Should we 'Grow out of Toys'?

[Wardah]

I think the whole "don't wanna adult" thing has very little to do with liking toys and cartoons. The opposite of "adulting" isn't being a playful child at heart but a lazy slug who stays in bed on social media. Being stuck at college student, almost adult but not quite level.

[Broken Irishwoman]

Okay, so maybe my point wasn't a perfect fit for this thread. This is just something that has been bothering me for a while, from the moment I started to notice that the whole "I don't want to adult" attitude is on the rise. When this thread was started, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to address this, because to me it seems like it's closely related, even though it isn't directly about toys. I just felt that the topic title could also be interpreted as "Could it potentially be harmful to stick to your childhood too much?"

My bad.

[Stormness_1]

I'm the perpetual child. I've had relationships break down because apparently I'm "too immature"... but that's just my personality - like it or lump it! I have a job, bills, etc, and in no way do I avoid my responsibilities... I'm just a fun-loving person. I'm perfectly capable of living like an "adult" is expected to, but I choose not to. I choose to work to live, not live to work. I chose to avoid the corporate life in order to be able to switch off and live at the end of the work day without work stress interrupting my home life. I chose to collect toys  rather than dresses and shoes.. because for the most part I like them better, and I don't care what people think. And while I'm sure that there are plenty of people who prefer to go that other route, I'm not one of them, and I refuse to be judged for it. I'm no less of an adult. I'm physically an adult. I still vote, work, pay taxes, and contribute to society, I just do it with my own style.

I'd totally wear one of those shirts, because some of the ones I've seen fit my lifestyle pretty well. I don't 'adult' in the traditional form.. and I chose to view that as funny and laugh, and keep on enjoying my life, rather than getting bitter that the world doesn't understand me, or force myself to conform to societal norms. Sure there are bums, drains on society. Always has been, always will be, no amount of societal changes will fix that. The fact that our culture is changing is a good thing, bringing acceptance and happiness to many people who don't 'fit the mould' so to speak. How many people are behaving 'like adults' because they feel pressured to? I personally think that's a bad thing. It's exactly like the pressure on men to be 'manly', it's damaging to their mental health and self-esteem. The pressure can be overwhelming! Yes some people stick to their childhood, and it can be an issue. But most of us are just addicted to nostalgia, and it's not hurting us or anyone else.

[PrincessNikki]

Okay, so maybe my point wasn't a perfect fit for this thread. This is just something that has been bothering me for a while, from the moment I started to notice that the whole "I don't want to adult" attitude is on the rise. When this thread was started, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to address this, because to me it seems like it's closely related, even though it isn't directly about toys. I just felt that the topic title could also be interpreted as "Could it potentially be harmful to stick to your childhood too much?"

My bad.

No, I totally understand what you are talking about. My friend and I were just talking about that exact thing a few months ago! I think that it has a lot to do with the millennial generation struggling, being poor and not being able to afford the bare minimum. All that comes with being an adult as a millennial and so they long to go back to the childhood days where they don't have to worry about bills and crippling debt and 2017 as a whole.
Add social media into the mix and connect everyone together and you get flooded with nostalgia and ads marketing to that dreamy childhood nostalgia.... and then comes all the unicorn and mermaid stuff marketed towards both children and adults because both can relate to it. Th millenial generation is on the cusp of adulthood in their 20s so many are either planning to have families or already have them, and what better way to grab the attention of consumers than to market to both them AND their children. Makeup trends right now are big into the unicorn mermaid stuff. Sailor Moon made a huge comeback recently too.

Of course, this is all good and well at face value but maybe a fraction, even if it's only a tiny miniscule fraction IS about adults not wanting to grow up and face the world. It's a double-edged sword. There does have to come a time where we must prioritize bills and each other over the material, but the "i dont want to adult today" mentality is just kind of damaging. We all grow up so fast and are trust into adulthood without ever really discovering ourselves, so we seek solace in these material possessions to comfort us. I know I do.

I also find myself holding back on displaying all my toys and figures and ponies in my room for fear of not feeling like an adult. I don't know what I am really trying to say...I guess what I am trying to say is a totally get what you were saying originally with your first post.

[xTic_Tac_Toex]

Okay, so maybe my point wasn't a perfect fit for this thread. This is just something that has been bothering me for a while, from the moment I started to notice that the whole "I don't want to adult" attitude is on the rise. When this thread was started, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to address this, because to me it seems like it's closely related, even though it isn't directly about toys. I just felt that the topic title could also be interpreted as "Could it potentially be harmful to stick to your childhood too much?"

My bad.

