Kids don't like toys anymore

[The Ween]

They might very well play with toys just as much as we did,but one things for sure,kids mature faster these days so toys are for kids under 9-10.
As a Kid i never had a computer,mobile phone(obviously) which kids have today so...
I had a NES but the games were too simple back then to sit for hours at a time so for me it was all about Cartoons and Toys.

When i was a kid,my father told me about things he did during his childhood,and i thought that was lame.Same way kids would think about me if i told them what i grew up with.

Believe me, kids don't mature faster. There's a difference between growing up faster and maturity. Some kids are forced to grow up fast, it's not always a choice.

 

[Adolfo]

A lot of assumptions on bad parenting leading to kids liking electronics so much going on here. I wonder if these people are actually parents??

My 9 year old girl enjoys watching Netflix on her iPod, playing Poptropica on the family laptop and enjoying just Dance 4 on the XBOX 360.

I must be a horrible ****ing parent.

I would spend hours on my original Nintendo playing Zelda, Mario Bros, Contra...

My parents must've been horrible ****ing parents.

Oh wait, my kids never go without food on their plates, a roof over their heads, hugs, kisses and "I love you"'s?

Nope, I'm still a horrible ****ing parent.

Oh but my daughter is a straight A student and volunteers or is chosen for every community involvement project at her school.

Wait...she has a personal DVD player.

Yep, definitely a horrible ****ing parent.

She can go days not watching TV because she is drawing, playing with dolls or creating dioramas for the fun of it.

Wait...we have a TV she has access to?

....I sure hope she doesn't become an axe murderer.

Then you are just freakin lucky or are truly involved as parents

 

[Rotfish]

I disagree I think it is the opposite of that, toys now are much better than before and there is much more selection. I mean with the internet you can have any toy from now or from any other year. Sure some toys are hundreds but there is a lot of toys for kids to play with. I don't remember there being so many choices when I was little.
there is a lot now.

Yeah, with the internet. You get plenty of choices there, but it's like snoozeville walking into a TRU. Bionicles are gone (and they were getting less mechanical and more sculpted towards the end of their run). Even back in the late 90s and early 2000s you could walk into a TRU and they had such a wide variety of stuff. Nearly every TV show had plenty of merchandise. You had Jurassic Park, Animorphs, McFarlane figures that were actually good, comic book figures, GI Joes. Now the figures are limited to just two or three aisles and they carry only a handful of licenses.

Not to mention LCSs were better too. At least for me. A little less than a decade ago, TFAW had all sorts of figures and collectibles, many of which were imported. They even had some stuff that was up to ten years old! Tons of different licenses, just a huge section for toys, plus models and statues. Two-thirds of the store was dedicated to stuff like that. Now it's a mere one-third, if that.



Oh, and remember KB Toys? That place was a goldmine. It was where the nichey and mainstream toys met and I remember I could find anything that TRU didn't have (for whatever freak of nature reason) at that store.

I would generally have to disagree. If I was a kid today I would have a blast with figures like the HALO ones and the Gears Of War to name a couple. The wrestling figures they have out now and the superheros are great.

I grew up in the 70's and some of my fondest memories were with little green army men and building fortresses in the sandbox. Friends and I would spend hours upon hours building fortresses in the sand box and then knocking them down with rocks. We had great times.

Kids today just don't know how to pretend. Some of it is not their fault though. A lot of things we did are not PC anymore. We played cops and robbers, war, and cowboys and indians. We would even play this stuff at recess using our fingers as guns. What happens now when little kids use their fingers as guns? Suspension? Detention? It's a shame really.

The Halo and Gears of War figures aren't really mainstream toys, though. Yes, they're low-end but they're not marketed to children necessarily. I'm talking about the figures you're actually meant to play with. The paint jobs and quality are crappier, the licenses are fewer, and the prices are higher than ever. Superheroes and wrestling figs are okay but they've also taken a hit, at least in the price and quality department.

I'm with you on the recess thing. In the early 2000s using fingers as guns was frowned upon, which was a huge bummer for my friends and I. Supervisors would remind you not to do it, yet they were somehow okay with fake fist fights and bow-and-arrows (and we still feigned bloody deaths all the same).

 

[OSCORP]

It has finally come true

[ame]https://youtu.be/KMy1zO8m8sM[/ame]

 

[a-dev]

When I was a child the shame was that kids were playing with action figures instead of being outside playing football. Now the shame is that kids are playing video games and not playing with action figures. Theres always something to lament about what kids are doing to occupy themselves now.

However, yeah, as a huge fan of toys I regret that kids are looking to computer games and not the stuff we all loved and continue to love.

 

[DiFabio]

It has finally come true

https://youtu.be/KMy1zO8m8sM

Lil' Frodo Baggins.

 

[cplhicks]

This is a great thread and a trend that I have been personally noticing myself.

