Teaching my little sister life skills matters more than buying toys
My little sister asked me to help her make tea two days ago, I asked her whether she wanted Milo or the tea bag, she asked for the tea bag because she liked the smell of it when it's hot.
So at the kitchen with her, I didn't just make it for her, I taught her how to do it. I told her get the water heated first and dip the tea bag into it like that. Watching her take the making tea like a project and taking it that seriously made me feel so much joy.
We've wasted so much money on all the nice and expensive toys we've bought for her. Most of which now are just gathering dust in the back of the closet after only a couple of months she played with them. I can't count how many Barbie dolls she has thrown away.
But I remember the day that she learned how to crack an egg without making a complete mess of the kitchen, she talked about it nonstop for the rest of the day. She was more fulfilled with learning how to do something she can keep doing for the rest of her life than getting a toy. She may not still understand because she's only 5, but those toys won't be with her for the rest of her life, the way to crack and egg and making tea will be needed even when she's 59.
I'm not saying that toys are pointless. But there is a clear and obvious distinction between simply giving a kid something to do and actually creating something within a kid. Cooking, basic repairs and knowing what to do when a plan goes wrong are the things that develop a child's foundations.
A child who develops small problems solving skill will grow into a person who can handle big problems without panicking. I don't know if anyone is doing research on this theory, but I have seen it happen.