Top 10 low-tech toys #10: Cardboard boxes
Categories: Media, Toys & games
Here we are: Number 10. I've saved the best for last. As a reader noted on another installment
of this series, the cardboard box is the Grand Poobah of low-tech toys. The old joke about returning the toys to the
store and letting the kids have just the box isn't far off the mark: just set a spacious box on its bottom or
its side, and you have a Clubhouse of the Mind that will keep little ones busy for hours.
But does the fun stop there? Hell no! Boxes are the fodder for many a crafts project.
Robot costume.
Miniature golf course.
Toy train.
Guitar.
Dragon.
Finger puppet theater.
Box town.
Puzzle.
Picture frame. Or build a
dollhouse, a hospital, an office building, a
kitchen, or any other structure your child's mind
can conceive. There's almost nothing that a few
boxes, some tape, and a sharp knife can't do.
I love technology. But kids - and parents - can over-rely on technology to entertain. Perhaps your children contend that they're "bored" in a household of gizmos and gadgets. Perhaps you're going through a rough financial patch, and can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on video game consoles and books that read themselves. Either way, a return to basics may be in order. Often, a few scraps of clothing, some clothespins, or a pack of paper are all you need to set fire to a young imagination.
All previous low-tech toys:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
suburban misfit 12-18-2005 @ 6:38PM
All 10 of these low-tech toys are in constant rotation in our house. It's fun to see kids who DON'T have access to them come over and *really* get into the imaginative play.
Reply
Theresa 12-18-2005 @ 6:38PM
Wonderful list. We have everything but the toy soldiers, and I am a huge fan of paper. I carry paper and crayons/markers/scissors in a bag in the van to help keep them occupied. I try to balance these sort of toys with the tech toys and all the garbage they see and must have on TV.
Reply
Jay 12-18-2005 @ 6:38PM
Hmmm. how about the good old "Rocking Horse?"
I hadn't seen one of these until recently.http://www.firstalittletlc.com To be honest these have been updated.
A rocking horse could become a horse, motorcycle, or even a rocketship with a creative imagination. Well, as I recall- that is.
Reply
Ann Adams 12-18-2005 @ 6:38PM
A broom can become a horse quite easily.
Reply