[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/big-boys-and-their-toys-the-changing-role-of-play-today\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/big-boys-and-their-toys-the-changing-role-of-play-today\/","headline":"Big boys and their toys: the changing role of play today","name":"Big boys and their toys: the changing role of play today","description":"For Kyle Ong, the Transformers universe has more than meets his eyes. He fell in love with the characters since he was a child. In fact, he loved it so much that he has amassed a gargantuan collection of Transformers figurines (along with many others) over the years.\u00a0 Sitting in pride of place is a […]","datePublished":"2021-08-16","dateModified":"2022-04-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/ler-jun-sng\/#Person","name":"Ler Jun Sng","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/ler-jun-sng\/","identifier":320,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96c2c5ed54668ff02cc041326a58a56424181d9285b8f54cd192dd573e876ae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96c2c5ed54668ff02cc041326a58a56424181d9285b8f54cd192dd573e876ae5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1628847468509_Big_boys_and_their_toys_S3_Feature_Ler_Jun_1280X626_px.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1628847468509_Big_boys_and_their_toys_S3_Feature_Ler_Jun_1280X626_px.jpg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/big-boys-and-their-toys-the-changing-role-of-play-today\/","commentCount":"2","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/big-boys-and-their-toys-the-changing-role-of-play-today\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-04-19 05:39:16","description":"I don't think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"\u6ce8\u518c\u4ee5\u83b7\u53d6100 USDT","url":"https:\/\/www.binance.com\/register?ref=IXBIAFVY"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/big-boys-and-their-toys-the-changing-role-of-play-today\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2026-04-11 04:56:41","description":"Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"\u0421\u0442\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0438 \u043e\u0441\u043e\u0431\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0439 \u0430\u043a\u0430\u0443\u043d\u0442","url":"https:\/\/accounts.binance.com\/uk-UA\/register-person?ref=XZNNWTW7"}}],"about":["Community","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":1807,"articleBody":"For Kyle Ong, the Transformers universe has more than meets his eyes. He fell in love with the characters since he was a child. In fact, he loved it so much that he has amassed a gargantuan collection of Transformers figurines (along with many others) over the years.\u00a0Sitting in pride of place is a palm-sized small Optimus Prime figurine that kickstarted his hobby. \u201cThis was a gift from my mother,\u201d he says, showing me the very toy. \u201cThe year was 2007 and I was only 12.\u201dMr Kyle Ong and his massive collection of toys in his bedroom.Now at 26, Mr Ong lives with his parents and thousands of figurines at an HDB executive maisonette in the northeast. Five wooden shelves brimming with toy figurines are displayed right in front of his bed in his bedroom on the second floor. Another mid-sized, five-tiered wooden shelf rests by his bedside, and that too is also stuffed with toy figurines. Apart from the Transformers figurines of various sizes, the toys he collects run the gamut from Power Rangers and Bionicle action figures to popular Japanese anime characters, such as those from Dragon Ball.As a single child, Mr Ong spent most of his childhood watching cartoon shows, particularly Transformers. The exposure, he posits, has influenced him to want to acquire action figurines. Collecting such toys normally burns a big hole in the pocket and with no money as a child, Mr Ong would turn to his parents, who would, on rare occasions, obliged. Now working in the healthcare industry, Mr Ong is able to afford the toys on his own \u2014 a stark contrast to his pre-teenager days where he would only get them as gifts.\u00a0Mr Ong has been an avid collector of Transformers action figurines since he was 12. His Transformers collection comes in all shapes and sizes.\u201cLooking back, only my neighbour knew of my extensive and growing collection,\u201d he says, noting how few in his circle of friends were privy about his toy collection throughout his Primary and Secondary school years. When he did invite his neighbour over to play after school, they would often engage in simple banter or role-play using the figurines.On how much he has invested on his toys, Mr Ong shrugs: \u201cI am not very sure but I think I have invested between $30,000 and $32,000 for my collection. But I think it\u2019s worth more.