In the new TV series ‘James May’s Toy Stories’ we se Mr May blowing big chunks of the BBC’s budget building huge structures using toys from yesteryear. In the series Mr May builds a full size house from Lego, a huge bridge from Meccano and a massive 3 mile racing circuit from Scalextric.

Mr May clearly likes toys that involve building something. These toiys come from a time when toys inspired youngsters to develop interests in engineering and construction rather than blowing people away.

His TV series comes at a time when many of us are thinking about buying more computer games and consoles for our children’s Christmas presents. For some years now these have been dominated by the latest games consoles and computer games. Last year it was the Wii fit and Guitar Hero. This year they want Santa to bring them DJ Hero.

I’ve been discussing which form of toy is actually the most beneficial for child development? Computer games consoles or creative construction toys like Meccano, Lego and Scalextric.

I come from the same generation as Mr May. I grew up with Airfix model kits, footballs and bicycles. It baffles me why computer games have grown to become as popular as they are today. Personally, I would get a lot more enjoyment and satisfaction from building a model railway circuit than I would from pretending to be a disk jockey or pretending to play guitar. But I suppose that by building a model railway I’d be pretending to be a railway construction engineer and train driver. Choo choo!

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