tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post2000045422041604417..comments2008-11-18T12:23:21.137-05:00CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-38034842671301117552008-11-18T12:23:00.000-05:002008-11-18T12:23:00.000-05:00CityBeat put up a very good article about this topic <A HREF="http://www.citybeat.com/cincinnati/blog-222-christmas-inspiration-from-a-stick-and-a-cardboard.html" REL="nofollow">here.</A>Mark Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15155390616574310800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-56963777253981975292008-11-15T09:24:00.000-05:002008-11-15T09:24:00.000-05:00As for specific toy recommendations, I haven't played with <A HREF="http://www.offi.com/products/offikids/SFRAME.php?p2c=266" REL="nofollow">Spaceframe</A>, but I've heard that it's cool.VisuaLingualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05940655509018040523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-29912806381885555562008-11-14T19:36:00.000-05:002008-11-14T19:36:00.000-05:00I'd be interested if anyone else has been to the toylab that Corriesan references. I've heard about it here and there, but never made it out.<BR/><BR/>It's by the Biggs on Beechmont Ave.CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-9293749845025338702008-11-14T18:07:00.000-05:002008-11-14T18:07:00.000-05:00Lincoln Logs were my weapons of choice when I was younger. I then got into Legos occasionally and every so often playing cards. Oh, those were the days.Randy Simeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14272257274373604807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-83241095921426358352008-11-14T17:47:00.000-05:002008-11-14T17:47:00.000-05:00dp,<BR/><BR/>I&#39;m not sure that says anything but &quot;normal kids.&quot; Years ago when Craig Kopp was co-hosting the 55KRC morning show with Jerry Thomas he told a story that I&#39;ll always remember.<BR/><BR/>He and his wife are very progressive-minded and anti-gun. They went to great pains to raise their son without any toy guns, GI Joes, violent movies, etc. One day he &amp; the wife were watching their then 10 yr old son out the kitchen window playing alone in the backyard. Craig described his utter horror when the kid picked up a bent stick, held it at arms length, and ran around the yard yelling &quot;bang bang bang bang&quot; in mock-shooting fashion.<BR/><BR/>He said it was that moment that he realized the &quot;combat ethos&quot; was such an ingrained part of our culture that it couldn&#39;t be filtered out by even the most determined parent.<BR/><BR/>To properly channel that natural tendency, we put our 3 boys into Tae Kwon Do at age 5. Martial arts not only teach useful defensive skills, but self-restraint (force IS a last resort), and they do so within a framework of discipline and respect.<BR/><BR/>They work off all that natural adrenaline by donning pads head-to-toe and kicking the hell out of each other without anybody getting hurt. Then they bow, shake hands and discuss technique with their coach.<BR/><BR/>Our youngest is an 8yr old girly girl who wants nothing to do with that. She plays a lot with the Legos (my 12, 16 &amp; 17 yr olds still do too, homework permitting) but she really wanted dolls. So we got her a big open-back dollhouse with all kinds of furniture and stuff. She sets the human figures aside and spends hours rearranging the room layouts. CityKin&#39;s right; the desire to build is innate, and interior designers are a vital part of the building team too. Apparently that&#39;s her thing.Mark Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15155390616574310800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-65630405037900341662008-11-14T17:01:00.000-05:002008-11-14T17:01:00.000-05:00OOOH - and I just learned about this in the area - http://happeninc.com/toylab_index.html<BR/><BR/>Sounds really cool and hopefully we'll be heading there soon!corrinesanhttp://openid.aol.com/corrinesannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-70913491451850699862008-11-14T17:00:00.000-05:002008-11-14T17:00:00.000-05:00My builder, inventor-wanna-be daughter loves k'nex most of all - we have gazillions of them!<BR/><BR/>The geekdad blog on wired has some awesome toys (and books, and festivals, and projects) for techie types of kids.corrinesanhttp://openid.aol.com/corrinesannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-80375312715732199232008-11-14T15:39:00.000-05:002008-11-14T15:39:00.000-05:00The big legos are pretty good especially for kids under 4 years old. They are best for just building towers / houses and they can be used with the smaller legos later.CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-85603476030214975322008-11-14T14:47:00.000-05:002008-11-14T14:47:00.000-05:00Definitely a lego kid. As sons of a civil engineer, my brother and I got 1 or 2 sets for every xmas/bday. You're definitely right about building the "box picture" once. After that, they got dumped into "the big box" and reincarnated as something else. Not sure what this says about us, but our favorite re-uses seemed to be the construction of a full army of vehicles or weapons, followed by a full-scale war that occupied most of the 2nd floor of our house...or just a demolition derby.