays to stick with the tried and true.
1. Old favorites tend to have long-lasting play value. We’re talking years, not weeks or months. While an animated doll or video game soon loses it’s novelty, toys like blocks, dolls and wooden vehicles can grow with your child and provide them with years of fun. Look for toys that have the potential to hold your child’s interest and adapt to their increasingly sophisticated imaginations and abilities instead of toys that are only appealing for a short window of time.
2. Old favorites aren’t as widely advertised as trendy toys. Of course, there isn’t a direct correlation between playing with a highly-marketed toy and materialism, but it probably doesn’t help parents whose goal is to avoid materialism, either. Many new mass-market toys also come with commercial tie-ins to movies and television which only reinforces the idea that consumerism is a part of everything we watch, see and do. Providing toys that aren’t attached to major marketing campaigns and entertainment franchises can help your child understand that it’s important to look beyond the media hype when making choices about what to eat, play with, wear and emulate.
3. Old favorites encourage flexible, imaginative play instead of allowing the child to be a passive observer. Toys that don’t come packaged with back-stories, plots and ending points force a child to exercise their own imagination and become and active director of their own play. For example, a set of building blocks could become a city, an army of robots, a dollhouse or a spaceship. A plain baby doll could be used to play endless variations of house, school, daycare, doctors office or store.
4. Old favorites can help a child increase their attention span in a positive way. Children who become immersed in puzzles, building blocks, arts and crafts or a game of house are learning how sustained, focused attention can help them accomplish a goal or further a story-line. Each time they play, they stretch their attention spans a little more and learn how to incorporate what they’ve learned before into more sophisticated narratives or more polished game-play.
5. Old favorites don’t require constant batteries and are usually built to last. With the exception of art supplies (which can be converted into lasting pieces of art), most reputable manufacturers of traditional toys build their toys to last by using quality materials and sound construction. In addition, a lack of delicate electronic parts keeps toys in working conditions for far longer. Electronic and cheaply made plastic stoys often can’t be repaired in an inexpensive way, require an expensive and environmentally unfriendly supply of fresh batteries and can quickly become passe as the next hot thing comes along.
Co-authors Jacob and Carol Maslow enjoy sharing their experience and expertise on children, toys and the importance of play. In addition to raising five young children, Carol works as a therapist specializing in helping developmentally delayed preschoolers integrate with their classmates. Jacob works at Today’s Concept, where parents can find classic toys, included the highly regarded Melissa and Doug brand of toys and puppets.
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