A common enough refrain heard in any house with children in it: "Put away your toys!" The usual reply would be something from an indifferent shrug with eyes still glued to Saturday morning cartoons on tv, to a frantic scramble to dump the offending articles back into their toy boxes before mom decides to sweep them out the door, ball, truck and all.



If the world is indeed a mad jungle, then a child's room is a veritably fecund example of one, but one where the proverbial spray of fern hides not a grim truth, where none of life's disillusionment would lurk in its shadowed nooks. It would be unthinkable for an adult to appreciate childish tableaus presented in colorful miniature - that is not a pile of books, but the craggy mountain where our hero, the lowly green toy soldier, would face his nightmare enemy in the form of a plastic tyrannosaurus rex with a broken leg and bad manners, and in the process rescue himself his heart's desire, no other than the dollhouse maiden.

But children must, at some point, face the simple, practical truth that Mother Must Have Order. Adults, regrettably, no longer have space in their minds for princes and dragons, evicted by those steel-faced newcomers: mortgage payments and what to have for dinner. To an adult, this collection of mismatched playthings strewn all over the floor are seen merely as a hazard to their health, a maze through which big, clumsy feet would have to navigate with arthritic difficulty. And so back into their bins these items would go, with a pat in the head for a job well done.

Children need not worry, however, that their inanimate friends would suffer too much enclosed in their fortress. Manufacturers have found ways to make toy boxes not only practical but aesthetically pleasing as well, both to the adult and the juvenile eye. There are those bins made from durable plastic in vibrant colors, light and inexpensive. It would be easy enough, even for a child, to drag them back to the bottom of the bed, or against the wall. And then there are those beautiful hand crafted wooden toy chests, intricately carved and painted, virtually a five-star lodging for a child's dolls and plastic animals.

While this kind would leave you with a lighter wallet, be comforted by the fact that these are usually sturdy enough to last generations, and could be presented as a wonderful family heirloom.

There is also the kind which doubles as a tiny desk, ideal for drawing and coloring activities. Another variant would be the cushioned seat with hinges, which could be lifted to reveal a well under it.

But where to find them?

Toy stores are the easy answer - it makes sense to find them where toys themselves are sold. Furniture shops would also probably hold them in stock. For the parent who does not wish to leave the house to purchase one, there are websites exclusively featuring these items.

Perhaps, as adults, we don't completely lose our childhood memories; perhaps toy boxes are where they would end up staying, after all, and that thought is certainly comforting.