Todays toys just are not up to standard in my book...I remember when a toy actually lasted from one Christmas through the next...Back then the toys were mostly made for outdoors and kids ran around and wore ourselves out by days end...The toys today puts the kids indoors and there is plenty of extra energy for fighting and argueing that leads to broken toys...By all means...buy a kid an outdoor toy this year like a frisbee, hula hoop, bike, football, baseball, or even a skateboard...I think this will help with that childhood obesity thing they are talking about as well....Limit kids to 1 or 2 hours of video games a day...Theyll thank you when they grow up.