Bicycles or motorcycles?Then bike racing and had a 10year run turning wrenches on bikes.
Bicycles or motorcycles?Then bike racing and had a 10year run turning wrenches on bikes.
Saw this article about the demise of a large toy store.
The cause reflects a cultural shift in how and what children are learning. I'm wondering if there are long term implications for home shops and industry.
By the 1990s, toys had to do things: They blinked, they spoke, they walked or rolled along the floor. They operated not according to the whims of children but according to definitions imposed by their creators. And a piece of the imagination died.
.... nowadays even very young children prefer the touchable screen to the touchable toy. Apart from a niche here and there, toy stores no longer serve any discernible function."
Daryl
MN
If you think about it, it started many years ago - There were plan books with your Erector Set, Tinker Toys, Legos, etc through the 70s and 80s. But more and more "instruction" was added on "How to play with your toy" When my kids were growing up (90s and 00s) I threw the instruction booklets in a drawer, mostly never to be seen. I didn't want someone telling them how they should play.
This is something I continue to be disgruntled with LEGO. The first "sets" of legos I had weren't much more than just blocks. You imagination fueled what you made. The kits now are almost unrecognizable to me. You almost NEED to follow the directions to make anything and can hardly let you mind roam. There are just far too many specifically molded components to allow free building. My son turns seven this year and loves playing with my childhood legos simply because you can build what you can imagine, and don't need to follow the instructions.