James May’s Timeless Toys are Ideal Gifts
Will our children reflect on the toys and computer games that they have today with the same enthusiasm that James May exhibits for Plasticene, Meccano and Scalextric?
In the new TV series ‘James May’s Toy Stories’ we se Mr May blowing big chunks of the BBC’s budget building huge structures using toys from yesteryear. They’ve concocted a series in which Mr May builds a full-size plastic Spitfire plane, a full size house from Lego bricks, a full size bridge over the Leeds and Liverpool canal built entirely from Meccano and a 3 mile replica of the Brooklands banked racing circuit built entirely from Scalextric.
The playthings that Mr May favours all involved construction. They come from a time when toys inspired an interest in construction, engineering and making things rather than escapism into a fantasy world of monsters and violence.
His TV series comes at a time when many of us are thinking about gifts for our children. Computer games have been at the top of their gift list for many years. Last year they wanted a Wii Fit and Guitar Hero. This year they are hoping that Santa will bring them DJ Hero.
I’ve been discussing which form of toy is actually the most beneficial for child development? Computer games and games consoles or construction toys like Meccano, Lego and Scalextric.
I belong to the same generation as Mr May. I grew up with Action Man, Lego, Bicycles and Model Airplanes. Computer games didn’t appear until after I’d left school and I’ve never really understood why they have become so appealing. Personally, I would get a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction from building a model railway circuit than I would from pretending to be a disk jockey or pretending to play guitar. I suppose that building a model railway is actually pretending to be a railway engineer. Toot Toot!
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