From “Three Kids? You Showoffs” in the Washington Post:
Today’s American children, by contrast, get an average of 70 new toys a year, yet child development experts agree that the best toys are simple playthings such as blocks, balls and figurines that a child can play with over and over, in new ways. When I was growing up, a sticker was something precious that a stationery store owner would carefully cut off a roll and sell for 25 cents. Today, a made-in-China jumbo book of 600 stickers can be bought at CVS for $6.99. Something has been lost in this ostensibly positive development.
heather | 18-Apr-08 at 12:49 pm | Permalink
Around my house, I’m constantly hearing the sentence, “Why do we even buy him toys?” The two-and-a-half year old loves to play with the water bottles and tupperware-type bowls. At my friend’s house (who doesn’t have children), all the children who come over ask her to get out her measuring cups and spoons. Why? Because one day she gave the ones she wasn’t currently using to cook whatever meal she was making to one of the children to keep him busy (and not bothering her). He wanted to “play” with what she was “playing” with. Ever since, it’s almost all they want.