Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Toy shopping with kids isn’t child’s play
“MOMMY, this is amazing, I have to have it,” the little girl pleaded with her mother at a local toy shop.
“You already have that at home,” the woman responded to her child’s request for yet another Disney tea set.
Irked by shoppers who packed a Joburg shopping mall in a bid to get their Christmas shopping done, she tried to divert the girl’s attention to some educational toys.
But the youngster, who appeared to be no older than 4, insisted that she couldn’t leave the store until the beloved toys were hers.
As her mother pleaded with her to find an alternative gift, her other child, a boy, caused a ruckus when he collided with other shoppers as he leapt through the air with a handful of cars.
The toys were eventually too much for his little hands to handle as they fell to the floor when he stopped next to his mother and sister.
“I warned you guys to behave or you wouldn’t be getting any more toys,” she screamed at the children as other parents looked on.
“That’s it! Leave everything you have, we are going home,” she said as her children burst into tears when they realised they would return home empty handed.
After some firm pleading with her crying children to conduct themselves in an orderly manner, the woman had no choice but to take them kicking and screaming out of the toy shop.
This dramatic scene is a reality many parents face, par- ticularly during the annual festive season when children use the holidays as an opportunity to get the most sought-after toys and gifts.
This is no easy task as there are more choices than ever before. This includes soft toys, dolls, cars, figurines and almost every Disney animated object from kitchen sets to pool accessories, and even make-up.
For a whopping R3 679.90, you can even buy your child a convertible battery-operated Maserati replica.
With the toy market more competitive than ever, Francois Ganswyk, store manager at Hamley’s Sandton City, said that despite economic constraints faced by consumers, the store has had record- breaking sales this month.
He said that some of their best-sellers this season were L.O.L Surprise Sisters Balls, which offer children five layers of mystery, as well as Hot Pink Street Gliders and different variations of Lego.
Ganswyk said that boys comprised 60% of the local toy market.
“I think this is because girls are growing up much faster than boys,” he said.
“At a certain point girls stop playing with toys, but there isn’t really a cut-off point for boys because many of them are now even gamers or still buy miniature cars.”
One of the children, Masupha Seeiso, 8, who was shopping with his mother at another toy store in Sandton City, had his eyes glued to the Ninjago-themed Lego playsets.
His eyes lit up as he told his mother why he desperately needed the item to add to his collection.
“He has been a good boy this year so I think that he will deserve it if Santa brings it for him,” his mother said.