Antiquing With Kids

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

Next time you and the kids see an antique and rummage store, go inside. It's a lot of fun to show them what phones looked like when you were a kid, the typewriter you learned to type on, your first camera, or the same dishes your grandmother had. We like to look at old postcards too, some are very silly.

I like to show my kids things like butter churns, glass citrus juicers, or old washing machines and have them guess what the items are. Sometimes even I don't know what the things are and we ask. Usually people are glad to explain. Before you go into the store, explain to the children that it's best to look but not touch. I also emphasize no rough housing because there are a lot of breakables.

Sometimes the items make me remember things I'd forgotten, so then I tell the kids about the item and where I remember seeing it or playing with it. Some of the items are from eras they've studied in school. It's fun for them to see the WWII posters, and wagon wheels from the pioneer days, and I feel like it reinforces those history lessons.

It's really fun to see how toys have changed over the years. What did children play with before Nintendo? Some toys aren't so different, like dolls, tea sets, wagons, and croquet. Others are very different. I think there must be a lot of toy nostalgia out there because I noticed that Target has a line of classic Fisher Price toys now. Even standard board games used to look different before the advent of plastic. If you don't have a good antique and rummage store in your area, you can always look up your old toys on Ebay - but I do think it's more fun to find those items in person.

I wouldn't say this is my children's favorite activity, but they don't mind popping in a store for twenty minutes or so. It is fun to see how things have changed.

Also See:

Museum Scavenger Hunt

Family History as Bedtime Stories

Favorite Toys

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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