The desires of a child were naturally rather limited in the Victorian era. Toys were simple and comparatively few. There were no bicycles or mechanical models; the average child ‘made his own fun’ from very cheap materials. Really the only shop the child dreamed of entering for his own purposes was the sweatshop. Nowadays a bewildering variety of toys, magazines and entertainment in a multitude of shops, compete for his interest and money; and the boredom of having everything ready-made leads to a constant desire for something new.