Authored by Nickie Fleming in Gifts, Parenting 
Published on 02-21-2009

The question we should raise here is not what are suitable gifts to 10-year-old boys, but what is considered to be suitable.

Educating children is not an easy task for parents – and in our modern society, lots of parents ask themselves if they are doing it right. Very often they are afraid, and let the child dictate what is going to happen.

What is most important is not how much toys a child has, but the feeling of belonging. A happy family is the best thing a child can have, and will make it more confident in its future life.

Allow children to be children. Nowadays, lots of children I meet talk and act like adults – because they are treated like them at home. I think it is the parents’ duty to prevent this from happening. A child should not worry about the economy, about social matters, and so on. Time enough for that when they’re older and well-equipped to deal with such problems. In infancy, a kid should only think of having fun. Should enjoy going to school, should make friends and play with them. Let them fall out of a tree – they’ll never do it again. Best way of learning things is to experience them.

Parents should also never underestimate the power of modern media. TV and computer can become very addictive. It is so much better when a child doesn’t watch TV a lot – an hour or so per day is more than enough – and doesn’t sit clustered to the computer screen. More important is to stimulate the child’s own creativity. A child doesn’t really need expensive toys. It can be just as happy with some scraps of clothing, a few broken branches, a pit of sand. I remember that my sister and I both enjoyed acting like Christian Dior. We used old pieces of clothing, and draped them around our dolls, making our own fashion creations. My cousins built a huge tree house with materials they gathered around. With the other kids in our street, we decided to make a raft from old oil canisters and made it drift on the river (we all could swim). We even made the national press because one of us got the idea of cleaning up the brook that runs behind our houses (that was in the late sixties, long before the green guys became popular). We made hats out of newspapers, etc.

There are some toys I can recommend because they’ll stimulate a child’s creativity.

At age ten, both boys and girls can play with the old trusted Lego cubes. Imagine what you can do with them! Build castles, houses, space ships, whatever you feel like.

Another great toy is Mecano, which makes you feel like an engineer.

And why not give your kid a puzzle? A patient nature might enjoy fitting all the pieces to have a beautiful picture, which can be framed afterwards.

Books are a valuable gift as well, as they will make the child dream.