Toy collections
Six year olds’ toy collections
Table 5.7.3.1. 69 Six Year Olds’ Toy Collections by Main and Subgroups (figures are percentages)
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35 boys
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34 girls
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Implements props/accessories transport/machinery drawing/collecting listen and learn weapons
Systems LEGO/DUPLO products Playmobil
People guardian dolls
Animals
Nature
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60% 17.1 16.0 8.4 7.6 4.0
21% 13.5 6.9
8% 4.7
5%
4%
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Implements props/accessories drawing/collecting listen and learn
People doll
Systems LEGO/DUPLO products
Animals
Nature natural materials/play |
62% 23.5 16.1 12.6
16% 13.8
8% 6.0
7%
6% 4.4
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No. of choices individual toys
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Boys, 275 choices
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Girls, 310 choices
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cars games LEGO products games drawing/cutting out/sticking Playmobil bicycle books Action Force toolbox LEGO/DUPLO products tape cassette player guardian doll
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adult female doll games drawing/cutting out/sticking books jumping/rolling/hopscotch beads dressing up LEGO products bicycle doll teddy bear sewing/weaving/knitting |
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Source: Steenhold (1993,d)
Seven year olds’ toy collections
Table 5.7.3.2. 48 Seven year olds’ toy collections by main and subgroups (figures are percentages)
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22 boys
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26 girls
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Implements props/accessories transport/machinery drawing/collecting listen and learn weapons
Systems LEGO/DUPLO products Playmobil
People guardian dolls war dolls
Nature
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60% 18.5 16.2 6.9 4.6 6.5
17% 11.1 4.6
12% 5.6 4.6
3%
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Implements props/accessories drawing/collecting inventory
People doll
Animals symbolic animals
Systems LEGO/DUPLO products
Nature natural materials/play |
59% 26.4 13.4 9.1
19% 15.0
7% 5.1
6% 5.1
4% 4.7
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No. of choices individual toys
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Boys, 216 choices
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Girls, 254 choices
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cars LEGO products games drawing/cutting out/sticking Action Force farming Playmobil weapons dressing up guardian dolls Transformers toolbox
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adult female doll drawing/cutting out/sticking games jumping/rolling/hopscotch doll LEGO products teddy bear bicycle dressing up rag doll dolls’ house/furniture doll/doll’s pushchair
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Source: Steenhold (1993,d)
There is a clear pattern in the girls’ and boys’ choices of toys within the two main groups People and Systems. The boys own more in the main group Systems than in the main group People. The opposite is true of the girls.
Where the People group is concerned, the boys mostly have guardian dolls and the girls Barbie.
At the ages of 7-8 years the boys’ ownership of doll types is at its peak - 12% of their toy collections.
Smaller boys start with about 3% ordinary dolls and for 9-10 year old boys 8% of their collections are war dolls. Girls’ collections of doll types remains constant at 15-20% regardless of age.
As for the main group Systems, in the case of boys (regardless of age) LEGO/DUPLO products and Playmobil are favourites. For girls, the favourite is LEGO/DUPLO products only.
Playmobil toys are almost impossible to register for girls. Despite the fact that the product concepts of the LEGO Group and Playmobil are in many ways almost identical - design being the only difference - Playmobil products appeal to boys but almost never to girls. Similarly, the LEGO TECHNIC System toys are distinctly boys’ toys. The boys get these toys from about 7-8 years. None of the girls in this research owned LEGO TECHNIC.
Dressing-up is most apparent for boys around seven years. The reason for this is common boys’/girls’ “let’s pretend”-play (dressing-up and role play).
Where girls are concerned, dressing-up is registered in particular for the 5-9 year olds.
Eight year olds’ toy collections
Boys have fewer symbolic animals than girls. Symbolic animals include an infinite variety of soft, textile animals which many children use as “bedtime pals”, the most popular being the teddy bear. In fact symbolic animals are registered only for the very small boys in this research. However, a closer look at the boys’ lists of toys reveals that all boys - regardless of age - do, in fact, own a teddy bear or similar symbolic animal.
The explanation for why girls of this age in particular obtain so many symbolic animals is possibly that their parents - often the mothers - either covertly or openly make greater demands on girls to show independence than they do of boys.
According to Winnicot’s theory, a symbolic animal is a distinct surrogate or compensation toy, compensating for security, comfort and intimacy. The child will often identify with the symbolic animal, humanise it or give it a particular role. Children give their symbolic animals names and it is not unusual for a child to carry on long conversations about things/problems with symbolic animals.
As mentioned, teddy bear is the favourite, followed by panda, dog, seal, monkey and rabbit.
Table 5.7.3.3. 51 Eight year olds’ toy collections by main and subgroups (figures are percentages)
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26 boys
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25 girls
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Implements transport/machinery props/accessories listen and learn drawing/collecting
Systems LEGO/DUPLO products Playmobil
People guardian dolls war dolls
Nature
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60% 20.3 19.6 8.5 4.6
21% 13.7 7.8
12% 6.1 5.9
1%
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Implements props/accessories drawing/collecting inventory listen/learn music
People doll
Animals symbolic animals
Systems LEGO/DUPLO products
Nature natural materials/play |
59% 24.3 11.4 7.6 4.3 5.2
19% 14.8
9% 7.1
8% 7.1
4% 4.8
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No. of choices individual toys
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Boys, 253 choices
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Girls, 211 choices
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cars LEGO products games Playmobil Action Force guardian dolls Transformers drawing/cutting out/sticking cassette tape recorder bicycle football game ball/balls
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adult female doll jumping/rolling/hopscotch drawing/cutting out/sticking games dressing-up teddy rag doll books sewing/weaving/knitting doll/doll’s pushchair writing paper ball/balls |
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Source: Steenhold (1993,d)
Nine to ten year olds’ toy collections
Table 5.7.3.3. 74 Nine to ten year olds’ toy collections by main and subgroups (figures are percentages)
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36 boys
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38 girls
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Implements props/accessories transport/machinery listen and learn weapons drawing/collecting
Systems LEGO/DUPLO products
People war dolls
Animals
Nature
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61% 19.1 14.8 6.6 6.2 6.2
22% 15.2
8% 8.2
4%
3% |
Implements props/accessories drawing/collecting listen/learn
People doll
Animals symbolic animals
Systems
Nature
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58% 29.1 12.1 6.1
21% 17.3
11% 7.7
6%
2%
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No. of choices individual toys
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Boys, 256 choices
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Girls, 313 choices
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cars LEGO products games Playmobil Action Force drawing/cutting out/sticking football game computer/PC toolbox farming books magazines/comics
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adult female doll games drawing/cutting out/sticking jumping/rolling/hopscotch ball/balls LEGO products books teddy writing paper doll symbolic animals bicycle |
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Source: Steenhold (1993,d)
At 7-8 years boys’ choice of doll types peaks at 12% of which half are guardian dolls.
For many of the small boys their choice begins with 3% ordinary dolls and ends at 9-10 years with 8% war dolls which are principally used in play with Action Force.
The 9-10 year olds also have a good portion of Action Force support toys included in the transport/machinery subgroup in the form of war machines, tanks, etc.
In the listen/learn group, books are the most prevalent for girls, magazines/comics for boys.
Many children have a walkman and/or tape cassette player (or they use their parents’). These are not only used to play music but are used just as often for listening to taped children’s stories and books. Girls are generally more likely to use Listen/learn and more often listen to taped stories and books than boys. Drawing/painting/cutting out are examples of creative activities which both boys and girls engage in from a very young age - although girls draw/paint and cut out far more often than boys.