“Well, back in my day…”

Those are five words I never thought I’d say. Nevertheless, here I am, subjecting my kids to stories from my past.

A few months ago, my husband and I were more than a little curious to see how our kids would react to some pop candies.

My husband poured a bit in each of their mouths and as we suspected, their reactions were priceless. Our son ran out of the room begging for it to stop. Our daughter was amused and wanted to try some more.

It’s always an adventure when we introduce new things to our kids. Especially things from our childhood. So, when I busted out some Polly Pocket™ toys I should have known it would have been just as amusing.

Do you remember these things? I was gifted my first Polly Pocket toy when I was in fourth grade, so just a little older than my daughter is now. It was a heart-shaped compact with a castle and tiny little doll inside. Now there are new versions and I couldn’t wait to show her. I told my daughter I had a surprise for her. Something I played with as a kid that she might like too.

She’s even more hip these days. Parents, she has her own YouTube channel, and now Polly™ dolls have Polly Stick™ to help her stay on the hot spots on the compact, so she doesn’t fall out. Knowing Lil’ J likes small toys she can bring along in the car I knew it would be a hit with her. What I didn’t expect was my son enjoying them just as much.

Big T saw his sister and I playing with tiny dolls and came over asking if he could play with one too. We have three sets: Teeny Boppin’ Concert™, Flamingo Floatie, and Beach Vibes™ Backpack. He was a little disappointed that all of the little characters were girls, but he was glad that some of them had on light blue clothes “because that’s my favorite color!” he said.

They play together all of the time but not often with the same toys. It was sweet to watch them both play pretend with something I loved as a kid. And it didn’t take long for my son to realize these characters are the perfect size ratio for his dinosaurs (I may have found a Polly or two in a T-Rex’s mouth). Which adds a whole other awesome aspect of imaginative play.

Things from my day may not be as high tech and expensive as toys for kids these days. But it’s pretty cool when the two overlap and we can pass along something we loved to also be cherished by our kids.

Did you play with this toy as a kid?

Tags: mattel, motherhood, partner, polly pocket