As I walked into my niece's 3rd birthday party, carrying the obligatory stack of presents, I was ultimately appalled by the sight of all the toys she had received. Though the quantity of toys was shocking by itself, what I was mainly set back by was the design quality and inspiration of the toys.
             All the toys were made of plastic and included one or more safety features for the slow and or stupid. Where did the metal Tonka trucks go, or the solid wood doll house? Is America's youth so weak and fragile that everything must be made of a floatable nonabrasive poly-cotton plastic material that is hypoallergenic and soft to the touch?
             In the days of my youth, the toys we had to play with were tough rugged toys. The manufacturers were still concerned with quality. If one bought a toy, it would last for ten years. I still have a metal slide. I bought in 1983 and I can still slide down it with some certainty that it will hold my weight. The toy industry wanted to make children happy and still be able to cut the parents a break on expense when I was a child. One toy lasted forever.
             The toys made in today's market are flighty weak toys for a flighty weak generation. They are toys made of plastic, shaped like funny animals, that do not do anything fun. They are designed to guarantee safety. Should one manage to have fun with one, one would probably be using it incorrectly. The manufacturers are more concerned with lawsuits from whiney parents, to pay any attention to quality of materials. This, in turn, makes a product's life expectancy 2 years at the most.
             The new age toys eliminate the chance of getting hurt with at least 9 or 10 safety features on each model. They are too big to put in your mouth, too small to drop on your head, and too soft and light to hit the annoying kids on the playground with, when they get to mouthy. The toys I remember from my youth were at least 150lbs each and were made of ether...