Dave Gardner

Ready to Break?

Image from: Santa Clause is Chinese: TreeHugger - December 19, 2007 post by Lester Brown

“[Buying] products which are more durable and can last longer is certainly a strategy to buy less.”

– “Growthbusters: Hooked on Growth” producer, director, and writer, Dave Gardner in a December 19th, 2011 On Point interview with Tom Ashbrook

I love the idea of Santa as this magical hero of generosity and reader of minds who delivers “the perfect gift,” but the truth is that I cannot wait until the mystery is gone and our Christmas money can go towards a wonderful family trip.  So until then, I comb the stores and on-line retailers hoping to find just a few great gifts for my kids.

One of my first stops was Hobby Town looking for presents which encourage them to think about how things are made and experience the satisfaction of working through challenges.

My guys love to build, especially things that go.  We already have tons of Legos and blocks. They are comfortable brings pieces together, and now it is time for the next step.  I wander through the store checking out the cars, boats, and planes and carefully reading the boxes to get a sense of which skill requirements would challenge without overwhelming them.  

Imagine my surprise when so many of the remote control vehicle kits were “Ready to Run” or “Ready to Fly.”  I asked the sales person if I was missing something.  “Yes,” she said, “a lot of the remote control kits are ready to go, but they still teach kids about building because when they break, you can come back to the store and get the repair pieces” – and according to my 11 year old neighbor whose friends have some of the these kits, they fall apart a lot and are in constant need of repair.

I am fine with kids learning by taking things apart, but we already have multiple pieces of the many remote controlled vehicles which only lasted a couple of days or even hours before breaking.  What are we saying to our kids when we feed their desires for immediate satisfaction while teaching them to assume things are built to break?

After combing all of the aisles, I did find a small, erector set, simple machine kit.  It was not cheap or fancy, but I do hope it will encourage them to build and bring pieces together to work right the first time. Wish us luck, and I wish you a very merry holiday season.