Affordable Toys

“I once bought my kids a set of batteries for Christmas with a note on it saying, toys not included.”
- comedian Bernard Manning

I’m amazed at the prices parents are willing to pay for children’s toys. Here are some examples from Amazon.com:

Fisher-Price Power Wheels Ultimate Terrain Traction Jeep - $825.00
Inflatable Jump 'N Double Slide $650.00
Educational Insights Math Shark Class Pack - $579.99
PlanToys Kitchen Center - $449.97

Now consider the alternatives. Instead of a powered kid-sized jeep, how about helping your son or daughter build his or her own go-cart? This teaches tool use and engineering skills. Instead of a plastic mini-kitchen with plastic equipment, give your child your old kitchen items and a sand box to play in. My grandparents had a one-room shack on their farm that the grandkids called the mud pie house. Inside were a table, old cracked bowls, rusted muffin tins, and lots of kitchen implements for making mud pies. My grandparents also included a “cash box” with play money so we could sell our creations to the adults who would drop by to check our wares. I spent a lot of time there with my siblings and cousins and it was great fun.

If mud is too dirty, consider “play dough.” There are many expensive variants on this today with play foam and quick drying sculpey and dough “factories” but you can have all the fun with little cost by making your own dough. Combine:

1 cup Flour
1 cup Water
1/2 cup Salt
2 tablespoon Cream of tartar
1 tablespoon Oil

Cook until ingredients start to clump together. Turn out the lump onto a plate or piece of wax paper. Knead in food coloring if you wish (the kids might enjoy this part and learn something about colors). Make more balls if you want other colors. Pull out some old kitchen utensils and have fun “baking” and making with your new dough! When it dries out, knead in a splash of water or make a new batch.

Bottom Line
There is nothing wrong with cheap toys, especially with young children. Who hasn’t heard the story of a child having more fun with the box than with the expensive toy that was inside? In my church bag I keep the cardboard center from a used large roll of tape. Young kids love to roll it about. At home we have a wooden block set that gets lot of playtime. Simple works.