by Lee Seow Ser
My six-year old son happily remarked to me in the car the other day, on the way to visiting my parents, how much he had been looking forward to reading his new “toy storybook” again.
I was a little puzzled, as I did not recall him having a book about the Toy Story movie characters. Before I could ask, my husband quietly nudged me and whispered: “He is referring to that toy catalogue he found last week at your mum’s place!”
Ah yes. I remembered that thick, colourful Christmas sale catalogue from a major toy merchant, which had found its way to my mum’s letterbox in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
My boy treated the catalogue like a real storybook. He devoured every page, scrutinising each item featured. He also enjoyed an animated discussion about it with his younger brother, with many gasps of “Whoa! Wow! Ooh!” exchanged between them.
While it was a bizarrely funny sight, my husband and I were secretly thankful for our children’s sensibilities – they good-naturedly stopped short of making any demands that we buy something in that catalogue for them. Nonetheless, for a moment, I guiltily thought “poor chap”, having to live out his fantasy via a catalogue.
Should you start to wonder if my children are deprived of toys (and a childhood), I must clarify: They have no lack of toys, having been showered with the generosity of grandparents and other family members.
That said, it is true my husband and I rarely buy toys for our children. We find the toys often too commercial and overpriced. We select toys critically based on their fun and educational value. For example, we prefer exposing our kids to non-battery-operated toy vehicles, jigsaw puzzles and board games such as chess.
We once bought, at a garage sale, a set of second-hand wood building blocks for S$1. My sons adore them and, till today, they have great fun and construct wonders with the pieces.
On another occasion, I bought several quality die-cast toy cars at a department store sale. I then “rationed” and gave them to the boys one at a time, on special occasions such as birthdays, New Year and Christmas. Each time, they were delighted to add the new item to their growing collection.
In our home, our children have very limited access to popular gadgets like iPads or iPhones. Instead, my husband and I ensure they have unlimited access to other more important “i”s: iDad, iMum, iFamily. Family time and attention are the best gifts we can provide them with.
A Christmas toy catalogue is a marketing tool to snare adults flush with a year-end bonus, through their children. In this increasingly consumerist world, it is important for parents to teach their impressionable children to distinguish needs from wants. I regularly reinforce in my boys the notion that money, and toys, do not simply fall from the sky – parents earn money through honest hard work.
My husband and I plan to organise our own garage sale soon. It will be an opportunity for our children to sift out baby or toddler toys they have outgrown and learn an entrepreneurial skill or two trying to resell their second-hand toys.
We would gladly let them keep the sale proceeds (if any). It would be an incentive for them to market and sell their precious childhood wares! And by putting in effort to earn the pocket money, they will hone their decision-making skills and learn to exercise judgment over what best to do with their earnings.
We would urge the boys to consider: Do they wish to save up all the money or spend part of it to buy a new toy or book, or contribute towards a family holiday, or use it in other meaningful ways?
With Christmas and New Year approaching, it is timely too that our children do their part in the spring-cleaning by clearing their possessions and creating more space at home.
Perhaps I should also challenge my six-year-old to create his very own “Home Garage Toy Story Sale” catalogue – one that surpasses that which he is so smitten by.
And I shall encourage him to keep those worn but beloved, no-frills wooden blocks. For they are truly a timeless gift for any child.
Lee Seow Ser is a mother of two young boys.
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