“I think when I was little, things weren’t so electronic,” English teacher and mother of two kids, Mrs. Melissa Davis, says. “The toys I had didn’t make so much noise. Everything nowadays is so obnoxious and loud with lots of flashing lights.”

Children all around the world use toys for their own entertainment. Throughout the generations, toys have varied drastically and some have been forgotten even after their extreme popularity due to new toys coming into fruition.

Now that technology has become more advanced, the market for toys has changed from materialistic things like old school action figures and dolls, to more electronic things like iPads or toys that move and talk.

When looking at the most popular toys in time periods like the 60’s and 70’s, toys like Mr. Potato Head and Slinky’s were what the kids were all begging for, according to americanprofile.com. But now, advanced toys like Hatchimals, birds that hatch from a plastic egg that talk and move, are what is most popular for kids of this generation.

Hatchimals can be upwards of $70. This can be a hefty price for a children’s toy in comparison to older toys such as an Etch-A-Sketch that only cost $2.99 ($25.26 in today’s value according to CPIInflationCalcualtor.com) while having an even bigger market than a Hatchimal meaning more demand and higher prices. Toys nowadays can account for bigger prices due to having more intricate parts and electronics.

Brielle Moughan, a seven year old girl and a second grader at Salisbury Elementary School says her top picks for Christmas this year are what all the kids in her grade are also wishing to get.

“I want 1,800 Squishies,” says Moughan.

Squishies are soft, squeezable toys made of polyurethane foam. These toys are a big hit for kids in Moughans age group. There are tons and tons of different shapes and designs, from pieces of food to different animals.

“I already have like 20 Squishes, like the unicorn, the apple, the cake, and others. But I still want more,” says Moughan.

Although these toys are extremely simple, the material that they’re made of is a new and advanced foam that is very similar to a Tempurpedic or Memory Foam material that would not have been available to toy producers in older generations.

Third grader in Salisbury Elementary, Mackenzie Andrews, wishes for something similar to Moughan: slime.

Slime kits are extremely popular nowadays. Like Moughan, Andrews already owns tons of slime, but still wishes for more.
“You are able to make slime with different recipes,” says Andrews. “You can make it with an easy recipe by using your own using glue, baking soda, water, and food coloring. Or you can add shaving cream to make it fluffy!”

Similar to these collectible toys, kids of the 2000’s vividly remember the plethora of toys that were popular to collect in Elementary School.

Around 2010, popular toys being played with included Webkinz.

“I remember always wanting to buy new Webkinz almost every week,” says Senior Josh Hemmerdinger. “You would buy a new one, and log into webkinz.com and create a virtual world for your ‘pets’.”

Webkinz.com is a website that got 1.65 Million visits in the past 6 months (according to similarweb.com) but go back 10 years and it was getting those numbers in one day. It was one of the most popular sites. You were able to name your pet, level it up, play games and much more.

As Webkinz were blew off and forgotten, the new hits in Elementary School in the next year were Silly Bandz and Japanese Erasers.

These new hits were both popular for similar reasons. Both were small, cheap items with virtually infinite variations and possibilities.

“They were basically just erasers and elastic bands formed into different shapes. It’s crazy how such a simple idea can be so popular,” said Senior Sean Hirtle when asked about their popularity.

“I would have Silly Bandz on my wrists at all times,” says Senior Lizzie Caldwell. “They were fun to collect different packs and colors, and sometimes trade them with other kids in class who wanted a Silly Band that you had, that they didn’t. Same goes with the Japanese Erasers.”

Toys have drastically changed throughout the years and will continue to do so as new generation and new technological advances emerge.