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I was talking about this with my girlfriend the other day after buying more toys.
Does anyone feel bad that they have more 'toys' than their children?
I was thinking that i have more toys now than when i was a child and it made me think, that i have more toys than almost all children would have?
does this trouble anyone else or am i just wierd?
MehQuote:
Originally Posted by blackie
While it is true, I don't care. I have been collecting them. And unlike most kids, I have kept them in good condition and so I have had time to build up my collection.
When I was younger, toys would get lost or left unplayed with until mum gave them away. Had I done the same as I do now back then, then I'd have a whole lot more toys now.
i dont feel bad as i still own most of my toys from when i was kid and almost all of them are complete and in good condition
so yeah i may have more toys than most "kids" but i am just a bigger kid with bigger toys :p
I like that:D.Quote:
but i am just a bigger kid with bigger toys
I do worry sometimes about buying them and not giving kids a chance to get them and experience them (not my kids). I believe this reason was discussed in another thread. i dont feel bad for long though.
I feel the same as loophole. I have a big collection because I've just never stopped playing with Transformers since I started collecting them in 1984. I would actually feel bad if I ever 'abandoned' Transformers and stopped loving them... I felt sorry for Toy Story 2's Jessie the Cowgirl during When She Loved Me.
To Infinity and Beyond! :)
what i also should have asked, do you feel like you have to buy your children toys when you buy toys for yourself?
i think for when i eventually/hopefully have kids i will have to engorce the "1 for you, 1 for me" ruleQuote:
Originally Posted by blackie
it cuts deep when sum1 who sees my collection says "what.. are you a kid or something?" or this long silence followed by a long stare up and down my one book shelf, don't like people thinking im a kid even though im a really immature and childish person 8======D (.)(.), i think its perfectly fine when i have a stable income so i can enjoy buying hasbro deluxes and voyagers and other toys i wouldn't be collecting these days (e.g bumper battlers and cyber slammers), mainly for me kids enjoyment and my love of TFs
I feel bad that I currently don't have a girlfriend to make me feel bad... :o
over 30 grown men that love you on this board = 1 female girlfriend, that enough isn't it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyle
I prefer to buy my children sports equipment, books and creative materials. Generally toys are wasted on most children and if bought randomly engender an attitude of 'things are free' in life and promote habitual laziness and inherent selfishness.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackie
If I were a dictator I would ban children's toy stores and only have 'collectibles' allowed for adults.
I believe in DirtyDigger!Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDirtyDigger
Dont worry one day your lucky grandchildren will inherit a wonderful toy collection. Just look at it as an investment in future childrens happiness
Couldnt have said it any better- Toys are like crack for kids. They dont really teach kids anything that will help them in life - but i must admit they do enhance the imagination.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDirtyDigger
I do not feel bad, because I do not think it is ethically wrong to have a large collection or many material possessions, as long as we keep things in perspective. For myself, this means I place family and friendship above my hobbies. This does not mean that my collection is somehow automatically "open to all". What it does mean is that I'll not allow my interest in a hobby get to the point where I am not spending any meaningful quality time with my family or close friends.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackie
Additionally, the lack of possessions and/or poverty of others does not make it morally wrong for those who have possessions to enjoy them (assuming the status of those who have not are not a direct result of the immoral choices of those who have).
To use an analogy, people in countries that do not have enough food to eat does not make it somehow wrong for me to enjoy going out on a meal at a nice restaurant. However, if the excess of my lifestyle (e.g. perhaps if I waste good food by throwing it out) contributes in some way to the inequality apparent between nations and peoples, then that ought (to me) to become a cause for concern and action.
My two cents (or is that five cents?).
just want to say im not attempting to attack anyone, we've got some pretty passionate responses already. I was just wondering what people thought (mainly the parents here) as me and the missus were discussing such things (oh god were not having children for a LOOOOOOOOOONG time).
the thing that sparked this idea was when i saw Jay on Friday and he bought his son a toy as well as himself :P
i was thinking that the one for me one for you policy would have to come in if i ever did have children, because i know that i would feel like i was doing my kids a disservice by buying toys for myself but nothing for them.
i do like the idea of digger tho about buying educational material, and sporting goods, and thats what i would do, but every kid needs some toys, i used to have my matchbox cars, which i would play around in the backyard for ages with, and subsequently lose :P
im sure ive burried a few in our backyard over the times, as well as at least one transformer :P
No, and not just 'cos at last count I 'only' have 60-odd (mainly beat-up old ones from when I was a kid) and don't have kids. If I ever do my TFs are staying Daddy's toys and preferably kept safe and out of sight from small careless fingers until the kids much older. Alternately I suspect if they were young and into TFs I'd get them a sacrificial lambformer or 2 when I did, especially if it kept them occupied away from my own latest find (and it is kinda mean making your kid watch you with a new toy with nothing themselves).
