Step By Step To Build Perfect Classic Toys

Toys that engaged the child's imagination? This holiday season, think about introducing your children or grandchildren to the toys, games, and books that excited you when you were a kid.

For young children, toys that they can manipulate will entertain them while they develop essential dexterity skills. Slinky toys, pull toys, spinning tops, and toy vehicles like trains, tractors and cars stimulate those neurons as they learn how things work. Dolls, puppets, and stuffed animals, like the ever-popular Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, the Lamb Chop puppet that was a favorite in the fifties and sixties, and all kinds of bears, give kids something to cuddle while they practice their communication skills on their little friends.

For older children, board games are a great way to connect with friends and family. "Chutes and Ladders" is an engaging, unpredictable game that inspires lots of laughter as players progress through the ladders, and then suddenly end up at the bottom of the board as they unexpectedly encounter a chute. Another vintage game still played today, "Clue" challenges children's (and adults') logical prowess as they try to figure out "whodunit."

When it comes to toys, there's a lot to be said for the appeal of the classics. Most of us have fond memories of playing with a train set, pounding out chaotic melodies on a xylophone, or pulling one of those telephone-on-wheels with the rolling eyes. We have fond memories of those toys because they were a heck of a lot of fun. Sooner or later, most kids develop an interest in whatever the Big Toy is this year. Most parents have not-so-fond memories of shelling out loads of cash for whatever the hit baby dolls toys or super cool action figures are this year, only to have the kids wind up forgetting all about those Christmas presents in a month or two

A classic toy is one that has a simple and straightforward challenge or problem at its heart. Nothing too grand, and nothing that takes weeks of reading through a book to understand all the rules. Simplicity is the essential ingredient. Think about wooden puzzles - a picture scrambled up, and you have to put it back together, a Rubik's cube, a pile of bricks that you have to build a taller tower from than anybody else. Simple to understand, but much harder to solve than it looks.

The second rule of a classic toy to earn its status is that it should provide some satisfaction upon the child's achievement in solving it. A puzzle reveals a picture of a scene that is worth all that effort. A tower that looks amazing at the height it has reached, a cube that looks perfect and organised. The child needs to be able to show the adults what he or she has achieved, and gain their adulation and praise. We all need praise, and we all try harder if we know that we're likely to get it. A toy that provides a child with a puzzle that merits not only his or her own attention, but the praise of an adult should they complete it. The completed toy or puzzle is a certification in itself of their skill and dedication.

The third rule of any classic toy becoming an all time classic is that it's component parts should be sturdy enough to last. So many toys today have small, fragile parts that are mostly made of plastic. Once it is broken, then the whole toy is rendered useless. Once a piece is missing, the rest of it loses its appeal. The toys should be reasonably fixable, which means that if it does get broken, then dad can get it working again very quickly. If it takes dad all evening with thirteen screwdrivers, four pairs of pliers and a hammer just to get in to the thing, only for half a dozen coiled springs to leap out from who knows where, and the toy is quickly consigned to the non-classics box, otherwise known as the bin.

For more information about classic toys see Toy Guide

Find free ideas about emotional freedom technique - this is your individual tips store.