Follow-my-leader - a traditional game in Vietnam

Exotic toys such as Yoyo and robots mostly imported from China have become a craze among Vietnamese kids shortly after Sao TV, a local channel, screened some children-oriented films like “Yoyo on the battling arena”, “Fruit Robots.”

According to shopkeepers in the city’s toy stores, supermarkets, bookstores, and trade centers, the toy is gaining in popularity and its sales figure have been on the increase, with prices ranging from VND100,000 (USD4.83) to VND249,000 (USD12.03) each.

Some parents even spend from VND1.5 million (USD72.4) to VND2 million (USD96.65) buying these toys for their children, despite health warning from local experts that they may pose safety issues for the children.

Nguyen Van Tan, a salesperson in Ho Chi Minh City’s Phu Tho Coopmart, told Tuoi Tre that the supermarket sells around 100 Yoyo toys a day.

At a toy store in District 3’s Ky Dong Street, Nam Khanh, a famous local male singer, told Tuoi Tre he had to buy a Yoyo for his son, Bao Khoi, who begged him for one after seeing it in the movie. Khanh was worried about the many sharp edges on the toy that may cause safety problem. Yet, not wanting to let his son down, he bought one for him anyway.

“This just shows that there aren’t enough playgrounds around for our children as well as a shortage of traditional games and toys for them. As a result, any toys they see on television, in movies or advertisements, would have them hooked on them immediately,” Khanh said.

N.P.Q.M, a student in Ky Dong primary school, holding a Yoyo toy named “Eagle spreading wings,” told Tuoi Tre that he had played this toy for two weeks and was practicing some more to improve his skills.

Then without missing a heartbeat, the small boy let out a list of Yoyo toys he had bought, “Black eagle”, “Speed of fire,” “Water soldier” and “Broken Ice,” all after he had seen them on TV.

Robots go to schools

Besides the yoyo fever created by “Yoyo on the battling arena”, the cartoon film “Robot trai cay” (Fruit Robots) featuring heroic characters like “Tangerine the swordsman”, “Pineapple the gladiator”, “Apple the marksman”, “Strawberry the hunter”, “Peach the assassin”, “Banana the shaman”, and “Grape the lightning” has also had young kids swooning over them in no time.

Hiep, who resides in Tan Binh District, said that he has paid up to VND240,000 to buy a set of three Fruit Robots for his son, including “Tangerine the swordsman”, “Pineapple the gladiator”, “Apple the marksman”.

“That’s quite a sum of money for me, so later on I just bought knock-off products for him, each costing only VND40,000 (USD1.93) to VND50,000 (USD2.41),” he admitted.

Meanwhile, at a toy shop on District 3’s Nguyen Thong Street, a set of Fruit Robots cost VND375,000 (USD18.12).

On many internet forums, like webtretho, motgiadinh, and yeutretho, discussion around the topics related to Fruit Robots tends to crop up very often, with some parents’ complaints that their children would not stop pestering them until they have had the whole set.

Fruit Robots and Yoyo have also made their ways into most primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City.

At the XTT primary school in Hoc Mon District, a parent spoke to Tuoi Tre: “Most schoolboys like playing Yoyo and Fruit Robots. My son told me he often role-plays the characters in the Fruit Robots film with his classmates, fighting one another during break times.”

Similarly, a teacher in a primary school in Go Vap district said that following primary students, some children in kindergartens are also “addicted” to this toy.

She added that the students often gather together to play with the robots during the break. They also bring Yoyo into schools for performance and competition.

Traditional games fall into oblivion

Fictional characters in foreign comic books and cartoon films like Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Doraemon the robotic cat, have gradually become familiar images to local kids although Vietnam boasts a treasure of traditional games.

Due to the fast pace of modern life, traditional games have gradually lost their popularity among children. The decrease in the available space for playgrounds in the city has further handicapped children’s opportunity to access traditional games.

In a book titled “Vietnamese folk games” for children published by Tre (Youth) publishing house last year, the author Tieu Kieu collects and explains nearly 100 traditional games.

Follow-my-leader game

Many folk culture characters, real and legendary, like De men, Cuoi, Bom, Trang Quynh, the 13-year-old first-rank doctorate laureate Nguyen Hien, child prodigy Le Quy Don, and other well-known folk legends like Ba Giai Tu Xuat and Bac Ba Phi, could very well compete with foreign toy heroes on equal terms and capture the Vietnamese children’s imagination if only some local film makers know how to tap into this rich source.