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.
You have adult money and thus can buy all the cool stuff.
Why wouldn’t you?
I’m a dudely guy. I love my smoker (where do you live that they’re doing it that often? Even here in Texas it’s a niche hobby 99% of the time). I work on and ride motorcycles. Woodworking. Hog hunting, but that’s mostly to keep wild hogs from tearing up land of people I know. I love camping. Music production. So I’d be considered pretty normal, minus the sports, if someone were to know my hobbies.
But also I’ve got some plushies in my home studio. I like them, they make me smile. I’ve got a bunch of retro games on modern equipment. I read a lot of fantasy and that includes a healthy dose YA fantasy. In addition to tabletop games that a lot of folks play I have an entire shelf dedicated to kids board games that I play.
I don’t have kids. Never will. I’m the crazy uncle to everyone else’s kids and we have a great time when they’re over. And if anyone doesn’t like my childish hobbies they can go fuck themselves.
Liking kids stuff isn’t sad at all. Ever. If you aren’t harming others and you’re having a good time then anyone who gives a shit has stepped way the fuck out of their lane. If you met the most amazing person tomorrow and wanted them to be your partner and they found out about your hobbies and made fun of them, even if they were perfect in every other way, that’s not the right person for you.
Now I’m not personally a Lego person. I don’t have the concentration for it. But if I found out you were my neighbor I’d 100% offer to smoke a brisket or whatever you eat and supply some beer if you’d bring over the Atari for some Combat or have an extra RC car that we can race. That sounds like an incredible way to spend a Saturday if I’m not headed out of town.
I’m 38 years old and still play with Beyblades. Do what you love as long as it doesn’t hurt others or yourself.
It isn’t sad if you’re happy.
The only thing that’s sad is being ashamed of your hobbies and interests. Do whatever you want with your free time, I promise that nobody gives a fuck.
My fiancee and I build Legos together, play games together and there is nothing wrong with that. Rules like this are purely fictional and societal pressure. Just do what you like, you’re a grown up! Even if someone tells you you shouldn’t, you don’t even have to do something with that :)
It’s perfectly acceptable to play with Lego’s all the way up to age 99. Then you have to stop.
Sad toot for Dick van Dyke.
/sarcasm
14
but it’s okay again at 22
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
Poor Dick Van Dyke.
