by Amenawon Johnson
At some point in time everyone has played with one of the legendary toys such as a Barbie or Mr. Potato Head.
For more Christmases than most remember, these toys have put smiles on little kids’ faces. As time progresses, the use of new technology has brought more advanced games and toys each year. Even with such new-fangled toys being made, surprisingly, many traditional ones are still being sold.
Patty Smith, director of the Cornerstone Christian Learning Center, has seen that children at the center usually prefer to play with Barbies and Legos, rather than the new gadgets brought in daily. “The little girls here love the Barbies so much that sometimes I let them take the dolls home with them,” she said.
Historically speaking, dolls are the oldest toys in history, but Barbie — first introduced to the public in 1959 at a cost of only three dollars— is probably the most beloved. As for Mr. Potato Head, he was born in 1952, with Play-Doh coming four years later. Watching the children at the center first-hand, it is clear to see that the Play-Doh, Legos and Barbies are perennial favorites, generation after generation.
But what happens when toddlers walk into a Toys’ R Us? The first aisles they run to are where the newest action figures stand at the ready, or to the newest Barbie dolls. While some say that such toys are making a comeback, the reality is they never left. They bring the same joy to kids now as they did 60 years ago. They are still selling because there is something about them that children can’t get enough of, whether it’s taking apart a Mr. Potato Head to make funny faces, or building blocks on top of each other to knock them down repeatedly. Experts say these toys help children learn about the world around them, which is why they stay popular.
Some kids at the learning center enjoy making different things out of their Play-Doh, but the majority of those are between the ages of 2-4. The bigger kids choose video games over a standard toy. Joshua Dawn, 8, said, “I would rather play a video game because I like the graphics and effects.”
This isn’t to say that all older children prefer a video game over an old-fashioned one, but every child has their own unique way of having fun. As for legendary toys, they will probably be making the Santa’s list once again, if a look at the latest Toys’ R Us catalog is any indication.
The 80-page catalog is a walk down nostalgia lane, with its page upon page of Furbies, Cabbage Patch Kids, action figures and more. In fact, toy retailers in the United States and the United Kingdom report that their top 20 toys for 2012 are mostly updated versions of familiar friends.