\u201dLike most toy collectors, Mr Ong sometimes collects for their purported return of investment values. \u201cThere are collectors who do just that,\u201d he says. But for the most part, he collects them for nostalgia sake. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to physically hold onto the things you like, especially if it\u2019s a hero you\u2019ve seen on TV before.\u201dMr Zen Wang\u2019s growing Funko Pop collection. (Photo courtesy of Zen Wang)Undergraduates 24-year-old Kevin Tan and 21-year-old Zen Wang only began collecting toys, specifically Funko Pop characters, in recent years. These vinyl figurines with oblong heads and black, weary-looking eyes dominated the market for collectible toys since 1998. For the two friends, they serve more than mere ornaments that add colour and personality to their rooms.Mr Wang says: \u201c[The Funko Pop figurines] reminds me of my childhood and of the fun memories I had as a kid. That was a time when things were a lot \u2018simpler\u2019.\u201dThe McRockin Fours debuted as Happy Meal toys at McDonald\u2019s in 1992.Vintage collector Donovan Goh, 39, echoes the same sentiment.\u201cSome of my customers are willing to spend an exorbitant amount of money to collect toys that had been a part of their childhood,\u201d he says.Mr Goh, who owns and runs the vintage goods caf\u00e9 Old Habits at SAFRA Mount Faber, says. \u201cIt\u2019s like buying back or reclaiming a part of their memory.\u201d\u201cAll the excesses of our childhood are now made purchasable online, especially on eBay or Carousell,\u201d Mr Goh adds.Toys over the generationOn display at Old Habits vintage cafe, an astro boy figurine among other vintage robot figures.Mr Goh, who has spent years scouring and amassing vintage items with his wife, explains that tin toys made in the fifties, sixties and seventies are extremely rare to procure and rake in at a high price. He shares: \u201cNot many could afford toys and since there wasn\u2019t a huge demand for them, toys were scarce then.\u201dSome of the toys in the eighties, like Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake, started as greeting cards. Others, such as Cabbage Patch Dolls, were created specifically for Christmas to get parents to spend on their kids.\u00a0\u00a0Mr Goh, who grew up in the eighties, says mainstream television and prime time cartoon programmes played a huge part in marketing toys to children in that era. While television in Singapore began in 1963, marking the start of a social and cultural revolution, Mr Goh says that it was only in the seventies and eighties that mainstream television became even more accessible in Singapore.\u201cThere were only a few channels and shows to catch then. Pretty much, everyone was chasing the same cartoon series and that may perhaps be why kids, myself included, wanted to own action figurines that resembled the characters on the silver screen.\u201dToys are the most intimate things people buy and pop-culture has shaped and influenced some of the children\u2019s choices since the eighties.So, what of the toys in the nineties and onwards? By then, pop culture has pervaded the public conscience and a bulk of the popular toys were either resembling mascots or from iconic television and film characters. Case in point: Funko\u2019s bobbleheads and vinyl figurines; plushies from Sesame Street (Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monsters to list a few); the baby from Kewpie Corporation; Sharity, the Care Elephant; and even McDonald\u2019s iconic characters (Hamburglar, Grimace, or Birdie \u2013 how many can you remember?).\u201cI sometimes buy Funko Pop figurines to show my \u2018support\u2019 for a particular cartoon character,\u201d Mr Tan recounts, acknowledging the brand\u2019s proclivity for acquiring licenses from entertainment blockbusters. \u201cPop nomenclature is weird and expansive. Funko, with its range of licensed toy figurines, understands how valuable that is.\u201dMr Donovan Goh and his view-master toy, which reminds him of his childhood and his father.Mr Goh is also quick to add that with more purchasing power and ease of access to buy toys, the novelty of owning toys among children today is a vastly different experience from what children of yesteryears would have. \u201cEverything is reachable with a swipe of a finger on your mobile phone or [a click of the mouse on the] computer. Gone are the days when we had to beg for and use our wits to get toys from a toy shop,\u201d Mr Goh laughs.Electronic toys, the likes of Tamagotchi and the 8-bit handheld game console Game Boy, saw a reckoning from the late nineties too. For Mr Goh, those electronic toys foreshadowed the changing preference of play in the digital era\u2014from physical toys to elaborate digital ones.