Being a parent these days is hard enough without having to worry about the effect toys have on your child’s growth and mental development. This is a problem largely solved by sites that specialize in educational toys rather than the usual guns and dolls.
Some of the great old wooden toys are in high demand these days and, like their predecessors, will likely become family heirlooms and collectors’ items. Yes, indeed, some of today’s contemporary toys will indeed become tomorrow’s classic toys.
One big breakthrough in children’s toys, however, is the exponential growth in the number of science and discovery type toys showcasing the old chemistry sets of yesteryear with all sorts of exciting experiments to perform, including building your own! own operational rocket!
Preschool toys now include wonderful electronic gadgets built into them, making the learning activity toy market one of the fastest growing areas due to the current low cost of electronics. Young babies can even kick and slap things just to make noise, so maybe this is an education in the wrong direction.
Fisher Price toys are still going strong and have a variety of offerings from the humble building block type of toy to the most sophisticated gadgets on the planet when it comes to kids toys.
Musical toys of yesteryear, like the timeless music box, seem to be on the decline and are being replaced by things like synthesizer organs and even karaoke machines.
No doubt, kids today are spoiled for choice when it comes to buying the right educational toy or otherwise, from early learning toys for toddlers and babies to the near-laptop standard of kids. Leapfrog learning systems.
What happened to the classic Meccano and the standard Lego?
These days, if you go to a toy store, even these old favorites have been turned into technical marvels with robot building kits that actually interact and can even feel and see.
Cowboys and cowgirls on their imaginary horses and ponies (commonly known as Space Hopper!) can now be upgraded to a full-size electronic pony that, wait, even talks!
As for exterior toys, electric vehicles are now available, from scooters and motorcycles to full-on 4×4 jeeps in all shapes and colors. These could even be described as educational for the simple fact that they prepare young children for the day when they actually have their own full-size legal version of these street-riding toys.
Many children also love the idea of their own house and there are also many plastic and wooden chalets to buy so they can learn housekeeping in the future!
However, real toy education today is really about parental education by children on how to put that hand in their pocket and afford these wonderful educational toys in the first place.