Shrinky Dinks and Bubblicious

I'm sitting here, in my living room, listening to 50s music and smelling a terrific smell. A blast from the past, if you will. My children have just discovered the lovely, purpley, gummy goodness that is....Grape Bubblicious. No, it does not change color 3 times, or keep its flavor for 24 hours. It has sugar and no telling what else in it, but it's grapey, and bubbly, and gooey, and good. It's Bubblicious. Sometimes the old things are just better. Coca Cola Classic is classic for a reason. Remember Fruit Striped Gum? Did anybody have a Dancerella or a GI Joe with the fuzzy hair? How about Lincoln Logs? Remember when we used imagination and all of our senses to play? My children refer to those long lost days as "back then". Back when times were a little simpler. Now kids are nuking braincells all day with video games and computer "fun" and they never touch a toy. They never learn to identify grape awesomeness when they smell it. It's time to intervene, parents!

Does your child look spaced out, hopped up, or fear daylight ? Does the mere mention of taking away games, Xbox, or computers cause them to shake uncontrollably. Yes, that's an addict. When handed a jump rope or a  Rubik's Cube, do they begin to look for the on button or ask, "What does it do?" Yes, you have a problem. You need to start detox immediately. Here are the steps.
1. Play Old Maid. When the child begins to laugh uncontrollably when they get the old girl, you can move on to step 2.
2. Play a game of Four Square in the backyard. (Be careful, you are not as young as you used to be.)
3. Give them a piece of Zebra Striped gum and watch them for signs of enjoyment.

If these efforts fail you may have to revert to shock therapy. Buy them Shrinky Dinks or GI Joe. Tell them about the hours you used to spend playing with Colorforms and Barrel of Monkeys.  If you hear, "That might have been cool," you are home free. They are back. And you might have some old fashioned fun yourself!

Check out this site for retro toys we actually played with" back then".