Slipper Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Am I the only parent who has kids like these? Am I doing something wrong? My kids, as a general rule, don't play with toys. They request them - but after a few days, they are doing other things. I'm defining toys as - dollhouse (absolutely gorgeous with full set of furniture and two 'families'), barbies, hairstyle doll, zhu zhu pets, those little robotic looking bugs, etc. What they prefer to do - video games (mostly dance revolution which I don't mind), drawing, reading, outside, building blocks, crafts (either packaged or created), board games. I guess it's not necessarily a bad problem, but it just seems odd (and wasteful when I think of all the money I've spent). They have great imagination, they just don't play with things that I think kids typically play with. But maybe I'm the odd one and everyone's kids do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My kids only play with toys in ways for which they were not designed. Puzzle pieces + matchbox car garage = cookie factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Mine have moved away from toys as they've gotten older. They prefer the Legos, computers, etc. over pretend play type options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I'm defining toys as - dollhouse (absolutely gorgeous with full set of furniture and two 'families'), barbies, hairstyle doll, zhu zhu pets, those little robotic looking bugs, etc. What they prefer to do - video games (mostly dance revolution which I don't mind), drawing, reading, outside, building blocks, crafts (either packaged or created), board games. I'm not surprised, considering the age of your older two. My dc, who are 6 and 8, play with toys a lot, but I'm looking forward to when they move on past the kid-toy stage, for a lack of a better term. Your youngest may be influenced a lot by the older two, and that could be why she doesn't play with toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Only 2 of my five kids have played with toys -- the oldest and the youngest. The oldest was heavily into transformers and the youngest is very much into cars and building things out of whatever he can find -- he once spider webbed his sisters' room at the age of 4. The other three (boy and 2 girls) have rarely played with toys. They would much rather be doing something -- drawing, crafts, sports, biking, card games, etc. Much like the OP's kids. So, no you are not the only one. The biggest disadvantage is buying gifts for them and the biggest advantage is that we don't have a lot of toys in the house which makes for easier organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 ...and the biggest advantage is that we don't have a lot of toys in the house which makes for easier organization. That's why I'm looking forward to mine growing out of toys. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 A 12 yo and a 10 yo are too old for toys. My kids still played with some toys at 7, but they probably wouldn't have as much if they had older siblings who had already given them up. For us, toys ran from infancy to about 8, tapering off as they went. By the time my youngest was 10 we had cleaned out and were rid of toys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cammie Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 My kids were never big toy players. My dd who is now ten was never into dolls or any other toy really. Always a BIG reader and loved art projects. My ds who is six has a roomful of toys and hardly plays with any. He might pick up two cars and pretend with them for a few minutes but that is about it. They both prefer playing games with other people, being outside, playing sports, reading. I guess it is just a personality thing but I am with you....I never heard of kids who didn't play with toys until I had my own! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I'm defining toys as - dollhouse (absolutely gorgeous with full set of furniture and two 'families'), barbies, hairstyle doll, zhu zhu pets, those little robotic looking bugs, etc. Personally I would never have played with the toys you mentioned. Did they ask for those types of toys? As for the ages of your kids. I found myself at those ages that if I wanted to play a game I never needed a specific type of toy. Pieces from the chess set and things from the recycling bin were plenty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I agree that those probably aren't the most open ended toys. My DS desperately wanted Hex Bugs. Grandma bought them and they held his interest for like 5 minutes, just like I predicted. We get the most use out of our building sets: Lego, Rokenbok, wooden blocks, and marble run. Throw in some plastic animals, matchbox cars, and a few people figures and you have 90% of our play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 My 12 yr old (because of her autism) has never really played appropriately. It's my 10 and 7 yo DD's that really don't play. They have asked for those toys (except for the dollhouse, but really, what girl doesn't want a dollhouse? I loved mine growing up!) but then seemed disappointed in them after a few days/hours. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one. :D I'll start boxing things up for storage or to send to my nieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 My kids are ages 4-8, and they *definitely* prefer toy materials to actual toys. