Figure 1.--American boys through the 1950s were well armed. Cowboys were all the rage in the 1950s. These boys were photyographed just after Christmas (January 1959). They are sporting their Christmas gifts. Mothers by the 1970s were trying to redirect boys' play and refusing to buy toy guns for them. I can recall when I was their age about 1950, my cap pistol was one of my most prized possession.

Play activities have varied over time. Some play activities have continued over the ages. Many girls like to play with dolls in the 18th century and this is still true today. By the same token boys continue to like to play with guns or toy guns, although many mothers now discourage this. A major factor was the industrial revolution, driving both urbanization and the creation of wealth. With affluence came the modern childhood with more time to play. And at the same time, aditudes toward play began to change. Many parents in the 18th century saw play even for younger children as both a bad habit and wasteful. Parents un the Victorian period began to see play as a valuavle activity for children, if properly oriented, helping to build important life skills and abilities. We see a wide variety of play activities over time. Board games continue to be popular. New games are created, but some old favorites continue. Chess, checkers, and dominoes are old favorites. The same is true of cards. Of course technology affects play. Boys in the early 20th century made string telephones. This has been especially the case with the development of computers. Outdoor play also varied. Hide and seek is a continuing favorite, but many ring games popular in the 19th century have largely disappeared. Sports have varied over time. Popular games included marbles and mummelepeg. Of course this varied over time. And with the increasing popularity of sports as well as the development of lithography we begin to see collecting baseball cards as well as flipping cards and pennies. Modern boys are no longer allowed to have knives for mummeldepeg. And often marbles and flipping sports cards are discouraged as losers wind up unhappy. Modern parents are much more prone to intervene over such matters and to direct play.

The 18th Century

Play activities have varied over time. Some play activities have continued over the ages. Many girls like to play with dolls in the 18th century and this is still true today. There wasn't much in the wat of toy guns in the 18th century. Tgerecwere toys to buy, but unless a child came from a well-to-do family they probably did not have manufactured toys. Most American children lived on farms and to the extent they had toys, they probably were home made by their parents. And cvhildren from a very early age were involved in farm work. We know thay boys swam in creeks and rivers. Sports weere not yet very well developed.

The 19th Century

Toys were not a 19th century innovation. Never before in history, however, wereso mny wonderful toys available to childrten than the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution gave companies the ability to manufacture high quality toys at low cost. At the same time, more and morepeople were earning wages that allowed them to buy toys for their children. A major factor was the industrial revolution, driving both urbanization and the creation of wealth. With affluence came the modern childhood with more time to play. And at the same time, aditudes toward play began to change. Many parents in the 18th century saw play even for younger children as both a bad habit and wasteful. Parents un the Victorian period began to see play as a valuable activity for children, if prperly oriented, helping to build important life skills and abilities. Toy guns appeared for boys in tghe 19th century, but we are not yet sure just how common they were. The concept of toy gun was not full devrloped in tghe 19th century. The know the Lincoln boys had a toy cannon, but it was actually a minature cannon and the boys let off a volley at the cabinet. Toy soldiers were another popular item for boys. Toy soldiers were extremely popular and manychildren had them by the late-19th century. Dime novels and boy's magazines fired youthful imaginations. There were board games like chess, checkers, backgammon, and others. The range of toys steadily incrased throughout the 19th century. As the decade progressed we see more and more great toys. Winderful dolls began to appear for girls. Balls, puppets, blocks, tops, were widely available. Toy stores appeared for the first time. Outdoors ball games and sports were still limited, but one of the mosy popular activity was rolling hoops. Barrels were everwhere abnd hoops fairly easy to come by. American cities along with industrialization grew steadily. Ring games were popular with younger children. Famous rhymes were associated with some of these games. As more and more children lived in cities, the outdoor play enviroment available to them changed considerably.

The 20th Century

Play activities for children as well as the variety of toys available to children continued to increase in the 20th century. Thanks to the appearance of the snap shot, large numbers of photographic images begin to become available. A good example is Robbie McGregor and Everett Tallmadge. The movies as well as radio and television caused intense interest among children. Boys played cops and robbers and cowboys and Indians. There were also war games, especially during and after World War II. Thus toy guns were extremerly popular. Most boys got them. And boys wanted B-B guns, although this was a big decesion in many homes. Boys played with toy guns through much of the century. Mothers began discouraging this by the 1970s. Outdoor play also varied. Hide and seek is a continuing favorite, but many ring games popular in the 19th century have largely disappeared. Sports have varied over time and in the 20th century became a national mpassion. Boys at first played informally, but gradually Little League and other organized youth sports developed. With the move into the city, children lost their swimming pools. As a result, public pools were opened in the cities. With the move to the suburbs, pools of various sizes appeared in backyards. Popular games included marbles and mummelepeg. Of course this varied over time. And with the increasing popularity of sports as well as the development of lithography we begin to see collecting baseball cards as well as flipping cards and pennies. Modern boys are no longer allowed to have knives for mummeldepeg. And often marbles and flipping sports cards are discouraged as losers wind up unhappy. Modern parents are much more prone to intervene over such matters and to direct play. Board games continue to be popular. New games were created like Monopoly, but some old favorites continue. Chess, checkers, and dominoes are old favorites. The same is true of cards. Of course technology affects play. Boys in the early-20th century made string telephones. This has been especially the case with the development of computers.

The 21st Century

Created: 3:11 AM 8/23/2010
Last updated: 7:48 AM 1/27/2018