Or at least their toys do. . .Boys and girls are different and so are their toys. That's one of many shockers I've experienced as a mother. I grew up with all girls. And even though all my sisters would agree we were never "girly", we did play with entirely "girl" toys. I can't tell you how many Baby Strawberry Shortcakes, Rainbow Brights, Muncheechees, Sweet Secrets, Pound Puppies, Care Bears, My Little Ponies, and Cabbage Patch dolls I loved when I was a kid! I assumed my own kids would love them too. Nope.
I had a friend try to tell me once (before I had kids) that children are socialized by adults to play with gender appropriate toys. So being the modern mom that I am, I decided it was just fine that Clayton's favorite toy at age 1 was our neighbor's pink doll stroller. The thing is, he ONLY liked it because it had wheels. He never tenderly tucked a stuffed bunny into the seat or strolled along fussing and chatting with a baby doll. No. He tore through the hallway of our apartment building swerving and driving into everything in his way. Until it broke. All my boys have been the same way. They gravitate toward anything mechanical or hazardous, anything with wheels or propellers, anything that can be used as a weapon, or anything - anything that can be hurled through space.
Which is why my friend was wrong. Boys and girls really DO prefer different toys. And here's some research to prove it.
But as much as I enjoy the Legos, trains, remote-controlled space buggies, Nerf ball shooters, and footballs - all the toys my sisters and I missed out on - and as my expertise has grown (I never dreamed I'd be able to name every type of train, spacecraft, or tractor imaginable), I am still the worlds best toy critic and the first to admit that there are some pretty incredibly LAME toys out there. Seriously, who was the genius who thought of this???
This toy is 25 bucks on Amazon plus FREE Super Savor Shipping. But wait! Are kids even supposed to drink coffee??
A toy ATM. I can think of a million things wrong with this.
You've got to be kidding - right? They sure don't make My Little Ponies the way they used to.Meet "Strutz". Hey that rhymes with slutz, clutz, nutz. . .
This is a real rock. I mean toy. It's yours for $19.Didn't I say something about toys that rock??
And don't even get me started about toys marketed to our media-crazed American children. Hello! You can't even walk down the toy aisle anymore without feeling like you've entered Disney Princess, Dora, and Star Wars land. Can I just get a normal Lego train around here? Without a "Thomas", "Bob" or "Batman" face? What? They only sell those in Europe?
But the truth is, after shopping for a birthday present for one of Clayton's girl friends today (I debated between "Baby Alive Wets N' Wiggles" and "Polly Pocket's Pollytastic Limo") I have to say that boys toys are way cooler. They rock. And to prove it I told each of my boys to go find their favorite toy in less than ten seconds. 10,9,8,7,6. . .
Good boy Clayton! Yeah, Legos are also my favorite!
Okay. . . Um, that's your favorite, Isaac? Really?In the whole world???
Like I said. . . Boys Rock!.
13 comments:
I was kidding about the doll that wets and the pollytastic limo debate. There was no debate. I actually bought a book - our usual birthday gift.
But speaking of cool toys. Nate says that for $60,000 you can buy a Lego kit to build a replica of yourself. No kidding. You just send them your measurements and a photo!
That horse thing (I don't even know what to call it, I mean a horse that wears high heels?) seriously cracked me up. Bryer horses were so much better ;). And Isaac didn't choose his chitty chitty bang bang? What a surprise! Haha, and I see Brigham still likes rocks...just like that picture of him and Jordan sharing rocks from the stream. I think boys will always love rocks...boy scouts come to mind?
I LOVE this post. I like hearing your ideas about anything that has to do with kids. Until I had Brian I never thought about toys much, but now that I need to start thinking about them I am completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of toys in the store. There are so many toys, that I got some serious anxiety just trying to buy a little teether for Brian to chew on. Seeing that Brigham's favorite toy is a rock, sure takes off the pressure I feel to buy all those fancy shmancy toys. Tell Clayton Mark's favorite toys are still Legos. If I had $60,000 to spare I would buy Clayton a Lego kit of himself. Now that would be fun to put together!
Yep. Briggy loves rocks. The other day I heard Nate growling from the laundry room about his ruined shirt. "Grrrr! Who put a rock in the dryer?"
Uhhh, probably the same person who broke our garbage disposal with a rock. And who hides them in the bathtub drain.
I love this post! Boys do rock! (I might be partial because of my two boys) My mother in law saved a bunch of her kids old toys and my boys love playing with the girl toys but like you said in their own desctructive way.
what cracks me up the most is with all their toys they always want to play with the "non toys": couch cushions, plastic hangers, my keys, anythings out of the kitchen cabinets, toilet water, etc.
ahhh, boys.... gotta love em.
I laughed so hard reading this blog entry and the comments, that I am speechless (writeless?)!
Jenny reminded me the other day that one of our best "toys" was that great combination: water hose, sand pile, and empty plastic containers. Oops...don't tell the grandkids just yet about the fun to be had with the water hose.
That horse is hilarious. My mom of all people ends up getting my mom the Bratz dolls and what not. Oh well.
Well, I do agree that boys have some pretty great toys, but I can't wait until I get to finally buy something PINK! I bought Luke a doll when he was young because I thought that he could be a "daddy", but he never plays with it. I agree that boys are just hardwired to be boys. Dinosaurs, robots, trains, karate, swords, tractors, cars, guns, legos, (I could go on and on) are what we have around here. My mom has kept some of our favorite toys from when we were kids, and I just can't wait to pull out those pretty ponies, barbies, cabbage patch kids, and Strawberry Shortcake dolls...ah, maybe someday.
I agree, society doesn't pressure kids into gender toys. Heck no! Although I laugh at these little boys that come to visit from all boy houses who just can't resist the urge to try on one of Em's frilly pink princess dresses. But then of course they pick up one of Weston's toys and launch it across the room. Boys will be boys! And yes boys toys and boys play rocks! I'm tempted though to rebuttal and put a girls rule post up now!
Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails - and some sticks too. That's what we like. It is nice to know I am not alone in my desire for "regular" toys. And are you sure about the Life of Pi? It gets pretty hard to think of figuratively but I really want to hear your reasons. . . .
Life of Pi according to Emily:
First of all I don't think "Life of Pi" will make you believe in God as it claims. But it will make you think about the way religion is viewed (particularly from a mystic post modern angle).
In the end the question isn't What is true? The question is, What do you believe? And as far as religion goes, there are those who believe literally, no matter how impossible it sounds - like a flood that covered the entire earth. Or an ancient golden book delivered to a farm boy thousands of years after it was written.
And there are those who believe in the moral of the story only - as if it were all symbolic. Or not at all.
Nate says that toy horse is an abomination.
I remember hearing the same propaganda about gender socialization, and totally falling for it. And after actually having kids, it still influences me. For example, I never tell Aves that she is pretty or cute, I always use words like awesome, cool, smart, clever, funny, or hilarious. But the fact is that our boys came out as boys, and our girl came out a girl. Pretty much all stereotypes totally apply.
I agree that the horse is an abomination, along with a lot of the other toys shown. Sometimes I look at the crap that gets put up for sale and imagine the tortured corporate meetings that took place to bring this stuff to market. We'll have to get this toy airport security metal detector to market BEFORE Christmas 2001. Strike while the iron is hot! This is the opportunity of a lifetime folks. Don't be in such a hurry guys, remember to test it for safety. Okay test it but remember Jones, your job is on the line here.
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