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I believe it was the day after Christmas when my two year old walked in with three toothbrushes wrapped in a towel and called them her babies and spent half the day pretending to put toothbrushes down for a nap. Apparently her huge pile of new toys (including several actual dolls) was nothing compared to toothbrushes... :tongue_smilie: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Mine have barely played with toys from about the age of ten. Even before that, they mostly played with Lego. They read, play outside with friends and play video games (when allowed). I no longer buy them toys and they don't request them. Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Same phenomenon here. We have basically just gotten rid of all of our non-open-ended toys. My kids play for hours with their imagination and simple "ingredients". We also love board games. I blogged about it... Confessions of a Toy Snob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Maybe they just don't like dolls and girly toys. I never really liked the dolls I was given as a child. I preferred to use my tea set as camping gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Same phenomenon here. We have basically just gotten rid of all of our non-open-ended toys. My kids play for hours with their imagination and simple "ingredients". We also love board games. I blogged about it...Confessions of a Toy Snob :iagree: My dd has a bin full of toys, but the only thing she plays with regularly is the big bag of plain wooden blocks. She uses those for just about any scenario she can dream up. Today she built a castle with them, and a couple of the blocks were knights trying to slay a dragon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbecueMom Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Mine rarely play with toys unless I initiate it. They like to turn chairs and tables upside down to make obstacle courses and "pools". They have play kitchen stuff (real stuff, but just for them) that they ignore, then take off with my egg beaters, I mean, hot air balloons. They liked to play hide and seek in the dark, until I found out they were turning off the electricity at the breaker to make it darker. If I want to sit on a couch, I have to send a search party to find the upholstered Alamo and gank a few cushions. I cut up a couple packs of sponges into Jenga-sized blocks, and they'll play with those. The wooden blocks and Legos just become projectiles. Right now they are re-enacting something that I don't recognize, using bananas as phones/magic wands/projectile weapons. Sometimes I wish they'd just sit down and play with something that is not mine. I am so tired of cleaning up creativity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 My boys don't play with nearly as many toys as they ask for... they really have FAR too many. :glare: But of course, when we start going through them all to clean some out, suddenly they are all prized possessions. :rolleyes: Anyway, the only things that they play with regularly are swords, lightsabers, machetes (wooden ones that DH got for them in Haiti - they can't actually hit EACH OTHER with those, they just swing them around against the invisible bad guys, I guess? But they love them), nerf guns, and Star Wars action figures. It kind of sickens me to see all the toys they have, compared to what they play with. :ack2: Oh, and they got those hexbug things for Christmas, too, and haven't played with them since they got them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeacefulChaos Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 The biggest disadvantage is buying gifts for them and the biggest advantage is that we don't have a lot of toys in the house which makes for easier organization. This is what I'm having trouble with. Because honestly, the last couple of years for Christmas, we've either walked the boys through TRU to see what they seem to like (which is often a fail, because they either 1. are so caught up in it they say they want everything, or 2. don't seem to care about anything!) or looked with them online, because our families want to know what to get them. We did have luck doing this before DS8's birthday - but we bought him a Star Wars gun and a nerf crossbow :lol: ... but I just don't know what to get them on a regular basis - almost everything they receive ends up sitting in their room, unused. :confused: DD doesn't really even play with toys all that much...and she's only almost 3!! I believe it was the day after Christmas when my two year old walked in with three toothbrushes wrapped in a towel and called them her babies and spent half the day pretending to put toothbrushes down for a nap. Apparently her huge pile of new toys (including several actual dolls) was nothing compared to toothbrushes... :tongue_smilie: :lol::lol::lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Neither of my kids have ever really played with toys the way I remember playing with toys (playing house, store, etc.) They are both much more into art & crafts, board games, puzzles, video games, and of course bikes and scooters. Towels and blankets are popular "toys" around here. :confused: There will be spurts here and there where they actually play with some of the toys, so I haven't gotten rid of them all, yet. I have gotten rid of a LOT, though. We move so much that we are always decluttering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 A 12 yo and a 10 yo are too old for toys. My kids still played with some toys at 7, but they probably wouldn't have as much if they had older siblings who had already given