Quote from: Taffeta on February 07, 2022, 04:01:45 AM

or at least to understand that if they permanently change a toy, there's no replacement or quick fix.

That's another reason why I think it's fine for kids to mess up their toys.  It's a lot better to learn "oh, I should think things through and use foresight" over something harmless like scribbling on a toy, rather than when you're riding a bike without a helmet and are about to hit something, lol.

I also think it's just important for everyone to have something they have ultimate control over, and for kids what else is there but toys?  Adults decide pretty much every other detail of their lives (which is understandable because, yeah, you can't let a kid eat nothing but chocolate cake, skip school, etc.)  It just seems like a healthy boundary--the adults being like "You can do whatever you want to your toy, but if it breaks I'm not replacing it" and then the kid having fun with the toy whichever way they choose.  (Maybe not for toddlers because they still need to be taught rough vs gentle, but I'm talking like six year olds and up.)

I once got a lot of ponies from their original owner which included a So-Soft Magic Star who had her green hair cut off, yellow troll hair hot glued on, had nicks all over her body, and pen mark on her.  I was curious about this, since the rest of the ponies in the lot were near mint.  The owner explained that Magic Star had been "the Troll Pony" in her games who would terrorize the other ponies, and had been decorated accordingly.  Magic Star clearly got a lot of playtime / love and I found her so endearing that she sits on my pony shelves to this day, troll hair and all.  <3