Little Ones and Ponies

[LadySiha]

I was just curious if anyone else had noticed this....

My big sister handed down her ponies to her oldest daughter (she is 3) - all G1's.  She's had them for almost a year, now.

However, it blows me away because my niece just LOVES them.  Whenever I visit, one of the play sets is set up.  Or one pony is out of it's spot, clearly having been recently played with.  When my older niece (she's 8) visits my sister, it's one of the things she really wants to play with her little cousin.

I'm not trying to talk them down, but compared to some of the toys that are around NOW they don't really seem like much, but again and again my nieces are proving me wrong.

Has anyone else noticed this with the younger ones?  What is it about this particular 80's toy that gets that younger age group?

Should I be recording her playing and send it to Hasbro or something? 

[CrazyCatPony]

my 3 year old loves the 80's ponies! really she loves ALL ponies even fakies. i dont know what it is, maybe they just inspire more imagination than most toys?

[SeashellnBubbles]

Mybe it's because they look like sweet little ponies and they're exactly how we would like living with ponies to be like! I know my new Nursery just fascinates my neice and nephew...they love the little accessories like pony powder and diapers, and there's something just so lovable about their eyes...

[achab1984]

I think I would be the same way if I was little. My daughter is not into them though. I think its cause they do not go along with the cartoons that are on TV right now.

[MJNSEIFER]

The G1 ponies are very beautifully designed, and have a lot of imagination fuel (especially compared to the G4s in my opinion) so they would have a lot of appeal to children.

[Marlin]

I recently received a rather average condition Peachy in a lot. I cleaned her up to give her her dignity back, and was wondering what to do with her. I'm not a customiser and she wasn't quite bait anyway, so I figured I would probably just drop her in a lot of poorer condition ponies to sell off at some point.

A day or so later, one of my best friends came over with her eldest daughter (aged 5). Her daughter loves looking at my pony cabinet, and understands that those ponies (all G1) are a bit old and a bit special    She'd spent almost the whole afternoon playing with my daughters and their G3s, and as she and her mum were leaving, she spotted Peachy, who happened to be sitting on my desk. That's when I had my aha! moment. You should have seen her face when I said she could have her 

There's something a bit special about G1. Their shape, the sweet innocence in their eyes? I know my girls love learning about or connecting with things I loved as a child, so perhaps it's knowing that the older ponies were something we loved so dearly ourselves when we were children? 

[Katgyrl]

I totally know what you mean! I don't know exactly what it is, but both my girls prefer my G1s to any other generation (and they are avid FiM watchers). My almost 2 year old daughter has had a crush on 4-Speed for about a year. Maybe it's that they are a good size, or their pretty eyes, or their soft vinyl bodies, but there is something extra special about G1s. I have given G4s and G3s to my girls to play with, and they still ask for the G1s every chance they get.

[hathorcat]

What a lovely story

Sometimes I think its the simplicity. G1s are after all just pony shaped dolls - nothing complicated yet because they have brushable hair and are prettily coloured they have a very visually appealing quality.

[HoustonCollector72]

it might their  bigger shape, more hair on them than the G4's ,so for sure that makes G1's more visually appealing to the youngsters 

[gypsyunicorn]

I am going with size and color and shape
pleasing to the eye because they colors are so pony
the size feels good in the hand...it's a perfect size...
plus if it is something you don't see in a store and no one has them the kids just like them for being different which draws a new interest
exciting new ooh ahh what is this toy

[Einhornbaby]

My 9yo daughter Larissa adores ponies, especially the G1! She owns quite a big herd already, ponies from every generation, including various fakies. She still plays with them very often and even "infected" her best friend, lol.
When she was about 6 month old, I gave her a pony. It was G1 Baby Pockets from my childhood collection. She adored her little pony <3 But since I was afraid that she could be poisoned by the phtalates due to this toy being so old, I took it away from her and gave her a G3 pony instead. It was Petal Blossom and she still has her, affectionately calling her "Klumi" since she was able to talk which what I think comes from the word "Blume" which is the german word for flower (Petal Blossoms symbol) and pretty much sounds alike. Klumi was carried everywhere, she even once got lost while we were on a shopping trip (she got rescued the other day!! *phew*). Later she got G3 Sparkleworks (affectionately called "Klapsi", I never figured out why) and she took her everywhere (Klumi retired that day lol).

These days, and due to the G4 TV series, she loves to re-act the adventures from TV with her ponies. She owns all major G4 characters (except Nightmare Moon and a few minor others) and her favourite I think is her Fashion Style Applejack. AJ takes part in every play, she gets groomed and styled, gets the best fashion and hair-dos and even goes to the pool with her. It might be the thorn in a G4 collectors heart, since I know how sought after she is, but really, seeing her playing with her AJ makes my heart melt <3 Its sooo cute!
She also loves the G1 as I mentioned and she has a ton of G3 too! She rarely mixes the different generations, what I think is funny, lol. If she builds up her G3 castle, no G1 or G4 is to be seen and its the same when she sets up the G4 castle set. No other gens allowed, lol. Her favourite G1 are Bowtie, SS Lofty, Moondancer and many more.

Some pics?

Here she is, about 6 or 7 month old I think, maybe a tiny little bit older
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Ooooh, and here she is hugging the big G3 plushy from my friend
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And two years ago, playing in the pool
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[Starflashbaby]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this but there are many more ponies to play with as well. Not just different versions of the same 6 ponies ya know. don't get me wrong I love all ponies but the G1s are by far the best in my opinion.