<BR/><BR/>Since my wife is very much a 'dolls and ballet' girl, it's clearly up to me to encourage my daughter to become a "builder". Any suggestions for what I should sneak onto her Xmas list? She's 2-1/2. Anyone use those "big" legos?DPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15038691937231952655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-30984573096853857912008-11-14T11:47:00.000-05:002008-11-14T11:47:00.000-05:00VisuaLingual; I'd like to do a follow up post about how everything for girls has to be pink and bonus points if it has the Disney princess theme. The original legos have a universal appeal that is very cool for girl builders.CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-66372673934681492832008-11-14T11:44:00.000-05:002008-11-14T11:44:00.000-05:00Superstructs apparently can be only bought locally at:<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.tedstrains.com/" REL="nofollow">Ted&#39;s Toys &amp; Trains, Inc.</A> <BR/>6934 Miami Avenue<BR/>Cincinnati, Ohio 45243CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-77638522757750207912008-11-14T11:40:00.000-05:002008-11-14T11:40:00.000-05:00<A HREF="http://www.superstructs.com/" REL="nofollow">Superstructs</A> is kinda what I'm thinking about as an upgraded version of Tinkertoys.CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-75682058852899496962008-11-14T11:37:00.000-05:002008-11-14T11:37:00.000-05:00I think Tinkertoy Co needs to innovate. They haven't changed since 1914 and it is hard to build much other than a windmill with them. <BR/><BR/>And they are the ones with the metal lid that never fits back on the round tube!CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-20657373418793173772008-11-14T10:45:00.000-05:002008-11-14T10:45:00.000-05:00Did you whippersnappers never get Tinkertoys for Christmas? They were the Legos of the 1950s and surprisingly versatile.Radarmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07490374472499934197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-82605723976590719502008-11-14T10:44:00.000-05:002008-11-14T10:44:00.000-05:00One of my favorite gifts as a young kid--a 45 record with the reading of and the music of A Midsummers Night&#39;s Dream and Scheherazade. Loved it and played constantly while I was buzzing around.<BR/>Tonka toys might have been a better choice to foreshadow rigging hospital equipment together:&gt;)distracted by shiny objectshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15238905633085051322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-33819686514581257862008-11-14T10:22:00.000-05:002008-11-14T10:22:00.000-05:00Mike, you're right about Lego. Since I was a kid, they've come out with many more themed lines [pirates, Medieval castle, etc.], and there have been forays into more gendered themes [I vaguely remember some pink, girly tropical resort-type sets]. I can understand expanding into specific themes, but the gendered sets really pissed me off when my sister was little, because they seemed counter to the Lego ideal that I remember so fondly from when I was a kid.VisuaLingualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05940655509018040523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-24649403781876061772008-11-14T09:36:00.000-05:002008-11-14T09:36:00.000-05:00I loved my old metal Tonka truck!<BR/>They don't make em like that anymore.5chw4r7zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00635910297238841220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6782792124434572025.post-68297167499885895882008-11-14T09:01:00.000-05:002008-11-14T09:01:00.000-05:00Wow, the memories of all these toys. I think the erector sets never quite did what they were supposed to. Lincoln logs are pretty good. I always wonder why they haven't updated them more and why they always have a lid on their cardboard tube box that doesn't fit right.<BR/><BR/>It seems that when we were kids, legos were a newer thing weren't they? They definitely didn't have as many specialty shapes like they do now. My kids build a lot with simple wood blocks too.<BR/><BR/>Starting with the first blanket over a table, kids love to build and make homes/caves. We are all born with this desire to build.<BR/><BR/>Great Tonka digger truck..CityKinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09068481950069401281noreply@blogger.com