Toy doctor playsets from childhood: the introduction we probably all had to doctors and medicine

Maybe an odd topic for a thread, but also maybe something a little fun to think about on a Friday.

And maybe this thread isn't all that OT, as the initial exposure we all had as children to medicine and its practice was likely at least partially formed from playing with these toy doctor playsets: little plastic stethoscopes, little plastic hypodermic needles, etc. So "The doctor is in," even in playtime back then, likely gave us our initial impressions of medical practice that may well have shaped our thinking, in our formative years, about what doctors were and what they did.

Many, or maybe even most of us, were as children way back when presented with toy medical playsets as Christmas or birthday presents at some point, and perhaps we even got a good bit of play out of them.

Maybe Mom and Dad were subtly trying to encourage us down the path to becoming physicians ("Wouldn't it be great if junior grows up to become a doctor?"), or maybe it was just a gift.

Anyway, I happened upon a site recently that referenced these medicine-themed toys from the past, so, just for fun, I did a little searching. I was curious to see if I could find anything on the web that looked like what I could remember about my own "Little Doctor" playset, or whatever it was called back then, from long ago.

And "long ago" for me would be just that, having been a child in the mid-1950s. No computer toys/games of any kind for us back then. Just things like bicycles, baseball bats and balls, cardboard board games with dice (think Monopoly), and, yes, toy doctor playsets.

So, after a little searching (the string "vintage doctor toys" proved useful) I located this image, which memory tells me is pretty close to, and maybe is the same as, the toy doctor playset I remember from childhood:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/573019067/vintage-50s-toy-medical-kit-1950s

Ah, memories, memories!

But all this also got me to wondering, just what do modern toy doctor playsets look like these days, and just how different are they from those of sixty years ago? Do they reflect the changes in medical progress that have occurred over the past several decades? Do they have, for example, little plastic MRI machines that kids can put dolls into? Or little toy plastic electronic bedside monitors?

I suppose this is typical of the modern toy doctor playset:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/fisher-price-medical-toy-set-with-doctor-health-bag/54224300#:~:text=specifications%20%20%20brand%20%20%20fisher-price%20,%20%20unisex%20%203%20more%20rows%20

And apart from the computerized digital thermometer (middle of picture) the implements shown in it seem pretty typical of things that have been used in medical practice for some time now.

Any ideas for modernizing it even more? Maybe a toy plastic RT station, with, again, a little doll, suitably hospital-gowned of course, placeable under the imaginary beam?

But as noted, youthful playtime with the doctor toys, along with actual pediatric visits to real doctors that we had as kids, likely had a substantive role in forming our early perceptions of doctors and medicine.

Perhaps even some of the views that we still hold today about doctors and medicine grew out of doctor playtime sessions that we had at an early age.

Any fond memories out there of toy doctor playsets, and how you think they may have influenced your thinking?

Oh, and do you have any grandkids? Well then, maybe a little doctor playset is just the thing for their upcoming Christmas present. Who knows, maybe that will set them on the path to attending Harvard Medical School some day!

Funny this reminded of my granddaughter she's 11 now so we'll past playing with doctor kits. However back in the day there was a show Disney maybe, called Doc McStuffins little girl who doctored her and friends stuffed animals and other toys. There were doctor toys similar to what the little girl used and of course my granddaughter used them on me. The stethoscope, thing you check your ears with, tongue depressor, tape to measure height, bandages, etc.

Interesting...I had a airport game when I was about 8 complete with a crash crew hanger with fire trucks and a control tower...the control tower had very realistic looking hand Mike very much like one that was in a tower in Missoula,Montana that I visited on the way from Kodiak tower,,,my first asssignment as a AC striker (2green stripes),,,I had numerous ATC dreams as a kid and into youth I reckon I was destined into the occupation...it has served my family and self well...I still have dreams about ATC harboring on bad but not always...yep that Mike was like the real thing for the time...dreams of old men are indeed harbors of youth's repast...safe havens...all reminding one that they lived...live and will continue to do so ad infinitum...Glory...