According to the philosopher and writer Johan Huizinga, toys are vital for human development, because by playing, the child models their future activities in adulthood, and besides, the game itself, no matter what, is our life in miniature. Therefore, it is necessary and vitally important to play, at literally any age.
Just don't tell your kids about this, or you'll have to buy them whatever toys they want in any store, and buying toys will take up most of your family budget! And for us, adults, in childhood, everything was definitely not like that...
Well, let's agree, each of us - unless, of course, our parents were in the Forbes Top 1000 - had some special toys that we longed for as children, but alas, we never received them. For one it may have been some kind of stunningly beautiful doll, someone else may have desperately wanted a computer game, and someone else was a huge fan of a Transformer car. And all this is united by the fact that we never got the opportunity to play with them. In our childhood, that is.
Recently, a thread appeared in the AskReddit community, the author of which asked readers this question: "What is a toy you always wanted growing up, but never got?" Now there are already more than 700 different comments in the thread - and we could not even imagine that there are so many different cool toys in this world!
Bored Panda has compiled this selection of the most outstanding, interesting and simply popular comments from the original thread especially for you, so please feel free to scroll this list to the very end, upvote the best submissions and, of course, add your own favorite toys in the comments below the post. After all, we all come from childhood, so let's dive into our memory once more!
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#1
The Brave Heart care bear. He was my favourite. I asked for him many times, and I never got him (or any care bear for that matter).
This casually came up in conversation once early on in my relationship with my boyfriend. He bought it for me for my 35th birthday that year.
278points
#2
The Barbie Jeep that you could actually ride in. But once I had kids, I bought them one (not the Barbie version, but still). And guess what? I was five pounds under the weight limit so I was able to ride in their battery-powered Jeep. I mean, it was a couple decades late, but I eventually got to do it.
243points
#4
A chemistry set. This was during the 1960s, before the 1969 Child Protection and Toy Safety Act. I didn't get a chemistry set, but I did get a Thingmaker, which at the time was an open hot plate that metal molds were set on, to cure Thingmaker goo into rubbery shapes. Releasing fumes that would set off coughing fits if breathed too deeply, and sometimes getting burned by the hot plate. 'Twas a wild time for children's toys.
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159points
#8
A real RC car. Not the garbage my parents had gotten me from Radio shack that took 723 AA batteries and couldn’t move on anything but the hardwood floor.
No. I wanted a proper Taniya monster truck like the Lunch Box or a buggy like the grasshopper. Or an amazing one from Kyosho. They took real NiCd battery packs. Had real transmitters. Could plow through dirt and grass.
As an adult my wife and I were driving and I saw an RC shop and said “hey hun. Can I stop somewhere for a sec?” She ofc said “sure”.
That was 20 years ago.
I now have 16 different RC vehicles from planes to helicopters to buggies and monster trucks. Of all sizes. Being an adult means getting the things I always wanted.
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139points
#10
Hotweels. But I’m a girl and those were “boy toys”. Still pissed. Anyone old enough to remember the slime ramp s**t they came out with will get it. Hot wheels knew slime was gonna be a hit 20 years prior edit: the Harry Potter slime gummy maker thing. Y’all know what I mean
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119points
#11
There was a super mega barbie mansion that came out with an elevator and garage or something. Maybe it was a pool. Idk but it looked sick af to 8 year old me
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115points
#14
A typewriter. It was at the top of my Christmas list when I was about 11, and I begged and begged for one. That Christmas, my younger sister got one, but I didn't. I even double checked the tag to make sure there wasn't a mix up.
I didn't say anything, but I was so incredibly disappointed and confused and didn't know what I did to warrant what felt like a punishment. I thought I must have come across as too entitled or something since I had insisted it had to actually type (ie, not a 'pretend' one).
I mentioned it years later to my mom - yeah, it stuck with me. She didn't remember it at all and denied doing it as any kind of punishment or lesson. I think she just got a little confused about who wanted what when she was buying gifts and got it in her head that my sister was the one who wanted the typewriter. There were 4 of us to keep track of after all.
My sister was a little s**t about it. She gloated and would never let me use it. Brat.
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106points
#16
Play-do Barber Shop. I became a hairstylist years later.
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104points
#17
Sea Monkeys.
Once I learned about Artemia nauplii, there was no point...
Once I learned about Artemia nauplii, there was no point...
92points
#18
A real cabbage patch doll. All my friends had them and would bring them to school and play with them at recess. My mom got me a fake doll from the craft fair. And it looked exactly how you'd picture a fake cabbage patch doll from the craft fair to look
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89points
#20
The playback voice recorder that kevin had on home alone lol
The red side pistol the power rangers used to carry. Those were the hardest to find toys on the market at the time.
82points