A brief history of kids toys

Prior to the 20th Century, it is possible to say that children had few toys and those which they did have was very treasured. In fact at this time, children rarely had time to play; few went to school and those who did not go to school tended to help their parents with daily tasks, either in the home or possibly in the fields etc.

In Egypt however, children played with similar games to those which Victorian children played with, such as marbles, spinning tops and knucklebones (these were thrown similarly to dice). Moreover they had items like dolls and toy soldiers, still a regular feature of toy boxes. 

Ancient Greece was similar and when children were not in school or working they played with dolls and spinning tops but also played ball games with inflated pigs bladder – not something you would see in kids toys collections today. Things, such as hoops were also played in Ancient Greece as well as by the Romans. The Romans also played with board games. 

Until the industrial revolution kids toys changes little through the centuries. Mass production at this time allowed toys to be produced on a large scale and so they became both more readily available as well as much cheaper. The first jigsaw puzzle was made in 1767 by John Spilsbury who intended to use it as a tool to teach geography. Jigsaw puzzles are still popular toys today, they are used both as a means of teaching as well as for fun. 

Net Price Direct have a great range of jigsaw puzzles for you to choose from, whether your kids like Disney toys in the form of Princesses or Cars there are jigsaw puzzles available at great prices. During the 19th century middle class girls tended to play with wooden or porcelain dolls, they also had things such as dolls houses and skipping ropes. 

Dolls are still a popular choice of kids toy today, and dolls can be characters from television series or a more baby-like doll such as the Baby Born range. The development of plastic moulding has also greatly influenced kids toys and in the 20th century toys became more and more elaborate and kids simply had a much greater choice. 

Barbie and Action Man dolls went on sale in Britain during the 1960’s and have been popular ever since. At Net Price Direct we won’t be beaten on price and by browsing our collection you will see some great saving to be had on popular kids toys!