Jigsaws, board games and baby dolls: The toys that influenced people’s careers across the UK the most!

Jigsaws, board games and baby dolls: The toys that influenced people’s careers across the UK the most!

Some of us have long forgotten our favourite toy to play with when we were small, and some of us have held on to our beloved childhood trinket, refusing to part with it.

However, did you know that your favourite toy as a child could have played a much bigger role in where you are today?

To find out more, the online toy specialist, Wicked Uncle, worked with YouGov to survey over 4,000 UK adults.

The survey revealed that board games were enjoyed the most by adults in their childhood in Yorkshire and the Humber, with 81% saying so. This is followed by the East of England and Wales, with 79% of those surveyed saying that was the toy they enjoyed the most as a child.

Those in Wales enjoyed wooden toys and jigsaw puzzles the most as kids (64%), followed by those living in the South West (61%) and the East of England with 60% saying they enjoyed these types of toys the most.

Plush toys and baby dolls were enjoyed by adults across the majority of the country.

The results also showed that those in East of England enjoyed playing with plush toys and baby dolls the most as kids, with 48% of those surveyed saying so.

This is followed by adults living in the North West of England, as well as those in Wales. 45% of those surveyed said that they enjoyed these types of toys the most when they were younger.

The other regions with the most people saying they enjoyed these types of toys as children were the East Midlands and the South East (44%).

When it comes to how much of an impact these toys had on the career of those surveyed across the UK, it was adults in the East of England who felt the toys they played with as kids sparked an interest in STEM the most (16%).

The same can be said for those in the East Midlands and the South West of England, as 15% said the toys they played with sparked their interest in STEM.

Whilst researching the topic, Wicked Uncle were contacted on Twitter by women who work in STEM, and those who felt their experience led them away from STEM as a career choice.  They shared an interesting perspective on their personal experiences when they were children and playing with their toys.