Kids don't have cool toys anymore.

Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I saw a kid older than age 3 playing with something other than an electronic device.

Remember opening up a Slinky on Christmas morning and sending it walking down the stairs? Or uttering "Gee, you sunk my battleship?!"

Heck, it was the kids of America who invented the first copy machines when we discovered that Silly Putty and the Sunday comics were meant for each other.

We had Hot Wheels. Kids today have Grand Theft Auto.

We also had something called "Go outside and don't come back in until dark." A baseball, a bat, a corner lot and bases made out of whatever we could find were how we learned about rules, sportsmanship and working together.

Today, if I see kids outside, they're normally walking somewhere with their eyes buried in their phone and earbuds on. I'm amazed they don't walk into oncoming traffic.

I believe we're cheating our kids out of a lot by buying them toys that require an AC outlet and not an imagination outlet.

The holiday season is coming up. This year, I challenge you to give a kid a Spirograph, a Mr. Potato Head, an Etch A Sketch, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, Lincoln Logs, a chess set.

But not Legos. You'll step on them barefooted in the dark.

Trust me on that one.

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