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Having young relatives, I've noticed this issue. I attribute it to several factors: 1. Declining birth rates. There are more adults in a given child's life; 2

by jmyeet 2y ago

Having young relatives, I've noticed this issue. I attribute it to several factors: 1. Declining birth rates. There are more adults in a given child's life; 2. Delayed child birth. Not only are there less children per year because of this, but it also means the parents and relatives are older and tend to be more affluent; 3. Larger houses. Possessions are like a gas. They will expand to fill available space. This affects every possession type, not just toys. Where once a family of 5 might be in a 3x1 1100sq ft house, now it's a family of 3 in a 3000sq ft house; 4. Toys are generally cheaper (the article mentions this) and easier to get thanks to Amazon; 5. Increased information. You're now aware of many things you previously weren't before the Internet. So an aunt or uncle could bring a toy you've never heard of. Now? You've seen Tiktoks about everything the second it's available. So with increased means and knowledge of pretty much everything, there are fewer unfulfilled needs. 6. Guilt. People generally have to work longer hours, more jobs and harder than they did 30+ years ago. As necessary as that is, you will find people "compensating" for the lack of time with material things; 7. Children spend less time playing with each other because now everything is a "play date". We've come a long way from the TV ads of "do you know where your children are?" that would play at 10pm. Now you get arrested if your children walk to the store by themselves [1]. As much as people bemaon video games, computers and devices, it's often the only social outlet with peers children have. 8. A single device (eg console, phone, tablet) can replace the need for many toys so these things tend to collect rather than breaking and getting thrown out. [1]: https://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-moms-arrest-puts-free-range-parenting-back/story?id=116004039 https://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-moms-arrest-puts-free-rang...

abracadaniel 2y ago
You nailed it with all of those, from my experience. Nearly all of the toys we have were gifts. Two sets of grandparent, with not enough grandchildren to go around, and more options than ever. Even birthday parties have us struggling to fill the car with all the new crap. Plushies, barbies, Bluey merch, Gabby merch. I think my and my parent's generations can't seem to help themselves. I think there's also some compensating for being able to give the kids things you would never have been able to get. I know I'm susceptible to it as well. I bought a rock tumbler kit for them the other day, because I always wanted one as a kid. Too many overcompensating adults, too few kids to be the recipients of that compensation, too many toys out there to buy. This doesn't even touch on the scarcity/scalping of certain toys as well, which also breaks the brain in its own way. What do you mean, no one has Muffin from Bluey in stock and it's $80 on ebay? Now my brain is on a mission to find it and buy it at MSRP, when I really shouldn't care to begin with.
mmh0000 2y ago
1. "Declining" is true, but "barely" is a needed prequalifier[1] 2. There are more children per year [2]. In fact, there are more children alive now than there ever have been in U.S. history. 3,5,6 - Maybe. 4 - I think cheap toys is the most likely explanation. Toys today are SUPER cheap compared to the 1980s. And more capable. And more cool. I am so jealous of the toys kids have available today. 7. I take it you don't have children or live in a "weird" area. Where I am (western US), there are children everywhere playing together, often outside! Anecdotal, I know, but so is yours =D And sure, you can find the crazy "news" stories about parents getting warnings/arrested for letting their children walk a mile outside. The reason those stories make the news is that they're bizarre and rare. The more likely reason is a single power-hungry cop/social worker who just had to prove to everyone how powerful they are. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Sta... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#/media/File:Fertility_rate_of_the_United_States_from_1820_to_2016.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Sta... [2] https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp
m463 2y ago
I think there are other factors. > The stickiest toys are usually simple and open-ended, she said, like blocks or basic animal figures. I think these were more prevalent in the past. After I got older, I noticed the next generations of kids had more "single-function" toys. Even lego did this, where their kits built more specific things, with specialized and unique parts.

by jmyeet 2y ago

abracadaniel 2y ago

You nailed it with all of those, from my experience. Nearly all of the toys we have were gifts. Two sets of grandparent, with not enough grandchildren to go around, and more options than ever. Even birthday parties have us struggling to fill the car with all the new crap. Plushies, barbies, Bluey merch, Gabby merch. I think my and my parent's generations can't seem to help themselves. I think there's also some compensating for being able to give the kids things you would never have been able to get. I know I'm susceptible to it as well. I bought a rock tumbler kit for them the other day, because I always wanted one as a kid. Too many overcompensating adults, too few kids to be the recipients of that compensation, too many toys out there to buy. This doesn't even touch on the scarcity/scalping of certain toys as well, which also breaks the brain in its own way. What do you mean, no one has Muffin from Bluey in stock and it's $80 on ebay? Now my brain is on a mission to find it and buy it at MSRP, when I really shouldn't care to begin with.

mmh0000 2y ago

1. "Declining" is true, but "barely" is a needed prequalifier[1] 2. There are more children per year [2]. In fact, there are more children alive now than there ever have been in U.S. history. 3,5,6 - Maybe. 4 - I think cheap toys is the most likely explanation. Toys today are SUPER cheap compared to the 1980s. And more capable. And more cool. I am so jealous of the toys kids have available today. 7. I take it you don't have children or live in a "weird" area. Where I am (western US), there are children everywhere playing together, often outside! Anecdotal, I know, but so is yours =D And sure, you can find the crazy "news" stories about parents getting warnings/arrested for letting their children walk a mile outside. The reason those stories make the news is that they're bizarre and rare. The more likely reason is a single power-hungry cop/social worker who just had to prove to everyone how powerful they are. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Sta... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States#/media/File:Fertility_rate_of_the_United_States_from_1820_to_2016.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Sta... [2] https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp https://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/tables/pop1.asp

m463 2y ago

I think there are other factors. > The stickiest toys are usually simple and open-ended, she said, like blocks or basic animal figures. I think these were more prevalent in the past. After I got older, I noticed the next generations of kids had more "single-function" toys. Even lego did this, where their kits built more specific things, with specialized and unique parts.