Why Do We Buy Kids Toys?

While watching my two sons amuse themselves with a piece of plastic bag and an air conditioning vent, I had to ask myself why do we buy our kids toys when all they need is things found around the house.

We live in a mobile home so the vents are on the floor. They discovered that if they drop the piece of plastic bag over the vent when the air is on, it will float up in the air. They are getting the biggest kick out of chasing the piece and then putting it back over the air vent. I laughed and laughed. Kids are great...most of the time.

It reminds me of a time when I was young...single digit years I guess. My father worked at a grade school district wherehouse. He would bring home stuff like broken cameras, tape recorders, plastic cases, microscopes...it was great.

One that sticks out is when my father brought home some plastic cases that used to house computer tapes. At that time, my younger brother and I were avid Emergency fans. We filled those cases with all kinds of stuff and pretended we were paramedics on the show and inside were our equipment. We played with those cases for hours and hours. We were using our imaginatian.

My daughter also can find use for seemingly usless items. She once took a empty toilet paper roll and made a person out if it. A face drawn in marker and hair made of toilet paper (unused of course).

Watching my children takes me back to when I was a kid and I remember how simple life was. I wonder why as adults we like to complicate it as much as we do. I now have more years behind me than in front of me and I really long for those simpler days.