Toy stove:Choice

Over time, toy stoves have evolved from cast-iron models of adult-sized ranges to contained, plastic appliances that use a light bulb to cook miniature confections. When they first appeared in the 1840s, cast-iron toys stoves allowed girls to imitate their mothers, using a true-to-life range that could bake, roast, boil, fry, and stew. The successors of these stoves, namely the Easy-Bake Oven, do not share the frighteningly realistic features of cast-iron stoves. Rather, modern toy ovens make safe play a priority. Changing views on childhood itself may have contributed to these developments. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, children functioned more like miniature adults, a source of labor and income for their families. However, with restrictive child labor laws and more stringent education standards in the early 1900s, a modern concept of childhood began to emerge. Childhood became a phase of life distinct from adulthood, and children did not mature as quickly. Toy stoves reflect these changes: over time they became playthings, rather than the working models that encourage children to cook "just like Mother."