Kids and even some adults nowadays are too consumed in playing gadgets like cellular phones. This is the main reason why we no longer know how to play, or worse, we cannot remember what were the traditional toys and games we played way back our childhood days. The traditional Filipino toys help nurture our creativity, inventiveness, and develop our sense of teamwork. Here are a few memorable toys from our past:
Teks
Teks is a small-sized card and about a quarter of the size of regular playing cards. It has the cartoon storyboard clips of local films, complete with characters’ dialogue and action sequences. The game is more on betting on which side will come up when the teks is flicked to the air. There is a unique counting technique that is used by the players in the game: they count it by two cards for each numerical number, and the odd card will be counted as “cha” which means and a half, at the end of the counting.
Paper dolls
A paper doll pleased young girls’ fantasy of having every beautiful clothing they liked. It has some add-ons like accessories, bag, lipstick, and shoes. It also has a variety of dresses that you can use to dress up your paper doll. The most common paper dolls at that time were the popular cartoon characters such as Sailor Moon. Paper dolls nowadays have more add-ons, but they are not as cheap as they were back then.
Kite/Saranggola
A saranggola is an outdoor Filipino toy that is loved by every kid. This may not be an original Filipino invention, but this toy helped the kids grow their creativeness by designing their saranggolas with anything that is available in their surroundings. Sadly, the kids today don’t know how to create or even how to play the saranggola or the kite.
Sipa
A sipa is made of a small metal or sometimes a 5¢ coin that has a small hole in the middle. Colorful plastic straws or candy wrappers are inserted to its tail. Its shape is like that of a shuttlecock. Sometimes it is played as a team and sometimes one-on-one.
Rubber band
This toy is an all-purpose toy. It can be used to play “dampa” with your friends. It is also used to play “latikay” wherein you will tie the rubber band and your goal is to have an even count separated in the tie by kicking it, or you can use your hand to move it so long as you will not touch it.