Toys and Games – Reviews and News

I posted a question recently on answer bank and was really surprised at the response.

My question was what do you reckon was the best toy you ever owned?

First reply was etch a sketch, I  too had one of those and got hours of fun out of it.

Next up was Hungry Hippos probably one game that most people have either owned or heard of.

Someone else said it was a yo yo and another juggling balls which kept them amused for hours.

Football was mentioned utilising Mums washing line to make  your own makeshift goalposts in the back garden. Also a boomerang.

Another real old favourite was lego which I suppose really took over from mecano.

For the girls there was of course Sindy, My Little Ponies, and of course Barbie Doll.

The strange thing is if you notice out of all the replies there is only one game which requires more than one to play.

Wonder what that says about our childhoods or do we just  prefer our own company? Maybe we were simply just used to amusing ourselves better, thats my theory anyway!

I suppose when I look at all the different toys what strikes me most is the lack of computer games. It seems that the good old fashioned traditional toys are the ones that seem to stand the test of time and its those we remember best!

What do you think?

Many town and city centres are rapidly changing as an increasing number of people turn to the internet for their shopping. Traditional toy shops are one type of town centre outlets that appear to be dieing off.

When I was a lad I loved to go into our local town with my mum and dad just to gaze in amazement at the bewildering array of fantastic toys in the window of the town’s toy shop. If we were to go inside I can recall being so excited that I would nearly wet myself. How times have changed.

While there are still a few national chains with outlets in some cities and towns, the smaller, local, independent toy shops have all but died out. Replaced by out of town warehouse style outlets and, of course, the internet.

Shopping for toys online, whilst being immensely convenient and economical, lacks the magic that a visit to the local independent, traditional toy shop used to have. Children can’t really appreciate or even understand a toy until they have touched it and maybe taken it for a test-play. From a child’s perspective the internet can’t really compete.

What’s the answer? Well there isn’t one. While grown-ups seek convenience and economy, children miss out on the magical experience that a visit to their local toy shop used to be.

Do you have a DVD system in the car to keep the kids entertained? Is the DVD system your sanctuary so you do not have to engage with the children?

Surely kids already watch too much TV? Do you really want to subject their eyesight to a 7″ LCD screen which is bobbing up and down during a typical journey.

Don’t get me wrong, TV is not a total evil for little ones, it’s like anything, all good things in moderation. If I am with children I prefer to sing songs and engage with them. There is always a selection of CD’s available that hold a multitude of children’s songs which if anything are fun to learn.

A few years ago I just happened to be watching bid-up TV when a pack of 10 Childrens CD’s were on – I brought one and they are still in use today. I have never seen the same pack again which is a shame as there are plenty of other children who would enjoy the variety of songs which were recorded.

The closest that I have found to this is a CD on the Mulberry Bush site. The CD features a collection of 18 songs including ‘The wheels on the bus’, ‘Ten green bottles’, ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ and ‘clap your hands’.

Now in fairness I am aware that 18 children songs won’t go a long way if you are on a four hour drive. But there are also other alternatives, there are loads of story books including all the Roald Dahl stories on CD, and these are excellently narrated stories which children and adults alike can enjoy. But don’t segregate your children, enjoy stories with them.

Children love the interaction, and do you know what? Give it a chance and so will you!

Mulberry Bush – Children’s Travel Songs
Amazon – Roald Dahl Story CD’s

Where do you start with buying a learning toy for a child?

Are you the harassed Uncle or Auntie wondering what to buy a niece or nephew? Are you a puzzled Mum or Dad wondering what toy may connect with your child and develop them further?

Truth be told there are simply too many toys for parents to choose from and guess what the parents choice is typically narrowed by advertisers and peer pressure.

Look at every Christmas, there is typically a mad stampede for the en-vogue toy of choice, which inavriably ends-up in the obscure never-never land of the back of the wardrobe once the novelty wears off.

Another factor is are those buying presents actually that bothered whether a toy is going to have the right benefit for the child? My guess and experience is not, but you may disagree.

Do the likes of Argos, Woolworths and Toys R Us and the like actually give people the right choices? Or are mass marketed, mass produced, easy win, easy buy toys with attractive packaging co-ersing people into making an impulse purchase.

Have you ever tried asking a member of staff on whether a specific toy would be good for a childs reading, or writing or arithmitec skills? They haven’t a clue and subsequently a child is then in the hands of the gods.

Unfortunately this is endemic of society and the fast speedy world in which we live in which everything must be done at a pace. Thankfully there are a number of stores which do care about children and that do care about what toys they play with.

Traditional toys, wooden toys, retro toys, learning toys, educational toys call them what you like, they still have a place in homes up and down the UK, it is just a pity that so many people do not get to know about these stores.

I have purchased many of these ‘traditional toys’ but not from the big high street stores, I have always found the time to be purposeful about certain toy purchases. That is not to say that I do not enjoy a visit to Toys R Us? Of course I do, all that fun in one place. All I am saying is don’t expect to find toys that will make use of your child’s imagination and nurture their learning.

My favourite Toy Shops include Mulberry Bush Online Toy Shop which is great for Traditional Toys and Hamleys which is an absolute Aladdins cave!