Boxes and Bags and Bins of Toys: Finding the Perfect Gift

By: Elizabeth Redhead Kriston

I cannot deny it any longer. The holiday season is upon us. Parents, grandparents, and loved ones are searching the internet, toy catalogs, and stores for the perfect gifts for the beloved children in their lives. Inevitably, these toys will require batteries and will claim to be "educational." I argue that the opposite is true. I want to help you re-imagine the “perfect” gift.

One of the great things about my job is that I visit homes and work with families one on one. Over the years I have learned and seen how families play and interact with their children. One common denominator is the existence of toys, sometimes lots of toys, mountains of toys, boxes and bags and bins of toys.

Predictably, these toys sing, squawk, talk, roar, beep, and screech. Sometimes they make these sounds mysteriously from the bottom of the toy box in the middle of the night. I have seen puzzles that make sounds, books that have noise making buttons, baby dolls that cry, and even motorized bubble wands. No toy is off limits from the mighty microchip.

Back in 1996 I should have bought stock in battery companies because I would be rich! That was the year that the original Tickle Me Elmo entered our lives. I once read that Tickle Me Elmo was the very first successfully marketed toy to contain a microchip. The wild success of this toy triggered a trend that has evolved over the years.

Toy makers everywhere have developed countless toys that make noise and are animated in increasingly more sophisticated ways. These toys are often marketed as “learning” toys. Many of these toys do have value. For example, infants may respond to the lights, movements, and songs of cause and effect toys more effectively than inanimate toys. However, toddlers and preschoolers are potentially losing out on some critical brain development opportunities thanks to these attractive toys.

These toys essentially rob children of the joy of using their imaginations. The sounds and actions built into the toys can actually limit the world of possibilities that toys once offered. If the cow already says "moo," then why should the child say moo? These toys might be keeping children from practicing sounds or saying words.

At the same time that children are mesmerized by the lights and sirens of the obnoxiously loud fire trucks in the toy box, parents are barely maintaining their sanity because of the plethora of unnatural noises that are bombarding their ears daily. Bank accounts are dwindling across the country as parents feel pressure to buy these expensive “interactive learning toys.” 

The irony is that the best interactive learning toy a child can have is free. It is right in front of them several hours a day. It is that very mom and dad who supplies them with all of these toys. In response to this state of play or non-play that we parents currently find our kids, I wrote the following poem. Please enjoy:

Boxes and Bags and Bins of Toys

Boxes and bags and bins of toys.

 Every single one of them makes a noise

Phones that ring; brown cows that moo.
The baby dolls eat and then even go poo.

The horse on a stick says cloppity-click.
Even the barn makes sounds for the chick.

No need to peddle their trike or toy car
Because the battery inside takes them far.

Bubbles blown with battery operated fans.
Maybe next year they won’t need to use hands.

Touch a screen with a finger to draw anything.
Chemical soaked paper lets them paint with no ink.

Sometimes I think all this technology stinks.
The toy makers won’t give kids a chance to think.

The tea pots gurgle, whistle, and sing a fun tune.
The toy kitchens sizzle and boil when you stir the spoon.

Play-Doh factories have molds and cookie cutters.
With all this ready-made stuff kid’s brains start than sputter.

What happened to creativity?
These toys eliminate spontaneity!

Our kids don’t have to imagine or be unique.
Their future is beginning to look a bit bleak.

Our kids have one chance to grow their young brains,

To see the possibility of all it can attain.

Encourage them to use all of their strengths,
To exercise their minds to all of its lengths.

Give them toys that develop imagination.
Then play with them and be their inspiration.

Be silly and sweet and show them how to play.
Making the time will improve your day.

Your child will develop a better mind and bigger heart.
All you need is a book, a toy, and a hug to start.

For more insight on this topic click here

TOY LIST

All of these toys encourage the development of imaginative/pretend play. Remember, the less the toy does or says for your child the more your child will think, act, and talk. Most of the recommended toys do not require batteries.

Click Here

Many box stores offer wooden toy collections. Melissa & Doug have a wonderful selection of toys for young children. I typically direct families to smaller toys stores so they do not get overwhelmed. I have found that stores like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Ross Dress for Less often have a great selection of toys and books for slightly less money than other stores. Always look in the clearance section first.

Before shopping, carefully consider your child’s developmental age, his or her skill level, and safety/choking concerns. This is not a complete list, but it should get you started. If you must, take batteries out of toys before gifting them. I promise your child will not miss them.

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Wooden blocks of different shapes and sizes                       

Lego’s, Duplo’s or Mega Blocks

Lincoln Logs                                                               

Mr. or Mrs. Potato Head

Baby Dolls and accessories                                      

Little people                                                                

Plastic animals or people

Hand or finger puppets                             

Sandbox

Modeling dough or clay                                             

Play kitchens

Doll houses                                                        

Action figures and accessories

Books                                                                    

Water table

Child safe mirror                                                        

Bubbles

Echo microphones                                                     

Tea set

Pretend food                                                              

Toy farm and accessories                 

Pound a Ball/Ramp toys                                            

Dr. kit

Felt board                                                                   

Magnet board with scene

Board games                                                             

Toy tools

Cars, trucks, planes, trains                    

Craft kits

Dress up clothes                               

Books for science experiments

Art supplies                                     

Kid cookbooks

Toy telephone                                      

Music

Linking or snap together toys

Musical instruments