But what got me thinking was the quality of those soldiers—or rather, the lack of quality in the set. Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to me to take any pictures of them, but their poor quality was obvious.
This prompted me to mention it to a good friend of mine, and what he said left me even more stunned: in a rather nonchalant tone, he told me, “Well, kids don’t even play with those anymore anyway.” This is very likely true—I’m not going to deny it—but the idea that we should just assume the quality of toys doesn’t matter because kids don’t play with them anyway strikes me as something worth examining.
While it’s true that we didn’t grow up with the technology available today—we didn’t grow up with a cell phone, tablet, or computer in our hands—I don’t think that justifies not making quality toys now. Nor should we assume that all children use phones; there will be some who won’t use a cell phone until they’re old enough, and that doesn’t mean they should have to play with something that’s low-quality.
Something else that caught my attention is that as I write this, it’s mid-October, and as far as I can recall, around this time when I was 6 years old or older, the markets and supermarkets were packed with toys. I don’t know if it’s just my impression, but when I went to the market, I didn’t seem to see the variety of toys I used to see as a child. Maybe this is just my impression.
This makes me wonder if the era when children played with their toys and shared moments with family and friends is over. I wonder if playing is on the decline these days—but I’m talking about actually playing, not just collecting, and enjoying time with that favorite character.
After all, who hasn’t spent hours playing with friends, a sibling, or cousins? It was a joy to play with those toys because we knew they were well-made; we knew we could play rough and they wouldn’t break easily—unlike today’s toys, which break at the slightest touch or are already worn out, and I’m not just talking about toys.
Take care Guys!
