This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s summer editorial intern Jordyn Centerwall. Find her on Instagram at @jordyncenterwall. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Whenever I’m in a restaurant or out in public and I see kids with an iPad propped up in front of them, it makes me a little bit sad. It also makes me feel fortunate to have had most of my childhood years be during the pre-iPhone 2000s. Don’t get me wrong, I still had screens back then. I played my Leapfrog device religiously and between Webkinz, Poptropica, and GirlsGoGames, I spent plenty of time on a computer. Now the aspects of childhood I look back on and romanticize are the times spent playing pretend outdoors and at playdates. I’m probably biased, but 2000s toys were superior. American girl dolls, Bakugan, Polly pockets. Every so often the nostalgia posts reach me and get me wondering what toys kids these days play with. Do they even still play with toys? Or have screens taken over? Here’s what I’ve found.
Where do toys get bought?
I’ve apologized to my parents for many things now in my adult life. One that definitely makes the list is the experience of visiting any store carrying toys. It’s an experience I fear might not be universal anymore as brick and mortar businesses switch to online models and grocery delivery services create ease, but fewer family store trips. I was pleased to learn that Toys-R-Us is back after moving online in 2021. The business partnered with and returned to select Macy’s stores in 2022.
When I think back to 2000s toys, I remember playing with them, but I also remember the marketing. (I guess that means it worked). I remember receiving magazines in the mail dedicated to toys or halloween costumes and poring over them at my kitchen table after school. With the decline of cable and switch to streaming services, advertisements have been seeking out kids via social media. Some brands have even created shows as a way to promote the toys they’re trying to sell. This isn’t anything new, Care Bears and My Little Pony both did so to reach a larger audience to sell their 2000s toys. But now, influencers have also become major players. Parents promote to other parents, but child influencers who review toys have also become popular on YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms.
Toys That Have Stuck Around
I did my research for this article. By research I mean I spent too long perusing the Target toy aisles trying to convince myself I didn’t need to buy a giant Lego set. I succeeded…this time. I was surprised at how much of a walk down memory lane it was. Sure, new names have appeared, but most of the big ones from my childhood were still present on the shelves. Hot Wheels, Play-Doh, Pokemon, Nerf, Monster High, and Barbie dolls all still had a prominent place. Good to know that Mattel and Hasbro are still churning a profit. Their stock prices in recent years have said otherwise though. One strategy that these big companies—as well as smaller ones—are using to get back in the game is the tried and true relaunch of old toys. Recently, this has included more of our favorite 2000s toys.
Toys making a comeback
- Silly Bandz
The bracelets that once had kids in a chokehold and schools banning them are back. SillyBandz have made their way onto TikTok and are being sold on the platform as well as Amazon, Walmart, and other stores. I remember kids my age wearing so many that they started to cut off circulation in their arms. It’s unclear whether this resurgence is coming from kids themselves or kidults (adults who like products aimed at kids). Many people on TikTok are advertising how they plan to give out Silly Bandz for Halloween this year instead of candy. Whether this is simply a marketing strategy or a true comeback for these 2000s toys is up in the air.
- Littlest Pet Shop
Littlest Pet Shop was my thing as a kid. I spent so many hours with my sibling playing with the dozens of animal characters and their houses. The brand released a TV show in 2012 that did four seasons, and then another one in 2018 that only had one season. However, they now appear to be adapting by appealing to kids who play Roblox through a virtual game and interactive website that launched last year. In 2023, Hasbro also partnered with Basic Fun! and planned a large relaunch of old favorite 2000s toys. In addition to LPS, Hasbro revived toys like Lite Brite, Lincoln Logs, and Tonka trucks. .
- Zhu Zhu Pets
Zhu Zhu Pets came at the tailend of my peak toy years. But that didn’t stop me from playing with my younger sibling’s pets. The brand launched a new line of pets earlier this year. According to the Zhu Zhu Pets website, they plan to rerelease in stages, with the first stage being their aquarium animals. In 2009, the toys were accused of containing too much antimony, which is used to make things flame retardant, but is toxic. The federal government later confirmed that the toys met federal guidelines and were safe, but the accusation was a blow to the brand’s credibility.
New Toys
So what toys are kids playing with today? I went down a Reddit thread, and it was reassuring to find how many 2000s toys still make the cut for kids nowadays. Some new characters have arose though. Bluey for one, has taken the child entertainment industry by storm. There was a whole section at Target dedicated to the show. The increase of anime popularity has also caused toys to be catered toward Demon Slayer and One Piece among other shows. Finally, video game themed toys have emerged taking the digital into the physical. Minecraft figurines and Lego sets are popular, and I’m sure Dress to Impress will have some toy iteration in the near future as well.
AI has also already made its way into physical toys. One review I read was for an AI storytelling bear that uses the software to generate stories for children. The bear is apparently one of the hottest toys of 2024. Scared yet? Me too. The toy comes with an app that kids can use to tell the bear what kind of story they want to hear. According to the toy’s details, the AI it uses is limited to only family-friendly content which sounds…placating. But something cool about the toy is that it can be used in over 30 languages.
Screens Replacing Toys?
There’s a lot of discourse around kids having access to technology at increasingly younger ages. Research on the effects screen time on children has been done since televisions made their way into homes. Scientists continue to explore how it is affecting childhood development. Binchtopia, a podcast that does well-researched, themed episodes, did an episode recently on iPad kids. A lot of the research they cite in the episode supports of the idea that screens are being used as a pacifier that provides comfort and entertainment. They reference a study from the 1950s by psychologist Harry Harlow. Harlow researched baby monkeys whose mothers were replaced with inanimate “mother” figures. He found that when choosing between the mother figure wrapped in plush fabric and the metal or wooden mother with a bottle, the baby monkeys consistently sought comfort over sustenance.
It’s terrifying imagine that kids today could be prioritizing comfort like the monkeys in the study. Fortunately, many parents also share the concern of researchers around screens. Reddit threads are dedicated to parents seeking advice of how to keep kids interested in toys and parents bloggers share advice of how to ween kids off of YouTube and other content addictions. It’s reassuring that so many people chiming in on the topic are approaching it with urgency, but also compassion for the parents involved. Making parents feel bad about relying on screens sometimes won’t stop the reality that kids will come in contact with them. Many seem to agree that leading by example and engaging in play with your children could be key. Maybe the resurgence of 2000s toys will serve to remind some parents of their own days spent playing.
What were your favorite 2000s toys? Let us know in the comments!
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