The merchant’s shop or shop is one of the most popular and geek usb gadgets oldest toys that our grandparents and great-grandparents have already played with. The nostalgic gift for children is just as popular today as it was then. However, it has evolved in a modern way.
The history of the merchant’s shop
The children already played with the play shop in the early 19th century. The merchant ships were particularly popular during industrialization.
In the beginning, it was mainly doll shops in miniature format. The dollhouse-sized department store was a popular Christmas present. Children could recreate everyday shopping with their dolls and reenact the purchase and sale of miniature goods.
The toy for children was made of wood / real wood by carpenters. Later, the toy factories began with the serial production of the shops and offered them complete equipment. There were many accessories for the dollhouses and merchant shops. The merchant ships were not cheap, but pleased children of all ages and were kept as a gift for a long time.
Special product ranges
At the time of the creation of the doll merchant’s shop, there was still no corner shop. The retail stores had dedicated themselves to a certain specialty. For the representation of the doll shops, there were accordingly fashion shops, pharmacies, hat shops, and antique shops. All the children (girls and boys) played in these shops. At the same time, there were pure dollhouses or doll kitchens, with which the girls were more likely to play.
Modern system toys
Only more recently, in the second half of the 20th century, did old merchant shops become fashionable again. In addition, there were modern variants, for example especially for the popular Barbie dolls or from market leaders such as Playmobil. In addition, life-size (child-friendly) shapes have now come onto the market instead of miniature forms. Wooden building sets and ready-made stands made the life-size corner shop possible for children. Here they can stand behind the cash register or make purchases.
The game accessories are enormous. Replicas, which were available in miniature form for dollhouses, were now available in real sizes realistic for children. Starting with fruit, various cleaning products, and other accessories. The toys are modeled after a general store and not a single historical specialty store.
Pedagogically valuable fun
The merchant’s shop, which evokes positive childhood memories in adults, is more than just a toy. It is pedagogically valuable for various reasons.
Learning for everyday life
Shopping is an important part of daily life. Children who accompany their parents can use the toy to recreate and expand on the situations they have experienced. The behavior of the parents is copied and tested at home in peace.
Role-playing games are important for development
Realistic and changing role-playing games are important for development. As a customer and salesperson, the child learns to take different perspectives. Role-playing games stimulate the imagination and at the same time help to learn the different processes in a playful way. When dealing with “difficult” customers, the children also strengthen their social skills.
Better language comprehension
Through negotiation, haggling and small talk, the children can playfully improve language comprehension and language development.
Children learn to handle money
In early employment, the children learn how to handle money at the same time. They learn that things have value and they can’t always buy anything they want.
A game for the whole family
A merchant’s shop is fun for the youngest children from the age of 3. They often deal with it parallel to their own merchant shop in the kindergarten. In interaction with older siblings (up to 10 years), a special dynamic develops. All positive learning effects can also be strengthened if parents or grandparents play along.
Buy or tinker?
Skilled craftsmen can make a small market stall out of shelves with a little wood from the hardware store. This is immediately ready to play with a cash register and a few items such as plastic fruit. Building instructions are available in different variants on the Internet.
Large manufacturers such as Goki, Tanner, Simba, Fisher Price, Happy People and backpacking gadgets others offer various purchase variants. Larger wooden market stalls, which can be abundantly stocked, are available in all variants in addition to real wooden shops.
Accessories
For the shops there is an enormous selection of products. Whole cakes, meat products, hot dogs or common foods. These are available as a mixed basket (basket with goods such as pizza or muesli with name prints from real manufacturers). In addition, there is play money in different versions as well as various cash register models up to the cash register with membrane keyboard, money and scanner
