I wonder if this behaviour has ever been observed in literature. I should write a thesis and get a doctorate, but that can wait.
My first inkling to the existence of Toy Emulation came just after Christmas 2008. My sister gave Jude a set of linked plastic rings. Jude was 2 and a half months old and the rings were perfectly age appropriate for him. They quickly became the toy of choice that I took on outings. The rings clipped easily to his stroller, I could clip his dummy to them and I could hold one end of the chain while Jude played with the other end.
Soon after Christmas I joined a Mothers' Group and during one of the presentations on appropriate toys, the speaker commented on Jude's rings and said they were a good toy. The next week several mothers had bought similar rings after seeing Jude playing happily with his set.
Around the same time I noticed absolutely every mother from here to Timbuktu was buying the rather expensive Fisherprice Baby Swing. This bulky item requires space, a constant supply of batteries and a lot of spare cash, but it was the must-have item for infants. I am, to this day, left with a nagging feeling that I missed out because I was the only mother who didn't buy one.I didn't really think much of it until more recently. As our children grow and become more interactive with their toys, we are all concerned about keeping our children entertained and engaged, so we've all become more mindful about their toys. A lumpy rubber ball proved popular amongst the babies and we all decided to buy one.
The most popular item recently, however, has been the alphabet mat. This mat consists of 26 colourful squares with pop-out letters. The squares link together to make a big play mat. My parents have one to cover their hardwood floors when their grandkids come over. One of the mothers in my Mothers' Group had one to cover her hard tiles. A rubber mat make a lot of sense for covering hard floors, and this particular item is only $18 from the Reject Shop so it's not going to break the bank. The problem is that all of a sudden absolutely everyone has to have one, so they sold out from the Reject Shop almost instantly. They cost $40 from toy stores, but they've sold out too (so I've heard, I haven't looked).After a meeting with some mums the other day we were discussing the rubber mat (because the mum hosting the group had one). That same afternoon I had an email from one of the other mums who had rushed out to search for one and was letting us know that she had found a shop with 3 remaining mats in stock.
I had that nagging feeling creeping up inside me again. It was the Fisherprice swing all over again. But I have carpet and I just fail to see how I need the rubber alphabet mat. At 8-months of age Jude's hardly going to be learning to read quite yet. I saw a beautiful giant floor puzzle in Big W for $20 that I liked a lot more than the rubber mat, which I'll keep in mind for when the time comes that Jude is learning things like that. I am not going to buy the rubber alphabet mat, I don't have hard floors and I don't need it, but damn Toy Emulation and that guilty doubt!
I did buy the lumpy rubber ball and the Fisherprice stacking cups, but I bought them because I had seen Jude playing with them and he liked them both, and Jude has the most minimal collection of toys I've ever seen, so I thought it was a good idea to buy him a couple of new toys I knew he already enjoyed. I do admit, however, that even I - the world's least consumer-driven mother in the entire universe - am not immune to the powerful phenomenon that is Toy Emulation.
