Image by Ben Fulton

In no particular order:

• I had more toys (in quantity, at least) than my parents did. My kids are on track to have more than my brother and I ever did. I think this is true for other families. Will this cycle continue? Is it a good thing or undeniably bad?
• To me, Lego is a metaphor for abundance. It works great when you have all the right pieces. You can make all kinds of interesting stuff by mixing and matching. But… trying to find any one piece is almost impossible because it disperses every where and, quite frankly, many pieces are generic and easily mixed in with other pieces. Sure, there’s always lots of Lego… but it isn’t always what you want and it doesn’t always go together.
• What you may think is a perfectly acceptable container or storage place isn’t necessarily what your kids will think. And vice versa.
• When you get enough toys, you stop noticing when some of them get lost or broken. Or else you just don’t care.
• Kids will talk about their toys in ways that only other kids can understand.
• Parents are sometimes driven mad by the single-minded obsession that their children have with their toys.  Other times, they really do get it.
• When you get too many toys, you start forgetting which ones you already have. Or lent out. Or chewed to bits. Or simply lost.
• There will always be a group of kids who insist that they know the “right” rules, games, and uses for toys.  And everyone else is wrong.
• Other kids are so creative and so open that anything goes.
• Toys are a source of delight and bragging rights.   But there’s always someone who has a better toy.
• Toys begat (beget?) clubs of interest.
• Some toys are best enjoyed with friends.  Still others, alone.
• Some toys should never be taken out of their boxes – they’re too much trouble.
• Toys are a great source of conflict, arguments, and hurt feelings.
• Some kids really, really love their toys in a way no one else ever will.
• “He who dies with the most toys, wins.”  How would you ever know?  Who really cares?
• Nonetheless, as kids we tend to admire the kids who have the biggest, best, most expensive, most exclusive toys.  And even envy them.
• Adults still love toys, too.

See any parallels in technology and social media?

Other posts that you might enjoy reading:

• The comic book industry – masters of leverage and diversification
• When a river stops running
• Stuck on replay
• Developments on the home front part 1
• Just one thought for today