ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a cultural analysis of the meanings given to educational toys by parents of preschool and kindergarten children. Nevertheless, the richly detailed data can yield insights into the previously unexplored territory of the symbolic meanings of toys and provide a basis for more far-reaching cultural studies of toys. Farm animals, dinosaurs, and astronomy toys are also framed in terms of the ability of children to discover aspects of nature. The paradox arises, however, only if we view toy selection as an instrumental act, whether designed to educate children or let them have fun. Toy catalogues abound with claims about the ways their toys will stimulate creativity, imagination, discovery, and active learning. Faced with these perceived hazards of childrearing, parents may resort to the use of ritual and magic to ease their anxiety. Identity construction through toy selection also has an external audience comprised of relatives, friends, teachers, and others who know the parents and their children.
