Raising your Children

What was your favorite toy when you were a child? Quite possibly it was something rather simple that seemed like it would never break—something, perhaps, that your parents made for you. It is important to give good gifts to your (I can’t say our) children; gifts that are quite the opposite of the cheap (in quality) and gaudy gadgets that pass as toys today. Teresa Kragnes, from St. Louis, Missouri, sent me the plans for making stilts, which, she claims, were among her most enjoyed toys of childhood.

Get either a 12 or 14 foot piece of 1”x2” or 2”x2” clear, straight-grained white pine. Cut into two even pieces. The 7 foot stilts are recommended for older children, 6 foot for younger.

Bevel or round all the edges and sand. Then rub into the wood a mixture of one part boiled linseed oil and one part turpentine.

Make the steps from a 2” x 6” piece of fir or similar rafter or floor joice material—it must be a harder wood than white pine Look for scrap pieces near construction sites or lumber yards. You can probably get this free. Cut the step piece according to measurements on the diagram.

Attach the step pieces to the stilts with husky, countersunk flathead wood screws (#8 shank by 2” long is a good size). The top of the step piece should be from 14 to 20 inches from the ground. This will depend on the size and agility of the child, the higher one being more difficult to manage.

Another idea to make for a much younger child (1-3 years) is what I will call a gadget board. This was made by a friend of mine with a dextrous child who was intent on using electric plugs, switches, etc. On a small piece of plywood (approximately 1’ x 2’) mount a variety of objects such as a wall switch, a bolt lock, an electric plug and outlet, and a padlock with key. This is a good way to channel the interest of a child who wants to learn how to use these objects but, naturally, must be kept away from the real things.

I spent some time in the library looking at books on making toys and came up with the following list. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive bibliography, just a starter.

Carter, Joel W., How To Make Athletic Equipment, Ronald Press Co., NYC, 1960. Manual for constructing supplies and equipment most commonly needed in phys. ed. and rec. programs. Team and individual sports.

Dal Fabbro, Mario, How to Make Children’s Furniture and Play Equipment, McGraw-Hill, NYC, 1963. Mostly practical stuff, although some outdoor things.

Dyler, Anne, Design Your Own Stuffed Toys, Charles T. Branford Co., Newton, MA, 1969. How to make toys for which you don’t have patterns.

Fremlin-Key, Hermyone, Toys and Gifts for You to Make, Charles T. Branford Co., Newton, MA, 1970. Stuffed toys. Good pix and instructions.

Hawkins, Reginald R., Easy-to-Make Play Equipment, MacMillan, NYC, 1957. Sandboxes, swings, climbing toys, and the like.

Hayword, Charles H., Making Toys in Wood, Drake Pub., NYC, 1972. Toys from wood, such as pull toys, etc. Need the tools.

Morton, Brenda, Floppy Toys, Taplinger Pub. Co., NYC, 1970. Toys made from circle of material, gathered and threaded on elastic.

Peterson, Grete, Making Toys With Plywood, Reinhold Pub., NYC, 1967. Kind of interesting. A lot of them are toys from many years ago. Good instructions, but you need the right saws, etc.

Schultz, Walter E., Toys for Fun: And How to Make Them, Bruce Pub. Co., 1966. Some good basic info such as how to make wheels. Also need many tools for these.

Etta L. Worthington was a contributing editor of The Post-American when this article appeared.