I spent a lot of time recently thinking about toys. Well, it all started not so recently, in fact, but recently this idea that I am toying with is not letting me rest. So I spend more and more time thinking about toys.
If you never noticed, the toys in the shops are somewhat different from what we used to have a good twenty years ago. Drop by some time at the toy shop and have a very good look around just by yourself. Check out the toys. See anything strange? No? Check the material and where they are all made. Maybe that’ll give a clue.
Once, toys were not so abundant. When I grew up, the toys were something very special. You did not even get a toy every birthday, although the parents tried. They were expensive and they were good. And you cherished and wanted them. And they were a pleasure to hold and, oh, so carefully, to play with.
Then the industrial revolution in the toy world happened. First, there became to be many, many more toys and they became cheap. And that was wonderful. Kids could now have all the toys in the world. Well, most of them, and at least in Europe. The toys, let’s put it another way, became quite affordable. I suppose anyone could afford to buy toys for birthdays of their kids at least. Most parents bought many more toys than necessary, to tell you the truth.
And then something not so benign happened. And we did not notice it in the beginning but by now it is, oh, so apparent. The toys are made in China. The toys are made of the cheapest possible plastic. They are made without any regard to design and quality. They are not at all pleasant to take into your hands. And not pleasant or fun to play with. And they break after half an hour.
In a word, there is something awful in the toy industry. It literally went down the drain. There is probably no toy factory in the world that makes good toys anymore. The toys are bought by hundreds and quickly end up in the landfills. What is the point of such toys? They are more than useless, they are harmful.
And to get to the point, I am toying with an idea of a toy factory. I want our children and grandchildren to play with high quality toys. I want them to enjoy the toys and cherish them as I cherished mine so long time ago. Otherwise, as they grow, they will not learn to cherish things that they earn and all of their life may get filled with things that belong to a landfill, making their life a landfill. And that would be sad.