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IMO making toys is the hardest thing of all designs... too long-shot/perspective to cover.. like while some adult may be able to tell what he likes/dislikes abo

IMO making toys is the hardest thing of all designs... too long-shot/perspective to cover.. like while some adult may be able to tell what he likes/dislikes about a thing, it not so for kids.. esp. in long run. it's a blessing that some (physical or not at all) toys still exist without being monetized.. although the trends with everything-being-appz might kill that some day maybe OT, but some 10+y ago, i passed through few continents and cultures within 3-4 months, and while looking for toys for the kids to bring home from that journey, in plenty of places, i realized something.. the culture/society is somehow representable by what toys it makes for it's kids. Somewhat like the cultural dimensions thing, but in different aspects.. Like shallow vs deep, curiousness vs just-grinding, beautiful vs ugly, well crafted vs cheaply, etc. And funny, Rich/expensive as $$$ doesnot always correspond to richness of toy-experience/perception. Of course it's rather subjective, YMMV

esperent 5y ago
> the culture/society is somehow representable by what toys it makes for it's kids. Can you give some examples? I've spent the last 7 years doing a lot of travelling around Asia, India, and Europe. I've observed quite the opposite, so I'm curious to know what you've seen that I've missed. Currently I live in Vietnam and I polled a couple of Vietnamese people who are sitting with me about what their children play with (it turned into a really interesting breakfast conversation, so thanks!). Their answers: Boys play with cars, water guns, toy soldiers, and such. Girls play with dolls, toy kitchens, toy houses. Both play with modeling clay, coloring pens etc. (or Lego if the parents are progressive). Boys role play as soldiers, girls as princesses. Both role play as things like shopkeepers. This also includes data from people's childhoods 30 year's ago so I don't think it's a sign of Westernization. The main difference over the past 30 years is more plastic (of course) and that many people are much richer now. The main difference I've seen is that electric bikes for older children/teens are very popular here (I think bikes are a tool rather than a toy though). This seems very similar to what children in Europe play with, and ties in with my observations in other countries. But of course, even a lifetime of travel would only give me insight into a fraction of cultures so more info is welcome. The big exception is in remote areas in the countryside where people are very poor and can't afford many toys.

esperent 5y ago

> the culture/society is somehow representable by what toys it makes for it's kids. Can you give some examples? I've spent the last 7 years doing a lot of travelling around Asia, India, and Europe. I've observed quite the opposite, so I'm curious to know what you've seen that I've missed. Currently I live in Vietnam and I polled a couple of Vietnamese people who are sitting with me about what their children play with (it turned into a really interesting breakfast conversation, so thanks!). Their answers: Boys play with cars, water guns, toy soldiers, and such. Girls play with dolls, toy kitchens, toy houses. Both play with modeling clay, coloring pens etc. (or Lego if the parents are progressive). Boys role play as soldiers, girls as princesses. Both role play as things like shopkeepers. This also includes data from people's childhoods 30 year's ago so I don't think it's a sign of Westernization. The main difference over the past 30 years is more plastic (of course) and that many people are much richer now. The main difference I've seen is that electric bikes for older children/teens are very popular here (I think bikes are a tool rather than a toy though). This seems very similar to what children in Europe play with, and ties in with my observations in other countries. But of course, even a lifetime of travel would only give me insight into a fraction of cultures so more info is welcome. The big exception is in remote areas in the countryside where people are very poor and can't afford many toys.