Before the 20th century children had few toys and those they did have were
precious. Furthermore children did not have much time to play. Only a minority went to school but most children were expected to help their parents doing simple jobs around the house or in the fields. Egyptian children played similar games to the ones children play today. They also played with toys like dolls, toy soldiers, wooden animals, ball, marbles,spinning tops and knucklebones (which were thrown like dice).
In Ancient Greece when boys were not at school and girls were not working they played ball games with inflated pig's bladders. They also played with
knucklebones. Children also played with toys like spinning tops, dolls, model
horses with wheels, hoops and rocking horses.
Roman children played with wooden or clay dolls and hoops. They also played ball games and board games. They also played with animal knucklebones.

Toys changed little through the centuries. In the 16th century children still played with wooden dolls. (They were called Bartholomew babies because they were sold at St Bartholomew's fair in London). They also played cup and ball (a wooden ball attached by string to the end of a handle with a wooden cup on the other end. You had to swing the handle and try and catch the ball in the cup).




Modern Toys

The industrial revolution allowed toys to be mass produced and they gradually
became cheaper.
John Spilsbury made the first jigsaw puzzle in 1767. He intended to teach
geography by cutting maps into pieces but soon people began making jigsaws
for entertainment. The Kaleidoscope was invented in 1817.
In the 19th century middle class girls played with wood or porcelain dolls.



They also had dolls houses, model shops and skipping ropes. Boys played with toys like marbles and toy soldiers as well as toy trains. (Some toy trains had working engines fuelled by methylated spirits). They also played with toy boats. However
poor children had few toys and often had to make their own.
Soft toys also became common in the early 20th century including teddy bears.The first stuffed toy was a felt elephant originally sold as a pincushion, created by the German Steiff company in 1880.Children as well as adults can form connections with their stuffed toys, often sleeping or cuddling with them for comfort. They can be sentimental objects that reduce anxiety around separation, self-esteem, and fear of the night.

This fuzzy, mohair bear with its jointed limbs and brown eyes debuted at the German toy fair in 1903 where a buyer for a U.S. toy company not only bought all 100 bears, he placed an order for 3,000 more.  The next year, the Steiffs exhibited at the St. Louis World and sold 12,000 bears, receiving the Gold Medal, which was the highest honor at the event.  The Steiff bears became so popular, other companies quickly began manufacturing their own versions of this adorable toy animal.