Alternatively, as a somewhat less sinister explanation for work-based toys: kids love to do what (they think) their parents do. Kids see grown-ups doing work al

Alternatively, as a somewhat less sinister explanation for work-based toys: kids love to do what (they think) their parents do. Kids see grown-ups doing work all the time and their interpretations of what they see comes out in imaginative play. I have a tractor for yard work and mowing, and my kid has a toy one so he can pretend to do the same. Do some toys take this in a weird, unnecessary direction? Absolutely! But at the end of the day grown ups work, and kids copy.