Action figures and children today

[brannon86]

I was wondering, since I do not have any children of my own, if children today play with action figures, or even care about them like we did when we were children? Just wondering? All I see today, is collectors buying them, and children playing video games, texting on their cell phones, etc. Curious.

[toys2cool]

mine are still to young so i can't answer that as well as others but my 2 year old plays with his Ultimate Warrior buddy all the time

[HardyGirl]

Even though I don't work w/ the after school bunch anymore, I still see them everyday when they arrive after school. Most of the boys are really into Lego playsets now. I was never really much of a Lego person, 'cos constructing my toys was never my thing, but they have all these little intricate pieces and I think they have storylines to them, and I hear them talking about who has what. The kids who come to my house when I babysit them really love my action figures, though.

[brannon86]

It took alot of imagination on our part when we played with out figures, dolls, etc. I was just wondering if children in this day and age have to use their imagination as much as we did.

[palitoy]

Lego mini figures are the Mego for this generation of kids.

The playability, environments, and the fact that you can swap licenses over because they are all in the same scale, are really big draws.

My kid has a bunch of action figures but Lego is king here and in every other house I visit.

[RickD]

I donated 3 huge box fulls of used Vintage Star Wars vehicles as well as 1980 Gi Joe Toys to under priviledged kids in schools and I tell you what! "THEY LOVED THEM" even the girls! During Recess it was incredible seeing their happy faces and how they responded to the toys!

A week later I received this poster the kids made a huge poster thanking me for the toys and had their signatures on it. I still have it posted in my office! It is one of my favorite pieces!

so yes, they loves toys not just video games, texting, phones, etc.

[samurainoir]

It seems from my casual observations that kids seem to leave action figures quicker than we do, but for actual play value, I do see Lego as being king.

[SeattleEd]

I can speak from my personal surroundings and observations.
Being around kids a lot from having a 4 yo and 11 yo girl I would say no. It appears gadgets and the internet have taken over. Yes, I've seen 4-5 yo kids on computers and smart phones playing with games. It's sad to see but it seems what I had as toys as a child seem archaic compared to what children these days have as entertainment and learning devices. I've bought several actions figures for the children of friends(mostly boys) and when I go over their house I notice the figures are buried under stuff that sits in toy boxes and/or corners.
I've also addressed this similar question to the parents and they tell me the same thing. Kids are becoming very tech savvy these days.

[4NDR01D]

For the past few years I've been working in a group home with boys (ages 8-16, but average age is 10-11) and as far as toys go, it's been transformers, lego and tech decks.
but Nintendo DSi and PSP trumps all. Seven to ten seems like it would be the prime action figure age, so maybe these guys are just a little old for figures.

[Werewolf]

My Little Pony and Monster High are crazy popular with kids.

[Figuremod73]

^^^ Because of videogames, the toy industry has had a hard time getting kids attention. This has been going on ever since the NES was introduced. I know because I was one of them.
Legos and Disney Princess dolls are pretty popular with the few kids I am around.

[brannon86]

So some children like them, and some dont. I guess the majority would rather play video games, or play with something electronic, or text or whatever. I played with all my GI joes, FP Adventure People, Six Million Dollar Man, Evil Knievel, Megos, etc, and did not play video games until I got my first Atari 2600 in 78.

[Figuremod73]

Did you forget about the toys once you got a hold of the atari? I liked the 2600 a good bit but I would usually only play it in spurts during the week/weekend. Once I got an NES it was all about zelda and metroid. Those games could take some time to play. I pretty much lost interest in transformers (what i was mostly collecting by 87) once I got it.

[HumanWolfman]

From what I have seen, most boys leave the toy world around 8-10 yrs old. I have been working inside peoples home for nearly 2 decades. I end up in almost every room of the house, even kids rooms. When it come to toys in plain sight it is lego, wrestling figures, dinosaurs. Seen super hero stuff only a hand full of times, mostly Spidey and Batman movie related stuff. It ia all about video games for boys, that and sports.

[4NDR01D]

I gave up toys (action figures) or the most part when I got a skatebord at 12 (also had a NES around same time too). That would be about 1986-ish, had been pretty heavy into Gi Joe and the LJN wwf figures for 4 years at that point, was time to move on.