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Not just mere playTo the untrained eye, play is just play. A form of recreation and nothing much. Toys, then, are tools that facilitate that leisurely interaction, but for psychologists, play is so much more than that and it is neither aimless, repetitive nor foolish.\u201cIn developmental psychology, toys play a significant role in the child\u2019s physical, cognitive and social development,\u201d says Dr Reena Dabas,\u00a0 Associate Lecturer of Psychology and Developmental Psychology at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) and Singapore Institute of Management \u2013 Global Education (SIM-GE).\u00a0Children who role-play with toys, Dr Dabas says, tend to exhibit better problem-solving abilities, interpersonal skills, and empathy when they are older. Learning through play is of paramount importance in building character and learning important life capabilities.Along this vein, it is also important to acknowledge that, for a long time, gender stereotypes have been enforced through the toys children play with. It\u2019s not difficult to see the connection between girls with their Barbie dolls and boys with their racing cars. In fact, many departmental stores still demarcate their toy section with baby blue or bright pink colours, effectively separating the toys by gender while advertisers fervently expound on these traditional gender roles to market them.But this barrier is breaking.These days, rising social awareness of issues surrounding gender and race seem to have made toy makers more socially aware and inclusive. Today, it is increasingly acceptable for boys to play with dolls and girls race cars. Furthermore, research has also shown that children as young as three years old are aware of racial differences. Recognising the importance of cultural diversity and inclusivity today, American multinational toy company Mattel has, on numerous occasions, revamped their line-up of Barbie dolls. Beyond adding curves, an assortment of skin tones, and varying height into the mix, other new iterations include dolls with prosthetic limbs and skin conditions, such as vitiligo.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A more inclusive variety of Barbie Dolls. (Photo source: Mattel)\u201cThe general public is now more aware of such contentious issues and this may have perhaps pressured toymakers to pivot accordingly,\u201d says Dr Joanna Yeo who lectures sociology at the National University of Singapore, SUSS and SIM-GE.On how advancements in technology seem to have created digital playgrounds that supersede physical toys, Dr Dabas does not discount the merits of introducing technology into a child\u2019s play but emphasise that a child may potentially lose out on inquiry learning, which stems from an exploration of the real world, triggered by innate curiosity.\u201cWith technology, there have been a lot of virtual plays surfacing. Take gaming online with friends, for example. The lack of in-person interactions may possibly impede toddlers or youths from picking up social nuances or cues in real life,\u201d she says. \u201cSome may face difficulty expressing themselves, negotiating or resolving conflict effectively in the future.\u201dA series of Star Wars figurines sit in Mr Ong\u2019s living room.Mr Ong also acknowledges that kids these days have spent more time on their screens than anything else. But that\u2019s not without reason. \u201cToys have become even more costly in recent years. Parents may have invested in smart devices just because there\u2019s that element of longevity in them. Their children can get so much more from all the entertainment and educational content there,\u201d he says.The Transformers figurine that kickstarted Mr Ong\u2019s passion for collecting toys.Looking back on his childhood, Mr Ong is glad that he had somewhat of a balanced juggling between playing with his toy figurines and video games. For him, toys have taught him to be more independent and creative. Or as he muses, clutching his Transformers action figure: \u201cIt was my form of escape.\u201dJoin the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s\u00a0Facebook\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram, and get the latest updates via\u00a0Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Big boys and their toys: the changing role of play today","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/big-boys-and-their-toys-the-changing-role-of-play-today\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]