While doing some holiday shopping for the little ones, like many, I ended up at the ‘Mecca’ of American toy stores - Toys Я Us.

Here are a couple of observations and some photos from my trip:

When I was a kid, toy stores were fun

I’m not implying that kids today are any less excited about the prospect of going to a toy store, but I am suggesting that they are being robbed of a valuable experience.  When I went to toy stores as a kid, most of the toys were on display, and you could actually *play* with them. 

Today, children are forced to determine how much they like a toy by watching advertising between television cartoons, and from the pictures on the box. I distinctly remember some of the cooler-looking toys failing the acid-test of playing with it in a carpeted store aisle.  I’ll also suggest that very few Rubik’s cubes would ever have been sold if people were forced to judge the toy by its box. 

I’ll forever have fond memories of Lego, Star Wars figurines, and Stretch Armstrong.  They are my memories, because *I* decided I enjoyed those toys enough to beg for them as a child.  Do we really want a bunch of Madison Avenue executives to decide what our kids’ memories will be like?

Some toys are still sexist

Since we are on the topic of Madison Avenue executives, when will we evolve enough as a society to discard some of the ridiculous gender roles that we try to force onto our kids?

If a little girl likes playing baseball, she is labeled as ‘butch,’ and if a little boy likes playing with dolls or favors the color pink, many parents worry immediately about their son’s sexuality. 

While not usually in the business of dispensing parenting advice, I will dole out one commonsense tip—your three year-old has not begun to explore their sexuality yet.  Playing with dolls is probably a sign that your son has a good imagination—it is not an indication of weakness, or an action which will lead to spontaneous development of homosexuality.  The imagery on toy packaging seems designed to dictate which children should be playing with it, and how. 

Please don’t feel it is your responsibility to define the toy-playing experience for my kids.

Honey, are the dishes clean yet?  The burgers are just about done.

Some toys are counterproductive

We tell our kids they can be anything they want.  To a degree that’s true.  Not every child can be president or a professional quarterback; but with a little bit of aptitude, a strong will, and a lot of determination, the limitations on what they can do are seemingly few. 

Some kids will have to work harder than others.  With that said, wouldn’t you rather your kids color with crayons, imagine they are a superhero, or even shoot each other with Nerf weaponry than play McDonald’s Drive Thru? 

Personally, I want my kids to get plenty of interaction, lots of exercise and preferably some fresh air while they are at it.  I really hope that all of these over-engineered toys don’t replace playing kickball or hide-and-seek.

Would you like a hot apple pie with that?