KYRA DAVIS: The Fun of Destruction

Last night I was watching The Incredibles DVD with my son (who, as most of you know, is 6). It was the first time he had ever seen the movie and like everyone else in the world he loved it. However when we got to the scene where Mr. Incredible throws the remote for the huge rampaging robot to his young son my child shook his head and said, “He shouldn’t give the remote control to a young boy even if he does have super powers.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Mom, have you ever seen the way me and other boys drive remote control cars?” he asked in a tone which border-lined on patronizing. “We drive them into walls. That’s what makes remote control toys fun; that they can crash and if you’re really lucky the wheels will pop off or something. All boys like to crash remote control things and that superboy is going to use the remote to make that super-big robot smash it into a super-big building!”

Of course the robot did crash into a building although the superboy supposedly didn’t want that to happen (at least not consciously) but there is little question that the crashing of the robot made millions of little male viewers extremely happy.

So I think the moral of this story is that if you are planning on buying a remote control toy for a little boy this holiday season make sure that:

A) It can easily be repaired or…
B) It is inexpensive thus making its inevitable destruction something less than a tragedy.

Personally I’m thinking twice about buying my son the new roboraptor toy. He can always crash it during our visits to Sharper Image.

Kyra Davis
http://www.kyradavis.com/
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4 comments :

SuzLueMonday, December 5, 2005 at 10:13:00 PM PST
I saw that crazy roboraptor toy at the toy store this weekend, and those things are not cheap! Especially since a little boy's intension is to crash it into a wall! LOL! Too funny!!!
kyradavisWednesday, December 7, 2005 at 12:24:00 AM PST
Yeah, the roboraptor has a hefty price tag. I don't want it crashing into my wall and to be honest I'm a little creeped out by it. Toys shouldn't be that life like...didn't these kids see Chuckie? Actually I didn't see Chuckie because the whole premise freaked me out so why would I want a dinosaur version of Chuckie in my home?
PriscillaThursday, December 8, 2005 at 8:44:00 AM PST
Toys nowadays are so advanced and expensive! I remember when Atari and Nintendo first came out, my sister and I begged for it for Christmas, and my Mom gave in and bought it. Like all kids, we got tired of it after a few months. I buy my little 9 yr old sis and stepdaughters educational and art things or clothes..you can never go wrong with that stuff...especially clothes for girls!
kyradavisThursday, December 8, 2005 at 1:53:00 PM PST
I think a lot of people forget to factor in the longevity of a toy while doing their holiday shopping. Of course children will beg for the latest gadget because that’s what’s being advertised every time they turn on a TV, radio or open a kid’s magazine. But they want it because of the hype and because it’s novel. As much as my son loves playing with the Roboraptor at the stores I am sure that if he had it available to play with 24/7 he’d get tired of it within a month. Art supplies, legos and (if you’re shopping for a girl between the ages of 9 and 75) cute clothes have a lot more staying power.