Im not that old, but I do wonder at what point, if ever, is it sad to find toys/stuff designed for young people fun?
I dont like hunting and meat smokers. Or sports. Im into classic consoles and rc cars and Legos. Sometimes I feel like people have kids just so they can try to relive their own kid days. But I do that on a daily basis. Im surrounded by “kid” stuff, right down to 90s vhs cartoons and a Bop it.
My co workers would think its very odd that I spent the weekend playing atari and building legos. I guess I did put up some wood paneling too. But most other people were probably trucking their kids to sports practice and smoking a hog.
To be fair I’d be more surprised by a kid playing Atari than an adult. The 2600 came out almost 50 years ago.
And there’s nothing wrong with enjoying “kids stuff”, no matter your age.
Turns out that if you do your work and pay your taxes you get to decide what to do with your money and time.
Accept that people may not like the things you do. You can always find someone enthusiastic about the same things you are online.
As someone who doesn’t generally play with children’s toys, i still say the answer is never.
As Randall Munroe said way back in XKCD #150, we’re the grownups now, and we get to decide what that means. Life is too short not to spend as much of it as you can doing what you want. So long as it doesn’t interfere with others, go wild.
Between the ages of about 13 and 17, teenagers are very sensitive to peer pressure and are also trying hard to be more mature, so they police each other’s and their own interests against being ‘childish’.
Once they’re old enough that they don’t worry about looking like kids, if their peer group is chill and non judgemental (for example, in quite a lot of colleges and universities), they relax and enjoy some toys again.
It’s common to reject the previous stage in maturity temporarily. So middle schoolers don’t want to be mislabelled as primary school children and high schoolers don’t want to be mislabelled as middle schoolers, just as college attendees don’t want to be mislabelled as school children at all etc. With enough distance, “NO!” becomes “lol, no” and people relax.
I can’t stress the importance of having a chill and non judgemental peer group for this process to work enough, though.
In a house with children, playing with the kids is always being a great parent, but can also be neglecting sharing the burden of work, and there’s a lot of work, so play activities can also be seen as negative. Maybe that’s why some of the parents aren’t into fun. Often parents try to be sensible and responsible while grandparents unashamedly have fun.
TL;DR: It’s a sign of further maturity to stop policing maturity.
It isn’t sad, PERIOD
Like anything it’s sad when it starts to become harmful, and that’s probably not based on age.
Once you’re older than 99 you’re not allowed to play with Lego’s anymore
Not always a winner for takes, but this quote by C.S Lewis I’ve always found helpful
When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up. - C.S. Lewis
congrats, you’re the normal one !
There is no point when a thing like that is sad. Life is short. You do you and enjoy what you enjoy. Fuck them for judging you.
I think kid stuff is fine to like. Legos even say on the box you’re allowed to play with that until you turn 100. I think playing with toddler toys is probably a bit sad though, just cause that’s indicative of a psychological problem to me. But I’m not gonna tell someone what toys they can and can’t play with.
I have a better idea. Instead of worrying about the people who find it sad, spend your energy finding the like minded people who know it’s badass.
Not nearly as sad as avoiding something you enjoy just because somebody else might find out.
