TOYS

1. What kinds of toy did you have when you were a kid?
My parents used to pamper me with action figures/ dolls/eye-catching toys
2. Should parents buy many toys for kids?
I don’t think it is a good idea. If parents indulge their children by buying whatever
toys they like, the kids are likely to develop a habit of partnering-> pestering for
things
3. What benefits of children playing toys?
Parents often think that toys as detrimental to kids, but I reckon, it can help
children’s development in some ways. For example, building blocks is a game
that helps kids enhance their cognitive development or some other educational
toys give children’s brain a boost
4. What are disadvantages?
Toys can be time-consuming, children may lose track of time, and as a result,
they do not have enough time for other priorities such as study
5. Did you play with toys when you were a child?
Yes, of course. I loved playing with toys when I was a child; I think all children do.
6. What kinds of toys did you like?
As far as I remember, I mostly played with toy cars, planes and action figures
from films or cartoons. I also liked building things with Lego.
7. In your country, do boys and girls play with the same types of toys?
Not really. I think boys like the kinds of toys that I mentioned before, whereas
girls play with dolls. My niece, for example, doesn't like toy cars; she prefers
dressing dolls in different outfits.
8. Do you think that toys help children to learn?
Yes, I do. All toys encourage children to use their imagination and creativity. Even
with simple toys, children imagine situations and invent games and rules.
9. What was your favorite toy in childhood?
Well, to be honest, I was kind of a spoiled kid. My parents used to pamper me
with all kinds of toys, but my favorite was this Power Ranger action figure. I am a
big fan of the franchise so when I got the toy, I was elated. I still have it in my
living room, actually.
10. Should parents buy many toys for their children?
Personally I don’t think it’s a good idea. I mean, if parents indulge their children

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 and just buy whatever toy they like, the kids are likely to develop a habit
of pestering their parents for things, and that’s definitely not a good thing.
11. What are the benefits of children playing toys?
People often think of toys as being detrimental to kids, but I think they can
benefit children’s development in some ways. Educational toys like building
blocks can actually boost the cognitive development of small kids. For example,
my brother used to with Lego a lot when he was small, and he’s a very creative
person.
12. What are the disadvantages of children playing toys?
Toys can be time-consuming. I mean, children often lose track of time when they
play with toys, and as a result, they may not have enough time for study.
13. Can you suggest why some people like to keep a childhood toy?
The main factor why people like to keep things from the past is that they can
remember things years later. Nostalgia is important for a lot of people who are
afraid of forgetting the time that has passed by and also they are probably in a
habit of not throwing away anything.
14. In your country, do boys and girls play with the same types of toys?
Not really. I think boys like the kinds of toys that I mentioned before, whereas
girls play with dolls. My niece, for example, doesn't like toy cars; she prefers
dressing dolls in different outfits.
15. Do you think that toys help children to learn?
Yes, I do. All toys encourage children to use their imagination and creativity. Even
with simple toys, children imagine situations and invent games and rules.
16. What kind of toys do children like today?
I believe the kind of toys children like most today derives from what kind of
cartoons children have watched on TV. So I believe the cartoon figures like the
Lightning, Bumblebee and the Angry Bird are among the most popular toys.
17. Do you think toys should be passed on to other kids when these toys are no
long?
Yes, I feel that most toys have only been played for just one year, and they are
almost intact, so it is really a waste of money to throw them away. I always send
my son’s toys to my friends’ babies to reuse them.

I remember that when I was young, I was keen on watching the cartoon called “The
many adventures of Winnie the Pooh”, so much that I kept pestering my father for the
stuffed bear Winnie the Pooh.

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Finally, my father gave me one as a present for my 6th birthday. When I got this toy, I
jumped for joy and even paid no attention to my other presents. This stuffed bear was,
incredibly identical to the character in the cartoon I had watched.
He also had a short red shirt and was holding a jar of honey which was his favorite food.
Therefore, I felt as if he had come from the movie.
Since then, I considered him my closest friend and I couldn’t go anywhere without him,
even when I went to sleep.
Every day, I talked with the bear and told him about my daily routine. Unfortunately, I
lost the bear at an amusement center; I could help but cry/crying for almost a week. At
that time, I felt like I had lost a good friend who I could share everything with.
At present, whenever I watch this cartoon or see any photos of Winnie the Pooh, all the
wonderful memories about him are brought back. Thanks to the bear, I experienced a
happy childhood.

One special toy that I remember getting was a Lego car. It was a birthday present from
my parents. I can’t remember exactly how old I was, but I was probably about 10 or 11.
The special thing about this car was that I had to build it myself out of hundreds of
pieces of Lego. The pieces came in a box with a picture of the finished car on the front,
and I had to follow step-by-step instructions to put all the pieces together in the correct
way. This wasn’t an easy task because the car even had an engine, movable seats and
gears. It took me a day or two to make, and required a lot of concentration.
When the car was finished it looked great, and I felt a sense of accomplishment. I seem
to remember that I didn’t play with the car very much; the fun part had been the process
of building it.

 a picture of the finished car: bức ảnh về chiếc xe hoàn thiện

 to put all the pieces together in the correct way: đặt tất cả những mảnh ghép lại
theo đúng cách
 an engine, movable seats and gears: động cơ, các ghế di chuyển và hộp số
 required a lot of concentration: cần nhiều sự tập trung
 felt a sense of accomplishment: cảm giác hoàn thành nhiệm vụ
 the process of building it: quá trình lắp ráp chiếc xe

