Let me first look at what are considered traditional toys. I will look at them in no special order and take the BOOKS first.

Books are not so much toys, but essential elements for communication and education. The fact that they generate enjoyment and pleasure makes them a “toy” in my opinion. It’s wonderful as a grandpa to read the old fairy tales and nursery rhymes from the same books you read to your own children! The tales are timeless and tell the stories of good and evil, the beautiful and the ugly, of bold actions and not-so-bold actions, the hiding of good nature and that appearances alone are not the only factor. Storybooks with their drawings are the child’s way of learning about life, feelings and the recognition of emotions and thus their other toys become part of their learning and education process. For other toys I present the SOFT TOY as the next traditional toy.

These stuffed animals are the true traditional toys. At Antiques Roadshow, they display teddy bears and china dolls as real collector’s items, worth a lot of money. To a boy, however, the teddy or stuffed dog or rag doll is an essential member of her family who is loyal to him and loves him back at uncertain times of night or day; who they can slap around and take out their frustrations on, who never complains. All of my children have had a “security blanket” toy; Mary, my eldest daughter, had a lamb, which as the rhyme goes, went everywhere Mary did (the trauma when you lose a toy like that is unbelievable!) and my son Peter had a rabbit and this rabbit’s ears were chewed up and they had to be replaced. Quite often. Even in their thirties they have a drawer with these toys and have shown their children their “friend”! Troubled children who engage in emotional behavior often need the security of a soft toy. Doll parties, doctors, nurses and shops are games that help children get used to the outside world and communicate with the family and their toys. Teachers say that young children who enter school between the ages of 4 1/2 and 5 have difficulty listening and speaking because they spend too much time in front of the TV and do not have the participation of parents’ playtime . Listening to my granddaughter talk to her stuffed toys and lining them up is a joy as her imagination is so vivid.

Then I come to the outdoor toys that give the child freedom and exercise. SOCCER BALLS, SWINGS, BATS, BALLS, HOOPS and many more. The equipment has changed over the years, but the “toys” they play with are more or less the same and give the child the ability to physically grow stronger and stretch. Also the ride on toys: the bicycle, the tricycle, the pedal cars, the planes, the scooters, are a great way to learn discipline and are a great way to have fun and exercise and strengthen the little bodies.

WOODEN TOYS are my next toy. The bricks for building, the tops to turn, the wooden cart to push, and the wooden foot to push the floor. These toys have been remade in the cheapest plastic, but I am concerned about the toxicity of the plastic that is always put in children’s mouths. Wooden toys give the child freedom of imagination and creativity in the game. With the creation of “Meccano” in the 1950s and later of Lego, boys and girls had the opportunity to become embryonic engineers and the dexterity of hands and fingers became very important.

When the weather was bad or the night was dark and long and the kids’ TV didn’t go on past 6 o’clock, BOARD GAMES were a wonderful way for a family to get together and create a competitive atmosphere and learn about winning. and lose. My middle daughter never quite mastered losing, she has become a very successful leader in her field and she still remembers the games she lost! This is a very important lesson in life, there are both winners and losers!

For me, traditional toys helped family coexistence, established and expanded relationships within the family. They also helped children take responsibility for their belongings, putting them away and not leaving them out to rot and rust. They also learned to be responsible for their own space. The preschooler learns a lot through his toys and later in school, he learns the social interaction of toys and the joy of sharing.

Here I show my age and resistance to change! I have enjoyed the gradual development of television and spend time in front of the television watching programs that I enjoy, but I also like to use the off button and there is no time in my life to watch television during the day. There is more to life. If children sit in front of a television from a very young age, their comprehension is limited because the moving images move too fast for their comprehension. If the parents watch for a short time with the child and watch an age-related program, the benefits are learning new words and sayings, learning colors, numbers and letters. It is a shared experience and the parents can repeat the sayings and it becomes an ongoing experience. If the child is alone in front of the screen, there is very little benefit, but I know from experience that she is a wonderful babysitter!

Television is a fantastic invention, but it has changed the world, the family and society in many ways for the worse. In England, families don’t eat as a family around a table, they have trays in front of the checkout. Mealtime was a time when the family talked and aired things out, sometimes quite noisily, but at least the family communicated. TV is a great educator, and some shows are really interesting and kids can learn a lot, but it’s hard to get them to watch them when the alternative is reality and their favorite celebrity is singing or dancing. In addition to television, family life has to deal with other electronic devices: the computer, the mobile phone, the notebook, the blackberry, the Nintendo DX, the Play Station, etc. Television can get quite addictive, but the other devices are very time consuming. It’s hard to compare a teddy bear to a small electronic device and not feel really old-fashioned. However, I find that children who have their heads on a small screen all the time seem to have less understanding of how life really works and have less social interaction and unless they have had some interaction with their parents they will be poor parents. Never in history has society been able to keep up with the news faster, learn fantastic facts, and see for the first time sights and wonders of nature never before seen with the naked eye.

Are we better for these inventions? Well, of course we are, but we have to be restrained and keep our traditional life in tandem with the new, using both old and new toys to improve our children, not just to keep them in possession of the newest gadget. . and obsessed with rapid change, but so that they can observe and become good citizens of the world and use their inventions to create a better environment