them up. For us, toys ran from infancy to about 8, tapering off as they went. By the time my youngest was 10 we had cleaned out and were rid of toys! I don't agree that 12 and 10 are too old. It depends on what you define as toys, but my kids still play with Lego and Playmobil, and they are 11, nearly 10, and nearly 8. My kids don't play with toys in the regular way much even in infancy on up. But they use toys as props for the things they imagine. Today all of my kids were in the sandbox at the park and my toddler had more fun taking toys out of the sandbox and arranging them, then putting them back in, and doing that over and over, than he did playing with the toys the way they were intended. I imagine that I'll always have our wooden blocks, lego, playmobil, and building toys around, along with craft supplies and board games. But the very specific things they do get bored with fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Oldest ds and oldest dd never played with toys much. The preferred pots, pans, silverware, dirt, sticks, rocks. It just so happens that they have wonderful imaginations, too. Dd12 is busier now with hobbies. Her favorites, other than her animals, are photography, jewelry making, building stuff. I wouldnt worry about it AT ALL. I would limit video games, though. My sons were only allowed to play 30 min each on Sat/Sun. I believe too much screen time kills the imagination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rene' Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I don't agree that 12 and 10 are too old. It depends on what you define as toys, but my kids still play with Lego and Playmobil, and they are 11, nearly 10, and nearly 8. I agree. My youngest two will be 12 and 10 within a month, and after watching a short news story on a "real live" mermaid, they've spent the last few days turning their Barbies into mermaids with leftover Christmas wrapping paper. They play with Legos and Lincoln Logs and they love those small realistic looking animals - especially the horses. They do play less and less with toys as they get older. Sometimes the toy-play just comes in short spurts. Just a year or so ago they played "house" a lot and I had made tons of crocheted play food for them. Sadly those days are over and I guess I'll have to wait for grand-kids now to make play food for. :( My girls play often with our neighbors children, who are pretty young. I always tell them they will be awesome mothers with great imaginations. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I think it is a good thing. I've tried to get through to parents and such that the kids play with very few toys. They are all exciting for a few days maybe and then are tossed aside. Dd5 likes dressup clothes, her tea set and stationary. Dd2 will play with dolls every now and again and dress up. Ds7.5 sometimes plays with legos and the 3DS when allowed. Otherwise they are outside or making up games or harassing each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annlaura Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I was just telling my sister that I think dress-up clothes and accessories are where our money is going for DS5 this year. He plays with superhero figures, toy soldiers, and playmobil some here & there, and loves lego. But otherwise it's all dress-up. Yesterday he was George Washington leading the troops against the Redcpats. Today he is a British commander attacking the colonialists. lol! A couple of days ago my sister came back from Rome with gifts and stories, so he was a gladiator or Roman soldier all day. I actually prefer it to much toy play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasia Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 My kids have never been really into toys. They go through phases of loving lego or video games or board games, but they really prefer to play sports, rollerblade, ride bikes, swim, wrestle, dance, play music, make movies and read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 My twins played with toys until they were 11. Once they became uninterested so did my youngest. I was sad about it for a while, but I have come to accept it. Birthdays can be hard. He has one coming up, and he is mostly getting books. He loves books, but I keep thinking I should be getting him some toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmama2 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 All our toys are open ended, yet neither of my children really play with them much unless they have friends over. My younger plays a little and my elder will now join in and take over his game lol but untilbhe came along she didn't play at all unless I initialted it. I do wonder from time to time if she is on the spectrum. She is also the hoarder and the universe collapses for her if I so much as mention the idea of passing on something they don't play with. If other children are visiting then all bets are off, suddenly they both love ALL their toys and everything gets played with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbotoast Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I cut up a couple packs of sponges into Jenga-sized blocks, and they'll play with those. My kids would love this! Sometimes I wish they'd just sit down and play with something that is not mine. I am so tired of cleaning up creativity. :iagree: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Zombie thread from 10 years ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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