As for 'most kids', when they grow up they too can blow ludicrous amounts of money on old/new toys and eat cheesecake for breakfast if they want.Only if you're a rugby groupie...Quote:
Originally Posted by autobreadticon
Lately I have started to feel very bad. Especially since I installed a new shelving unit in my entertainment room last week, it put into perspective how many toys I actually have (and that was only the displayed ones). My nephews came over and saw the shelves and said, "Whoa!!! Uncle's got more toys than all our friends put together!!" Also, my 2 year old daughter has been getting curious and starts wandering in the room and just stands there looking at them, wanting to grab them and play and I have to say no, which makes her cry and then my wife starts giving me a lecture about how many toys I have compared to my daughter. I have found lately, that I want to buy more toys for her rather than myself which has led to a dramatic reduction in my acquisitions of late. The lack of new toys from Hasbro as well has also killed my enthusiasm for TFs as well so I guess its a good thing as well in that I now spend more time with family rather than toys which admittedly, spend 5 minutes being transformed and then displayed (or stored), rarely to be touched again. I've also found lately that I'm more willing to let my nephews play with my TFs and have found they actually can transform the more complex toys once I have shown them how. And it made me realise that toys are meant to be played with the way my nephews play with then rather than being displayed and stored, rarely touched. And it brought a smile to my face to see them with their vivid imaginations running wild. :)
There is a bit of an omymoron there. If most of didn't get toys as a kid, we wouldn't bother collecting Transformers now would we?Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDirtyDigger
ROFL! Obviously collecting toys is better than SOME hobbies...Quote:
Originally Posted by Ode to a Grasshopper
When my kid is older I'll definitely have to buy 1 for me and 1 for him. But I have given this alot of thought. Considering how reckless kids can be with toys I'll be slowly letting my son upgrade. ATM he has Bumper Battlers/Cyber Slammers... when he is older he will go to FABS and then when he is older still He will finally strt with proper toys. Also I am in the process of structuring a "wage" for my kid for all his chores he will have to do when he is older. That way if he wants a decent TF he'll have to work for it and hopefully he'll appreciate it and not wreck it.
Not so much an oxymoron but part of my ultimate master plan as Supreme Ruler to rid the world of wasteful and ineffecient practices and products such as toys and fantasy and to have the populace all focused on what I know to be the single most important goal our species should have, which is getting into space and colonising it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetsuwan Convoy
All eyes up citizens!
Excellent and intelligent Bobby.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bartrim
That which we obtain too cheaply we esteem too lightly.
I have come to the decision that Im selling off all my toys and only keeping my g1 & universe transformers, which I consider collectables. I feel comfortable with this decision because quite simply, everything Im keeping an average parent couldn't justify purchasing for their children.
Even before deciding to sell off all my extra stuff I did not collect the Animated line as I feel that Animated is the TF line for kids of today. My theory is, let the kids get all the Animated things now to build up a childhood love of TF's, then once they grow they can get into the more collectable figures, such as G1, Universe and MPs and whatever else the future holds.
I've had situations at my stalls where grown men have bought hundreds of dollars of collectibles, but have told their children that they can't have anything. In those cases I've always given the kids free Spychangers or McDonalds Transformers - the toys don't mean much to me, but might brighten the kids' day. Or hour anyway.
I feel the whole thing is a tough call - if children are given too many toys by their parents then they aren't developing a work ethic and may get the message that good things will just be thrown at them. I also have issues with the materialistic nature of Transformers - I find there's something just a bit disturbing about having a massive accumulation of toys. That's one of the reasons why I choose to have a different 'collection' to many of the other chosen collection aesthetics of the board - mine ebbs and flows - I buy new toys and sell old toys so I never have too many at one time.
Parenting is hard - parents sacrifice a lot for their children, so it's nice for them to be able to treat themselves once in a while. For mothers, that's often on clothes, shoes or handbags. For fathers, it's usually some sort of toy or gadget, whether automotive, electrical, or - in 'our' case - Transformer.
Thats something I've never understood, parents buying themselves heaps of stuff and not getting their kid something. Unless its for a present I cannot fathom not buying someone else (especially a dependant) something if you are spoiling yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sky Shadow
You probably make those kids hours in the present, but hopefully they probably remember getting those spychangers more fondly as they grow older.
Thats quite profound DD. Quote of the week. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDirtyDigger
I would like my future children to earn their toys as rewards as part of a merit system. I've tried this once before on a friend's son where I bought a Legends Optimus Prime toy - kept it MOSC and told him that he could have it if he could maintain 10 points after 1 week. Each time he misbehaved he would lose 1 point but any time he would do something praiseworthy he would earn 1 point. His points went up and down throughout the week, but by the end of the week he had earnt back all lost points and had a total score of 10, so I gave him the toy. :)
And I think that Transformers are quite intelligent toys. There's the problem-solving/puzzle aspect that comes from transforming them as well as the imagination and creativity that comes from playing with them as well as experiencing the mythology through cartoons and comic books etc.
