Comments on: Comparison Review: Toss Across by Mattel and Ideal Toy Company

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:12:43 +0000

Most toys now come from China, and we all know how GREAT their quality control is…. I LOVE getting older toys for my 3 year old at garage sales. And Thinga’s idea about the lead testing kit is great. Thanks for the tip! I kept my old Fisher Price barn set and airport set from when I was a kid… they are my daughter’s favorite toys.

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:22:04 +0000

Quality really seems to be suffering anymore. Not only are toys made much cheaper, but there are so many recalls. My girls were so sad last year when we had to throw out their Dora talking doll house and accessories, because of the lead paint. Any more I’m thinking making toys out of old cardboard boxes is the way to go. They’re not that flimsier than the plastic stuff in the stores, and when it does break, it’s easy to just get another cardboard box.

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:27:52 +0000

Noreen, you are so right about hungry hungry hippo! Someone gave muy daughter a new one for her birthday, and it was broken within a day! i emailed the company to complain… it’s ridiculous!

By: Noreen

Noreen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:52:49 +0000

The tonka truck comment reminded me when our daughter was little my husband was so excited to buy her her first tonka truck. When we got to toysrus and saw they are mostly plastic he was so sad. He never did buy her a tonka

By: Noreen

Noreen — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:50:38 +0000

I loved hungry hungry hippo as a kid (my friend had it) and was going to get it for girls until I saw how flimsy the new verson was (I saw it at a garage sale, the new one )

By: My Boaz's Ruth

My Boaz's Ruth — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:03:35 +0000

I was recently playing Uno with the new cards, and we frequently misinterpreted what the card symbols were supposed to mean. To the point that the game was not as fun.

By: KGS

KGS — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:30:26 +0000

Tonka trucks! When I was a kid, all of them were metal. Now an awful lot of the big ones are plastic. Safer perhaps, but the feel of them “driving” on rough surfaces is just not the same.

By: PisecoMom

PisecoMom — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:44:06 +0000

Yes, we find this with so many things. Most recently, we noticed that our old version of Race to the Roof has a frame on the game board to keep the room tiles from slipping around, but in our friends’ newer version the board is flat and slick, and that really makes gameplay more frustrating for young kids. I’ll have to keep my eye out for that older Toss Across!

By: Theryn

Theryn — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:21:55 +0000

My grandparents had that original version. It may have even been my mom’s. Lots of people got good old fashioned toys when she sold off stuff to move to an apartment.

Lincoln logs are definitely not as good as they used to be. We had my dad’s old set and it’s a million times better than the lightweight painted and often plastic ones available today.