Action figures aren't as interesting to kids as electronic toys are. I grew up with action figures and I loved them. I have very intricate and involved story lines that would play out for days before rebooting the story and starting fresh.

I have a stash of Bucky O Hare figures I am keeping aside separate from my collection that I will be saving for my kids. I plan on getting on the floor and playing with them.

 

[Duck]

Oh, and remember KB Toys? That place was a goldmine. It was where the nichey and mainstream toys met and I remember I could find anything that TRU didn't have (for whatever freak of nature reason) at that store.

LOVED KB toys. I was so sad when they closed down. I was able to get all the Wrestling action figures their that I couldn't find anywhere else.

 

[crows]

you know what this means....

 

[UltraMarknus]

What I said was MOSTLY tongue in cheek. I really didn't take it personally or get upset. Everyone has an opinion on how a child should be raised...and they will share it with you. Kids are kids and they are all different. No matter what parenting they recieve, a lot is pre-programmed. My 2 children are polar opposites when compared at the same age. If anything, my son, who is younger, has recieved more "parenting" at this stage in life because my wife and I work primarily from home. He is mischievious and absolutely not to be trusted . My daughter, at 2.5, was possibly the perfect child. Parenting will always be over and incorrectly analyzed because no one has a clue how to be the perfect parent for every (if any) child.

I think a major issue with toys today is they take a lot of the creative "juices" out of the children. Most of them talk, shoot out things or just...I don't know...are set up in a way to tell the child how to play with them. If that makes sense.

This really became apparent to me when I watch my son and his toys. He has no sustained interest in anything that makes noises, is out of scale, etc. He'd rather make up the story. I got him a Cars Pit Crew Mater and he won't touch it because of the damn headset attached to him.

 

[devilof76]

I think a lot of the complaining about how other people raise their kids is hot air. It doesn't matter if children's toys become more technologically advanced. The only thing that matters is the level of mental activity the child maintains, and material objects do not cause mental activity. It's self-initiated. The toy is just an impetus for creative interaction. It's a tool. It does not define the purpose that the child sets for that tool, or whether the child will pursue a purpose in the first place. If they're going to be drooling idiots, they will be drooling idiots whether they have wooden toys or a PS3. Intellectual sloth is a product of moral character, and that comes from parents and teachers primarily, but ultimately, the burden rests with the child themself.

 

[Eli26]

I think a lot of the complaining about how other people raise their kids is hot air. It doesn't matter if children's toys become more technologically advanced. The only thing that matters is the level of mental activity the child maintains, and material objects do not cause mental activity. It's self-initiated. The toy is just an impetus for creative interaction. It's a tool. It does not define the purpose that the child sets for that tool, or whether the child will pursue a purpose in the first place. If they're going to be drooling idiots, they will be drooling idiots whether they have wooden toys or a PS3. Intellectual sloth is a product of moral character, and that comes from parents and teachers primarily, but ultimately, the burden rests with the child themself.

Are you done yet?

*throws pie at your face*

 

[Deedzy]

I got my son a Nintendo 3DS XL for Xmas and some lego and while he enjoys the 3DS he has spent 90% of his time on the kitchen table building spaceships with his lego, I couldn't be more proud

 

[devilof76]

Are you done yet?

*throws pie at your face*

*misses by a country mile*

I did save some in case someone decided to throw a pie at my face, but I've just now decided to keep it to myself.

 

[Deedzy]

My son is currently enjoying the hell out of his Imaginext Batman toys (I bought him the whole lot) and my daughter her Monster High dolls. My guess is if the parents are too busy with their faces buried in tablets, smartphones and computers, rather than spending time with their children and rely on TV/movies/videogames to raise their children, the children will follow suit.

Exactly .


Pity is these sorts of parents don't realize what they are missing until its too late.

 

[devilof76]

Parents ignoring their children is obviously going to destroy any relationship with their children, but to assume that children owning tech implies neglect (or stunted creative development) is an overly broad generalization.

 

[CelticPredator]

Perhaps. But regardless what we say to hid it, what we mean is, toys are cool, and ipads suck ass. Not as fun as a toy.

Well, at least until you hit about 12. Then it becomes the tool to the greatest toy.

 

[ironwez20]

The new ninja turtle line seems to be doing well this year. My nephew loved them.

 

[devilof76]

Perhaps. But regardless what we say to hid it, what we mean is, toys are cool, and ipads suck ass. Not as fun as a toy.

Well, at least until you hit about 12. Then it becomes the tool to the greatest toy.

My niece is 12 and she was ecstatic when she opened her Kindle Fire. The girl reads like a fiend.

 

[Jameson Rook]

They are not into visual mediums either. My 9 year old cousin wants to see the Dark Knight trilogy but doesn't want to touch the wonderful BTAS, same thing with her 21 year old brother.

In the end me and my 35 year old buddy did a BTAS marathon starting with "Christmas with the Joker". I guess in some people's eyes we're the retarded man-child.