No, I totally understand what you are talking about. My friend and I were just talking about that exact thing a few months ago! I think that it has a lot to do with the millennial generation struggling, being poor and not being able to afford the bare minimum. All that comes with being an adult as a millennial and so they long to go back to the childhood days where they don't have to worry about bills and crippling debt and 2017 as a whole.
Add social media into the mix and connect everyone together and you get flooded with nostalgia and ads marketing to that dreamy childhood nostalgia.... and then comes all the unicorn and mermaid stuff marketed towards both children and adults because both can relate to it. Th millenial generation is on the cusp of adulthood in their 20s so many are either planning to have families or already have them, and what better way to grab the attention of consumers than to market to both them AND their children. Makeup trends right now are big into the unicorn mermaid stuff. Sailor Moon made a huge comeback recently too.

Of course, this is all good and well at face value but maybe a fraction, even if it's only a tiny miniscule fraction IS about adults not wanting to grow up and face the world. It's a double-edged sword. There does have to come a time where we must prioritize bills and each other over the material, but the "i dont want to adult today" mentality is just kind of damaging. We all grow up so fast and are trust into adulthood without ever really discovering ourselves, so we seek solace in these material possessions to comfort us. I know I do.

I also find myself holding back on displaying all my toys and figures and ponies in my room for fear of not feeling like an adult. I don't know what I am really trying to say...I guess what I am trying to say is a totally get what you were saying originally with your first post.

This is really nicely put I can completely understand what you're saying and agree with you.

[Broken Irishwoman]

PrincessNikki: You worded it so much better than I did. I completely agree with you!

[tornadoe]

NEVER EVER!!!

growing old is enevitable but growing up? thats optional
Never surrender your toys until YOU are ready and no-one else.

[Taffeta]

The fact that our culture is changing is a good thing, bringing acceptance and happiness to many people who don't 'fit the mould' so to speak.

If only that were true. Unfortunately, it mostly isn't. Individuals might be. Society isn't. And society ultimately has final say. That may sound bitter, but it's true.

I think there are still two distinct themes here being confused with one another - people not taking responsibility and people collecting toys. Sometimes those might overlap, but the problem is the first group, and the taint of that is being thrown at the other by society who assume buying toys means being irresponsible and self-centred.

Yesterday on the bus back from the station, I saw three people fare dodge and one person litter. This journey took 20 minutes? Today a guy did his scratch cards then tossed them all over the bus floor when they were useless. Do we think the reason those people do those things is because they like toys still or because they just think they're above everyone else and thus can do as they like? I think it's the second. I really don't like when people put toy collecting automatically in the same box as those individuals.

The OP asked about growing out of toys. That's not the same as not growing up to one's responsibilities in the world or even the need to treat other people with respect.

[Jorgito93]

I'm still a teenager, but i feel like i know quite a lot about how we says how kids should be, i have been bullied because i wasn't like the others.There shouldn't be an age limit for toys, in fact i feel that we want kids to grow up too fast, I don't think it's fine to give young kids ipads or stuff like that.I personnaly don't have any kind of story of how MLP saved my childhood or how it helped me get better like some of you (i didn't even like MLP until 4 years ago), but i still think it's important for me, i see my ponies as a symbol of how i learned to not give a damn about what people say about me if it isn't helpful.I like colorful ponies, i am in med school, i listen to metal....Then again i didn't have these problems in my family, i mean one of my favorite toys growing up was my mother's barbie doll, so i was always raised with the freedom to like what i want.I think it's important to raise a child like that and to not force them to be something they don't want to be.I probably would've hated med school if my parents forced me to do it.

[Mana Minori]

Heather sparkles made a very good video about this very subject. https://youtu.be/v-q1gx64JoU
Quite simpky: NO.
I can't stress this enough. Toys carry nostalgia. If someone is happy not growing out of toys, more power to them. So long as it doesn't harm others, its all good.

[SwirlyWhirly]

I wish I stayed a kid a bit longer than I did. I still played with barbies at 10 and I remember some of my friends thinking that was weird. At 10! When we started junior high that part of life was ultimately ended and now decades later I think it's sad. I was a child for maybe 12 years and now I'll be an adult for the rest of my life and there's no way of going back. I couldn't play like I did as a kid even if I tried to. I guess that's why I collect MLPs. They're childhood nostalgia and collecting them is my adult version of playing with them. They're colourful, glittery and fun and still make me happy. Being an adult is boring sometimes so it's nice having something like that to spend some time on.

[Taffeta]

I was skimming back over this thread and I just picked up on what Wardah said about being a college student but not yet an adult. I dunno what you guys did at college, but being back at university myself, I'd like to point out that being a PhD student isn't bumming around on social media instead of 'taking responsibility' and 'growing up'.  Let's not generalise based on stereotypes.