If my kid ever asked me why I have more toys than him/her I would simply point out that my collection has been acquired over 25+ years -- it's not as if I had 1274 Transformers when I was in primary school! :p (yeah, you know you're old whenever you use the words "When I was your age..."!)
It happens a lot more than you think! Its like the guys who turn up to car shows with these awesome tricked up cars and along side are their kids dressed in ratty old hand me downs.Quote:
Thats something I've never understood, parents buying themselves heaps of stuff and not getting their kid something. Unless its for a present I cannot fathom not buying someone else (especially a dependant) something if you are spoiling yourself.
Regarding the points system Gok, i think it depends on the age of the child. I tried this on my 4-5 year old and it didnt work. Nowadays i just reward good/ excellent behavior accordingly and remind him that bad behavior will gain him absolutely nothing. All kids are different though.
I have found that his Nintendo DS is quite a bargaining chip ( I still think he is too young for it but the women folk bought it for him). I think ive had it more than he has! Its not that he cant play it- getting him off of it when he is told is next to impossible which results in an argument and the DS is sent to daddys impound yard!
I've never thrown away a toy, so for me this isn't about playthings, it is about taking care of something that brings me enjoyment and continues to do so. Many, many of my friends wrecked and/or threw away their toys, always moving on to the next thing. I value what I have and hope my children will learn from that example. They mean more to me because I have kept them since my childhood and it is a kind of timeline of my growing up. Whatever else was happening, there were always Transformers.
Each series is a placeholder for a part of my life.
So I guess I don't see them as toys in the traditional sense - playthings, educational aides, etc - but a specific hobby.
It's no different to playing sport and spending a lot of time doing that, or photography and having all the gear, or doing up a car, or modding a computer, etc etc. And it certainly is not as bad as gambling or overindulging in alcohol etc.
I guess it all depends on whether it is a hobby for you, or simply toys to play with for a time.
It's very different from playing sport. Almost polar opposites as far as pasttimes go. However collecting Tf's is very similar to those other hobbies you mentioned and definitely not as bad as gambling or overindulging in alcohol.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiby
I never feel bad. Because when it does. Its time to change hobbies. I personally dont even play with the "toys". I just stare and marvel at the intricacies of the boxes, and I see the figures as improving the overall aestheticness of the box. I will leave the "playing" to my future kids. I'll just make sure to teach them how to do it first...so that they dont snap a mirage in half, which I have done 3 times or hurt themself playing with fort max.
I don't feel bad. I look at the little kids and laugh at them for not having as much toys as me.
:D :D :D
Occasionally. The only time I've really felt bad was after I found out that the friend who had partially convinced me that Ultra Magnus was a cool toy was on a guilt trip for doing so.
I've begun to contemplate selling some of the toys I don't really like all that much before I go on to uni, so I don't have mountains of crap left at home that could be given to people who'd actually play with them.
I do not have any children, so of course I have more toys than my non existent children.Quote:
Originally Posted by blackie
Some people commented about how some people make them feel like an idiot/childish for collecting 'kids' toys. My reply to that is "So what?" I know a lot of people on a casual basis through work and uni that do not know of my obsession (although most people I consider close, do know of it) and would have no idea that I love tf's. I'm sure those people have things about them far worse than a toy collecting interest.
It is also very presumptuous of someone to pidgeon-hole toy collectors as being 'old, loser dudes that have no life and can't pick up girls'. If you have an interest in anything creative, you would be inclined to explore new creations from toy companies! Tell me.. how much fun it is checking out a new mold and the way it looks, its design features, posability and articulation, paint and colouring.. and the way in which it TRANSFORMS.. the list goes on! If you like any of the arts including MUSIC - which I do, you are inclined to appreciate the design of a toy.
When it comes to kids and their parents buying them toys and toy availability for kids - the rough stats were only 10-20% of sales of transformers were attributed to adult collectors.. that tells me that every time I'm at the checkout buying a toy, there were AT LEAST 4 kiddies ahead of me who picked up something (that I may have wanted!). So..SCREW them! lol. At the end of the day, Hasbro exists to make money. If we buy the toy or the kid down the road gets it, it doesn't matter. If more sell (increased demand), Hasbro are likely to increase the supply :) .. which means MORE TOYS for everyone!
anyway..enuf of a rant.
just BUY transformers. Period.
It's also imagination. I play with my toys which requires use of imagination as I get lost in the fantasy. It's also a form of escapism which is what recreation is for. Einstein played children's games and once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." :)