Comments on: Create Your Own Adventure or Follow the Printed Instructions?

By: Kimberly Chapman

Kimberly Chapman — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 06:10:47 +0000

Yeah, the toy aisles in stores are damned scary. Confusing too, because the harder it is to find what you want, the more crap you have to walk past and they hope you’ll just grab it all.

Whenever we worry that our daughter has too many toys, we remind ourselves that both by number and volume, most of her toys were hand made by me. And the ones that weren’t are about 80% classic/vintage toys that have stood the ages, like real Lego and vintage Fisher Price Little People stuff.

I can’t hand-make proper Lego, and that’s totally okay. Some things are okay to be plastic and factory-made, if they’re a good, stable, long-term toy (and buying resale cuts the cost and the waste). I could knit a castle, I guess, but that vintage FPLP one is awesometastic and really, it’s more fun to play when the walls aren’t saggy.

We avoid electronic toys, especially anything that does all the work for the kids, like mooing and bleating animals. What’s the fun in having the cow moo for you? Our daughter would giggle once and then be bored.

The lure of the toy aisles will always be strong and kids with mostly handmade stuff will have their rebellions at one age or another where they want all of the junk, but in the end most of them will come to realize that the handmade stuff has value and lasts beyond most of the crap on the store shelves. And those few intergenerational gems like Lego and FPLP make up for a lot too. :)

By: Heather (errantdreams)

Heather (errantdreams) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:38:54 +0000

I wish you much good luck in teaching your children to appreciate hand-made things! Don't worry too much if they rebound to store-bought items at first; from my own experience as a daughter I can say that one often goes through such a phase before "recovering" later in life. ;) This year I made my mother a gorgeous pair of earrings, if I do say so myself, as well as a bookmark. It felt so good to be able to give her something I put so much of myself into planning and creating!

By: shara

shara — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 06:11:27 +0000

I quite enjoyed your post. I have daughters who yearn for things I can’t bear to buy them, but I give in now and then, though I try to keep it as in line with my personal convictions as possible. it’s difficult, balancing what they see as their needs in an immediate sense with what I see as their needs in a lifetime sense. this often makes me the wicked stepmother but oh well, mothers do the best they can. I’m sure at some point they’ll know I intend good more often than not.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:00:52 +0000

And, oh, I hit the button by accident — I love what you did, I think it was awesome to really try and meet this little girl’s wants even though it put you in that store!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:59:47 +0000

Agh, big plasticky toy stores really are a special hell. Our girl is almost 4 and we have managed to mostly avoid them, and the few times we have needed to stop in I swear, it gives me a headache.

I have found that what she loves is really, any gift. And what she continues to love are the simple, lovely, well-crafted things that she can do so much with. I am sad that a lot of it will be gone soon (thanks to the so-badly-thoughtout new CSPC rules), but hopeful that at least some will survive. And of course, I’ll always be able to make things for her!