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Brainstorming For Playmobil / Re: What's wrong with Playmobil? 2
« Last post by Indianna on Today at 20:22:37 »JPSA, you've started a very interesting conversation following so many that have taken place here before and you've raised many important points. I have a strong difference of opinion about this, however:
My own experiences as a child, parent, grandmother, and school volunteer tell me that every child is different in their interests and they don't have a "natural play-pattern" unless it is somehow imposed upon them. For example, when I was a child I had a variety of toys including stuffed animals and dolls galore (including Barbies), a holster with twin six-guns and a cowboy hat, a toy parking garage with an elevator for the little cars, a pink sheet-metal stove (I used the oven space as a filing cabinet to play office), Lincoln Logs, a cheap plastic set of stagecoach/cowboys/Indians/cavalry, and a wind up car that would crash into a wall and fly into bits (one of my faves!)
Playmobil didn't come along until I was all grown up, but my children and grandchildren have had many happy hours of imaginative free play with the ridiculous amount of Playmobil that I have acquired over the years. My son and I used the steck castle for both a Harry Potter set-up and an Indiana Jones story - kids don't need an actual licensed set to play out the stories they enjoy. The licenses may be good for attracting adult collectors but kids just need a bunch of stuff to play with and they will make up their own narratives.
Just my
. . . . Boys are boys, and girls are girls, and their play-patterns are naturally different . . . .
My own experiences as a child, parent, grandmother, and school volunteer tell me that every child is different in their interests and they don't have a "natural play-pattern" unless it is somehow imposed upon them. For example, when I was a child I had a variety of toys including stuffed animals and dolls galore (including Barbies), a holster with twin six-guns and a cowboy hat, a toy parking garage with an elevator for the little cars, a pink sheet-metal stove (I used the oven space as a filing cabinet to play office), Lincoln Logs, a cheap plastic set of stagecoach/cowboys/Indians/cavalry, and a wind up car that would crash into a wall and fly into bits (one of my faves!)
Playmobil didn't come along until I was all grown up, but my children and grandchildren have had many happy hours of imaginative free play with the ridiculous amount of Playmobil that I have acquired over the years. My son and I used the steck castle for both a Harry Potter set-up and an Indiana Jones story - kids don't need an actual licensed set to play out the stories they enjoy. The licenses may be good for attracting adult collectors but kids just need a bunch of stuff to play with and they will make up their own narratives.
Just my