Anyway, he got a boatload of Legos. I mentioned Legos to several relatives and they all jumped on that suggestion, knowing that Jack loves creating something out of nothing. His skills are pretty amazing and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mother. On the contrary, sometimes I wish he was a little less amazing because well, I may be Smarter Than a Fifth Grader but I'm not sure that I'm smarter than my six year old. Tom and I look the masterpieces created by The Boy and we are faced with the reality that maybe we're not actually as brilliantly awesome as we think we are. Well, at least in that arena. Challenge us to Jeopardy and we'll KICK YOUR ASS! (And then I'll kick his as well, rendering me Supreme Ruler of TV Trivia.) ANYWAY...
What is up with toys coming in sets these days? I mean building toys. It makes sense that some things come together like those Little People towns and such but things like Legos and Lincoln Logs...why on Earth are they packaged in sets?
You can buy a set to build a space ship. Another to build a post office. And on and on. Why stifle a child's imagination like that? Anyone can take the booklet of illustrated directions and create the picture shown on the box. A chimpanzee could do it. What lesson does that teach? Okay, yeah, following directions maybe but THAT particular lessons should be mastered long before a child is ready for a toy for kids aged 7-12.
Legos, at least, you can get in a big box with enough pieces to create more than one item. The box comes with directions on how to build several different models but I tossed that puppy as soon as Jack's back was turned. Lincoln Logs, on the other hand, are only available in small sets that come with just enough pieces to build one thing. It's ridiculous! When I was a kid, I looooved Lincoln Logs. I used to build entire towns in our basement with all kinds of structures. Then Jon would come in with his G.I. Joes who would annihilate the town which apparently was a Cobra stronghold but whatever, the fun was in the building so I didn't care (much.)
Jack would love Lincoln Logs and I would love to get some for him. I won't though, because he would quickly grow bored with building the same thing like he would with his new Lego sets if he didn't have the box of extra pieces on the side to augment the designs presented by the manufacturer.
Why not just give a kid a bunch of pieces and let him or her go to town? So much of school is about taming impulses, following rules, coloring inside the lines. In the little bit of downtime our kids have, shouldn't the sky be the limit? Why are we teaching them to think "inside the box" at such a young age? It makes no sense to me. No sense at all. I only wish my parents had held on to my Lincoln Log collection so Jack could work wonders with them far beyond anything I ever did.
I think a child's creativity should be encouraged to bloom and appreciated for its uniqueness. Apparently, the folks at Hasbro disagree.
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