Toys bring out creativity and encourage the use of imagination. Although there are lots of different toys available now then when I was a kid, some of the old toys are still hanging around. Walking through the toy aisles in a store can bring back fun childhood memories of toys that may be long gone, or may still be around but look a little bit different now.
Do you remember what your favorite toy was as a child? Do you have children or grandchildren who have favorite toys? Let me know in the comment section, I would love to hear from you!
Benefits of Toys
Playing with toys provides many benefits to children. These benefits include building social skills, teaching patience, boosting imagination and creativity, enhancing fine motor skills, enhancing thinking and language skills, and more.
According to kidscareclub.com, infants love toys that can be reached for, held, shaken, and make noise. For toddlers, toys that teach balance and coordination, as well as themed toys such as puzzles are a fun addition. For 2+ years, toys that encourage pretend play spark imagination, these include dolls and strollers, toy kitchen items, etc. As children grow, there are more and more different kinds of toys that can be introduced to them.
History of Some Classic Toys
I thought it would be fun to take a look at the history of some classic toys that I’m sure you’ll recognize!
Silly Putty – A stretchy pink glob that comes in a plastic egg. Invented by General Electric engineer James Wright who was trying to create an inexpensive substitute for synthetic rubber.
Super Soaker – A high-powered water gun that claimed to be able to shoot water up to 50 feet away. Invented by nuclear engineer and part-time inventor Lonnie Johnson. He had an accident with a heat pump that sprang a leak shooting a blast of water across the room. This prompted him to invent the super soaker toy.
Play-Doh – A molding toy that feels like a cross between clay and bread dough. Invented by Kutol Products, an industrial cleaning product company. Kutol Products was losing market for its non-toxic clay-like compound used to clean coal dust off of wallpaper. The company owner’s sister-in-law tested the clay-like compound as a molding toy with her nursery school class and Play-Doh was invented!
Slinky – A bouncy spring coil famous for “walking” downward. Invented by mechanical engineer Richard James while attempting to come up with an instrument to stabilize naval ships during World War II.
Magic 8 Ball – A pool ball-shaped fortune telling toy. Invented by Albert Carter, son of a Cincinnati clairvoyant.
Toy Sales
According to Circana, dollar sales of toys declined 8% in 2023, but the toy industry overall has experienced a $5.7 billion increase in sales since 2019.
Circana tracks 11 supercategories of toys:
Outdoor & Sports Toys
Games/Puzzles
Infant/Toddler/Preschool Toys
Building Sets
Dolls
Plush Toys
Explorative & Other Toys
Action Figures & Accessories
Vehicles
Arts & Crafts
Youth Electronics
Three of these categories experienced growth in 2023. Outdoor & Sports Toys was the largest supercategory with a 16% share of all toy dollars. Building Sets had the fastest growth. Plush Toys had the second-largest dollar gain.
NCP Panel Members – If you buy toys that have a UPC barcode on the packaging, please remember to report those purchases to NCP! Thank you!
Regards,
Taylor
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I used to have this toy called the boink stick and it had one side that twisted one side that snapped a couple buttons that made different noises and it would play a pattern of noises and you had to repeat it back in the right order and everything you got it right it would add another action onto the pattern. Man I could get so many Ling patterns it was many hours of fun for sure. Great memory building skills as well.
I had a Holly hobby doll that I loved growing up.
Playing games together as a family, cards, dominoes, Monopoly, Life…
My favorite toy’s were Ginny doll’s and my Dale Evans doll I also loved 😍 my metal dollhouse. I’m 78 now and have many dollhouses and a number of doll’s and kept my favorite childhood doll’s.
Growing up in the country.
We played kick the can. Flashlight tag.
I had several board games I always liked mouse trap.
As a kid out in the country my life was a Barbie, bike, and a can to kick. When I could go to a friend’s house we could play chutes and ladders.
I’m 37 now, not sure how long ago this bear was created but oh myyyy I wanted one so very bad. Talking Bubba. I knew we couldn’t afford one so I didn’t bother asking but every time I seen him on TV or in the store I’d get a huge smile on my face and heart just being able to see it was enough for me. Big change from now in days. If a child wants something and doesn’t get it oh boyyyy…..hahaha well not all kids but still….lol
I always liked my Hula Hoop.
When I was a child, my dad had a small dirt mound in our back yard for us kids to play with. We would take little match cars or use rocks or sticks for cars. We would build a town on the hill with houses, a school, a church, and a store. We places roads, and farms on the hill. We played there for hours.
My favorite and still is Dolls Barbie
I loved doll houses as a child. My own children enjoyed Fischer Price Little People sets—like the farm or airport sets. Now my grandchildren have an older set of the Fischer Price farm with all the figures. Great imaginative play.
My very, very favorite was pogostick ,hulahoop,
I don’t know who remembers the doll Cricket from the 1980s, but that was my favorite toy. I begged my mom for it. I’m now a grandmother of 4 and raising my 3 granddaughters. They love slime, squishy toys, LOL dolls, and anything that’s science and STEM related.
Boardgames play a big part of my upbringing as a kid. I participated
in checkers, operation, battleship, Mr. Potatoe Head, 500 piece puzzles, Rubic cube, Dominos, Monopoly and video game console during that time was playing the Atari while space invaders, Donkey Kong were amongst my favorite.
The my Buddy doll was one of my favorite toys k remember my cousin getting one and telling me I got a my Buddy doll haha and after my brother was born a couple months later I told my cousin I got a real live my Buddy doll and he can really talk and walk cause my mom names my brother Buddy lol I was 3 .
That’s so cute and I have a my buddy story as well he was definitely one of my top toys or buddies I guess you say! What I thought was a trip that while I was reading your post I of course glanced at your chat head, or emoj and I see that you are a Taurus? Pretty cool me too! Must be a bull Thang! Take care!
I used to play with silly putty, hula hoops, slinky, large troll doll superheroes – bat man, superman green hornet and Click- Clacks. I didn’t like playing with Barbies but my sister did.
My favorite toy growing up was my raggedy ann doll
My favorite toy as a child was my first Barbie doll and house. This is a great article. Thank you for sharing
Am waiting for the spotlight
My very favorite toy was my pogostick I loved it I got up in morning and would hop around on my pogo stick all day long …..my other favorite toy was Jack’s I loved them
I remember loving my stretch Armstrong, weeble wobbles, barbershop play-doh factory, tidley winks, etcha sketch, spirograph, and my easy bake oven. I also loved playing hungry hungry hippo’s, Candyland, and absolute favorite game Perfection. It’s a timed puzzle type game where you hurry and put the different shaped pieces in their correct spot before you ran out of time and the board popped up and pieces went flying everywhere. My mom recently found me one at a garage sale and it brought tears of joy when she gave it to me because it brought back so many happy memories…life seemed so simple back then.
Thank you, this was one of my favorite blogs to read 🙂