Okay, I’ll admit it: at first taking my son to a toy store seemed like a great way to engage him for a few hours one day when it was way too hot to be outside and my wife needed some downtime.
What I discovered in doing this was that taking him to a toy store for a good stroll is not only a great way to spend some fun time with him and give his mother a solo break but also an effective way to see where his interests and skill levels are with the toys that are available. This also serves as a nice alternative to beach and pool during the heat of summer and also wind and rain of the winter.
We have several big box shops close to us and one department store where they are pretty lax about letting kids grab a toy, sit down and have a play. We’ll saunter in – Alex has an I own this place kind of saunter these days – and start from one end and work to the other if we have the time (in Spain these stores tend to be U-shaped so that you have to walk past everything to get out). I’ve found that he will get attached to something for a little while until he finds something else and when it comes time to leave he normally doesn’t want the whole store but one or two toys, if any.
What is cool about this is that we get to see how he interacts with certain toys and bikes and other kiddy things and it gives us a real idea of what he is interested in.
A great example is these plastic motorcycles that you see around. When a kid pulls up with one of those in the park, Alex loves it. Take him the toy store though, and nothing. He likes tractors, show him a tractor… Nah, not interested.
So we just follow him around the shop, answer his questions and keep him out of trouble. Ironically in the end it has saved us money too because there have been a few things we thought to get him – like the motorcycle – that he simply blew off.
