Games and toys
Thinking about kids these days, their access to technology, their toys, all the things that are offered to them in this “modern world” of ours brought about memories of my own childhood.
Some would probably say I was a rather spoiled brat, having all the toys I could possibly want, from “legos” and “meccanos” to electric trains, from board games to bikes, everything really.
I also got the best of two worlds, getting to spend much of my time up north in the farm I could have everything a city boy gets plus everything a country boy gets, without actually having any of the country boy’s usual nags, working in the fields, taking care of the animals, etc… However whenever I was in the farm I would do some chores of my own free will, it didn’t seem bad to me because it wasn’t imposed on me.
But whether in the city or in the countryside, no matter how many toys I had, I always loved to make my own toys.
Flippers machines (made with wood boards, nails, rubber bands and clothes pegs), slingshots, boats and rafts (great for playing in the river), kites, downhill cars, tree houses and sheds, etc…
Some may think most of these things are lost, but when faced with the chance to make their own toys kids of today will act the same, a bit of imagination and the toys they make are far better than anything you can buy.
Of course this works fine when the parents and relatives take their time to play with the kids. I was lucky at that too. And I also try and take some of my time to play with “our” kids, I just hope that if GH and I ever get kids of our own I manage to get enough quality time for them also… the will to play is no worry, I’m almost always in the mood to play, maybe because I’m just a big grownup kid.
Some would probably say I was a rather spoiled brat, having all the toys I could possibly want, from “legos” and “meccanos” to electric trains, from board games to bikes, everything really.
I also got the best of two worlds, getting to spend much of my time up north in the farm I could have everything a city boy gets plus everything a country boy gets, without actually having any of the country boy’s usual nags, working in the fields, taking care of the animals, etc… However whenever I was in the farm I would do some chores of my own free will, it didn’t seem bad to me because it wasn’t imposed on me.
But whether in the city or in the countryside, no matter how many toys I had, I always loved to make my own toys.
Flippers machines (made with wood boards, nails, rubber bands and clothes pegs), slingshots, boats and rafts (great for playing in the river), kites, downhill cars, tree houses and sheds, etc…
Some may think most of these things are lost, but when faced with the chance to make their own toys kids of today will act the same, a bit of imagination and the toys they make are far better than anything you can buy.
Of course this works fine when the parents and relatives take their time to play with the kids. I was lucky at that too. And I also try and take some of my time to play with “our” kids, I just hope that if GH and I ever get kids of our own I manage to get enough quality time for them also… the will to play is no worry, I’m almost always in the mood to play, maybe because I’m just a big grownup kid.
posted by DCveR at 5:25 PM
10 Comments:
Tall Glass: One thing I was never good at was to create something on demand. Sure I designed our home office furniture and a few other things, but I could never do that on a regular basis, that is one thing I admire on architects and designers, the ability to create something a client orders.
my father made a lot of my toys as a baby. i wish i still had those!
Wanna hear something weird? My kids have overflowing toy-boxes which they totally ignore. Instead, I'm constantly battling them to stay out of the boardgames. They own 900 dolls and action figures, but the little plastic markers become people and the game board becomes the house.
Imagination is great and all, but what do you think would happen if I got rid of the toys? Suddenly the games wouldn't seem so appealing anymore.
With regards to your post; now I understand why you seem to be such a balanced and reasonable individual - you had a balanced and reasonable childhood.
that is for sure, a child should be given room to create, imagine and come up with their own toys, rather than just being "fed" ready-made stuff.
in Africa where i grew up, there was no Toys R us, so my friends and i used to make dolls out of "campim" (grass roots) and we had a ball!
it seems like you had a fantastic childhood though. :D
I agree that Kinetic Learning works wonders. It builds confidence and encourages exploration. It was always more rewarding to create something on your own. Learning and playing were one and the same.
You should never stop playing. All of those amazing successful people that you read about are actually 'playing' at work and everything else just falls into place.
bees knees: I bet you loved those better than any others!
chill daddy: The credit should all go to my parents then.
nyasha: I've seen several documentaries on african children and believe it or not I always pay a lot of attention to their toys.
homo escapeons: Well, walk into any chemistry lab and you'll find a bunch of kids in white coats! And plenty of them with gray hair!!! ;)
You are indeed a very lucky man, DCver... and I bet you and GH will become great parents once it comes to that.
BB
Kids think I'm their age. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Neverrrr stop playing, Dcver.
You and GH will certainly have kids, D, remember? TWINS!!!! It's your destiny! :)
ariadne: Hope so. It really is a harder thing than it may seem. Being good uncle/aunt is easy, we don't have to take care of the kids 24/7 every day of the year...
Kris: You and I will have some issues to settle if that happens! You have a set of voodoo dolls with our names and two little twins stitched to them, haven't ya? I wonder why so many people say that to us...
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