Steampunk Toys

Leaving the discussion of steampunk literature for children, I also found a selection of steampunk toys in the market throughout my searching. One such example was available for purchase at my book store, called 'Crazy Combat Catapults'.

This toy includes a series of perforated pieces that you can assemble into your very own steampunk-esque weapon, adorned with gears, clockwork, machinery, and tarnished metal. The goal is to use the ammunition of a tiny phone box (questionably unsteampunk...) to hit down the various 'steampunked' targets, which include a steam powered dolphin, a bear wearing goggles, and a steam powered igloo. This toy, more than Iwata's Alphabet book, runs headlong into the problem with adapting steampunk for children, in the fact that is relishes in the attempts to steampunk certainly essentially non-steampunk objects by adding gears and steam and goggles. The do-it-yourself feel of the toy however, does fit in with the steampunk culture, because it encourages the production of self-made tools that can be used to accomplish tasks...in this case knocking down the targets in a game. While it contradicts itself by being a mass-made product, it still provides the consumer with choices on how to build and decorate their catapult and the effort needed to build one is so extensive that the end result is a certain pride in the product. So while this toy is problematic in belonging to the steampunk world, it also emphasises certain steampunk elements that allow children to participate in that culture. 

Other problematic steampunk toys have hit the market however, that make the genre seem dangerous for children and encourage the wrong elements of steampunk. The 'punk' aspect of steampunk often includes a violent revolutionary attitude that includes the bearing of weapons. Some producers of the steampunk culture have deemed it appropriate for children as well to be adorned with weapons, which is something I found on another blog called Steampunk For Kids. They have entire page dedicated to weapons for children, which shows that there is a danger in marketing steampunk for children, that has to be considered when trying to incorporate younger generations into such a politically charged genre. The practice of dressing kids up in steampunk costumes also falls under this category...

While there is an incredibly large cuteness factor to this practice, I would argue that it is problematic unless the children are intelligent to what is going on when they are dressed up like this. If they are informed that their outfits are a result of great imagination, invention and discovery, then it becomes more acceptable for children to participate in the cosplay branch of steampunk culture.