Outdoor Toys & Activities

A toy is an object meant to be played with. Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-domesticated animals to play with toys. more...

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Beanies
Construction Toys & Kits
Creative Toys/ Activities
Diecast & Vehicles
Educational Toys
Electronic Pets
Fast Food/ Cereal/ Sweets...
Games
Jigsaws & Puzzles
Model Kits
Other Toys & Games
Outdoor Toys & Activities
Boomerangs
Bouncy Castles & Inflatables
Climbing Frames
Croquet
Frisbees
Garden Games/ Activities
Juggling
Kites
Other Outdoor Toys/...
Paddling Pools
Playhouses/ Wendyhouses
Pogo Sticks
Ride-on Cars
Sand Pits/ Sand Toys
Scooters
Skates
Skipping Ropes
Slides
Space Hoppers
Swingball
Swings
Tents
Trampolines
Tricycles/ Trikes
Water Pistols
Pre-School/ Young Children
Radio-Controlled
Scalextric & Slot Car
Soft Toys/ Stuffed Animals
Steam
TV & Film Character Toys
Toy Soldiers
Vintage/ Classic Toys
Wargames & Role-Playing

Many items are manufactured to serve as toys, but items produced for other purposes can also be used as toys. A child may pick up a household item and 'fly' it around pretending that it is an airplane, or an animal might play with a pinecone by batting at it, chasing it, and throwing it up in the air. Some toys are intended primarily as Collector's items and are not to be played with.

The origin of toys is prehistoric; dolls of infants, animals, or soldiers, and miniature representations of the tools of adults are readily found at archaeological sites. The origin of the word is unknown, but it is believed to have been first used in the 14th century.

Toys and play in general are an important part of the process of learning about the world and growing up. The young use toys and play to discover their identity, help their bodies grow strong, learn cause and effect, explore relationships, and practice skills they will need as adults. Adults use toys and play to form and strengthen social bonds, teach the young, remember and reinforce lessons from their own youth, exercise their minds and bodies, practice skills they may not use every day, and decorate their living spaces. Toys are more than simple amusement, and they and the way they are used profoundly influence most aspects of life.

History

Most young mammals play, and will play with whatever they can find, turning such things as pinecones or rocks into toys. It simply makes sense then that toys have a history as old as human civilization itself. Toys and games have been unearthed from the sites of ancient civilizations. They have been written about in some of our oldest literature. Toys excavated from the Indus valley civilization (3000-1500 BCE) include small carts, whistles shaped like birds, and toy monkeys which could slide down a string.

The earliest toys were made from materials found in nature, such as rocks, sticks, and clay. Dolls are some of the oldest types of toy. Thousands of years ago, Egyptian children played with dolls with wigs and movable limbs which were made from stone, pottery, and wood. In Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, children played with dolls made of wax or terra cotta, sticks, bows and arrows, and yo-yos. When Greek children came of age it was customary for them to sacrifice the toys of their childhood to the gods.

As technology changed and civilization progressed to what it is today, toys also changed. Whereas aincent toys were made from materials found in nature like stone, wood, and grass modern toys are often made from plastic, cloth, and synthentic materials. Where ancient toys were often made by the parents and family of the children who used them, or by the children themselves, modern toys are often mass-produced and sold in stores.

Read more at Wikipedia.org