Toys are extremely precious for children and they are possessive about their favorite
ones. As a child, I was lucky enough to have quite a few of them but there was one
which I absolutely adored. It was a Barbie doll which was gifted to me by my parents.
I still remember that first advertisement of Barbie dolls in my country. It had a lovely
music and displayed “the Happy Birthday Barbie”, which was wearing a pink gown with
white polka dots. The doll had long golden hair and was even wearing matching pink

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sandals. I saw the ad every time it appeared on the TV and longed to have that doll
myself. I was after my parents to get it for me which I didn’t get for a long time. Finally, I
was gifted the very same doll by my parents.
I just loved everything about it- the dress, the hair and its beautiful features. I would
comb it, bathe it and even made it sleep in the night. It was a special toy as it was
different and unique as compared to any other doll available in those days. None of my
friends had a Barbie which made me a proud owner of this English doll. There were
extra dresses for Barbie with matching foot wear also available in the market and it was
fun to change the dresses and make different hair styles. I spent most of my time
playing with Barbie whenever i was home and it became my favorite possession.

I had many toys in my different phases of childhood. As I was the only child of my
parents so they used to bring me all sorts of toys to kill my boredom/ to keep me
engaged.
I used to play with all cautiously to avoid any damage.
I still remember that out of all those my favorite one was a grand Doll house. It was a
miniature version of life-sized building.
It was a Barbie Pink Plastic doll house presented by my parents on my 8th
This doll house had three floors with all sorts of furniture items such as bed set for
bedroom, all kitchen equipment and sofa for living room along with TV, Telephone set,
and all bathroom accessories. It had a car and garage also.
I still remember that it was packed in a box which I had to assemble myself. I was
extremely excited at that time and it took me hours to arrange it but I enjoyed a lot.
I was very possessive about this doll house and my mother tells me that I never allowed
any of my cousins to even touch it.
None of my friends and cousins had such grand doll house and I felt proud of that
possession.
My mother tells me that I kept that with me till I was of 15 years and then I gave that to
an orphanage.
I have many pictures of mine while playing with the doll house which were clicked by my
parents.
I enjoy watching those pictures now and am keeping them safely in my personal album.

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1. How do the media attract the children towards toys?
There are many media channels such as TV, newspaper, magazine and social
media platform that advertise some toy products to attract the young children.
The videos or pictures telecasted or posted on these channels allure them to buy
these toys. So, they insist their parents buy them from the market.
2. Do you think children learn something from toys?
I think it depends on what type of toy it is. For example, if a small girl is playing
with her Barbie doll by cleaning its hair, washing its clothes and dressing it up
with new clothes, it shows that she is learning good habits on how to live a good
lifestyle. On the other hand, if she has other kinds of playthings such as guns,
knives or pistols and she plays games where it is about killing the other player, in
this case, it would not be good as she would be learning to be destructive.
3. Do the parents spend too much on buying toys for their children?
Yes, sometimes but not always. When the parents feel that their child needs a
toy to play, which can help eliminate loneliness in his life, they do let their child
purchase a toy even if it is very expensive in order to let him smile. However,
when the child is insisting unnecessary and demanding too many toys, they
refrain from any further purchase since they know that it would rather make him
pampered.
4. What should be the preferable toys for the children?
Nowadays, toys should include mini-laptop, musical instrument and other such
things using which the child can also gain some good knowledge and skill rather
than only having fun with no learning activity alongside.
5. Is it important to have pleasant childhood memories?
Having happy childhood memories is very essential to anyone in the world. It
makes a happy life later and creates the vivid memories that we can reminisce
about. Every time we are exhausted, thinking about the rewarding childhood can
be a source of motivation to hold a positive outlook on life.
 Vivid memory (compound noun): kỷ niệm rõ nét
 Reminisce about (v): nhớ về
6. Do you think that people are permanently affected by negative childhood
memories?
I think yes. Almost all adults have to suffer long-lasting negative effects because
of their miserable childhood memories, which damage their mental fitness. They
will be more violent if they had to suffer from the abuse or violence in the past, or

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 some people become more isolated because they used to have no friend when
being small.
 Long lasting (adj): Lâu dài
 Miserable (adj): Đáng thương, tội nghiệp
 Abuse (n): Sự lạm dụng
7. What do you think it means to ‘live in the past?
In my opinion, this idea is about the people who always reminisce about the good
old days and try to escape the current life. They maybe feel scared of the reality
and want to find a shell to hide in.
 Reminisce about the good old days (phrase): tưởng nhớ về những ngày
tháng tươi đẹp đã qua
 Hide (v): trốn
8. Nowadays many parents try to make their children happy by buying them many
toys. How do you feel about this?
Well actually it is just a way for parents to show their love and care to their
children. However, buying them toys too often will spoil them and make them feel
like they deserve to be pampered. Therefore, I think only giving them some toys
for special occasions such as birthday or festivals seem more reasonable.
 Spoil (v): Làm hư hỏng
 Pamper (v): Chiều chuộng
9. Is it important for a child to have a lot of toys in order to be happy?
A latchkey child will be never happy no matter how many toys they have because
toys are not the key element to bring happiness to children. They would better to
go out and play with their childhood friends, or have more connection with their
parents.
 Latchkey child (compound noun): Đứa trẻ hay ở nhà một mình
 Childhood friend (compound noun): Bạn thời thơ ấu
10. What is more important for a child’s happiness, many toys or many friends?
Personally childhood friends are the most essential people who bring happiness to
children, not the toys. They can talk to their friends, share many things in
common, too and write the memorable pages in their childhood together. All
these memories will leave a lasting impression on each other and they will take
them back one day.
 Leave a lasting impression on sb (phrase): Để lại ấn tượng sâu sắc trong ai
 Take sb back (phrase): Gợi nhớ về quãng thời gian trước đó

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