TOY BOX RULES

THE RATHER BRILLIANT British online lifestyle store Cox & Cox has launched a specialist toy arm, called Toy Box. Modelled “on the little toy shop, that barely exists now on the high street, that is a treasure trove of both beautiful and quirky toys,” Toy Box features the likes of old-fashioned Tiddlywinks sets (pictured below), giant bubble makers, and craft/making sets for boys and girls [such as the Skyrail engineering kit pictured bottom, £33].

We asked its co-founder Michelle Follett Holt - mother to two girls aged 11 and 15, “who are my best product testers and severest critics but who think it is the best job for a mum to have in the whole wide world!” - how to deal with the nightmare that can be living with toys; why we’re all coveting the toys of our childhoods; and what to buy and not to buy for your little ones…

LittleBig: Why do nostalgic / timeless toys of our own childhoods seem to have a renewed relevance and popularity now?

MFH: Parents are naturally more inclined to join in with a game they are familiar with. Many of the retro toys that are having a comeback are great at encouraging family participation which is so important. Most children I think, given the choice, would prefer to play tiddlywinks with Dad than play a new game alone. Traditionally when times are tough people tend to focus more on the past and this comes through even in toys.

LB: What are your personal favourites in the Toy Box collection?

MFH: I love the Dragon Bonz [pictured top, £20]. It is an unusual, funky toy that is great value and it allows the child’s imagination to run wild as they make up a host of scary-looking dragons with the 55 weird and wonderfully shaped pieces that push together. I also adore the Russian Nesting Dolls [pictured right, £22]. They are a gorgeous modern take on the traditional in fabulous fresh colours.

LB: Does it surprise you what toys children pick for themselves?

MFH: Sometimes as adults I think we can over judge toys and might consider them as being unattractive, cheap looking, unproductive, un-educational, etc. Children don’t make this judgement and can love a product just because it is fun and amuses them - just what toys should do! I wasn’t quite sure about our Nellie the Rocking Elephant, £55, at first but every child who saw it, including my way-too-old 11-year-old, sat on it and adored the way you can pull the cord and her trunk comes up and squeeze her ear and she trumpets!

LB: The toy market is a minefield for new parents. What do you recommend people buy for their babies / toddlers? And what in your experience is a complete waste of money?

MFH: I don’t think anything can be described as a waste of money for everyone - what suits some children and family situations may not suit others. My advice to new parents is to listen and watch other parents and babies and keep it simple. It is so easy with the excitement of a new baby to buy every toy on the market but the reality is that babies are as amused by the wrapping paper as they are with the high quality toy it was wrapped in.

LB: Toys have become a bit of a moral issue. Can you give any advice on how parents should cope with living / dealing with toys so they don’t get too uptight about it all?

MFH: From my own experience, children do go through periods of having what feels like vast quantities of toys. This is largely down to their age - they start off with smaller hand held or suspended toys as babies, then comes the interactive larger toys such as push-alongs, ride-ons followed by the dolls houses, play kitchen, garages, castles and all of the associated add-ons such as soldiers, pots and pans, cars etc. At that point you feel as if your home is just one big toy box! However this period then passes and the focus turns to smaller more constructive, creative or interactive toys. My way of dealing with it was to have an annual clear out of old toys with the children - usually about a month before Christmas because Santa won’t come to children with too many toys already! We would then box all the old toys up neatly and take them to the nearest charity shop where they would hopefully get recycled and enjoyed by other children. Another idea is to ask friends and relatives periodically to buy goodwill gifts instead such as adopting a donkey, make a donation to a wildlife fund on behalf of the child, etc.  I don’t think parents should get too hung up about cheap toys as long as they are clearly marked as safe for children. The entertainment value for some toys might be very high but very short. If you have spent a fortune on a really expensive toy it is heart-breaking to see it never used. If it was cheap and cheerful but gave them a few hours of fun then it could be just as valuable as something expensive….

*Cox & Cox Toy Box: www.coxandcox.co.uk/categories/toy-box