For Rob Willner, when work finishes, playtime begins. He likes nothing more when he gets home of an evening, than to kick off his shoes and upturn a crate of sleek Scandinavian Lego.

    "It's not like I'm obsessed with it, but there's a simplicity to Lego models that's quite nice – to clear your mind and help it focus a bit," he says, only a touch sheepishly.

    Willner is 25 years old, and combines studying for a PhD in anthropology and religion at the University of Kent with youth work in north London, where he lives with his wife, Adele, a teacher. And he is not alone in his childish after-work habits.

    According to new research conducted by NPD Group, a retail analyst, sales of toys to adults have increased by almost two thirds over the past five years, and by more than 20 percent in the last year. As a result, the "toys for adults" market is now worth 300m pounds (US$375.8m) – and said to be growing three times faster than the children's toy market itself.

    As with most things, millennials are largely to blame. More than half of the "kidult" spend comes from 18 to 34-year-olds, snapping up everything from 500-pound Scalextric sets to drones, Nerf guns and 2,00-pound "Star Wars" Lego models.

    For some it's a chance to recapture the careless raptures of childhood, while for others it's a chance to escape the hassle and hardships of adult life – akin to other "mindfulness aids" like adult coloring books and dot-to-dot.

    "In a way, this comes around with each generation," says Lou Ellerton, a brand consultant with considerable experience tracking consumer trends. "A decade ago, people might remember board game cafés being all over the news. That was Generation X experiencing the same nostalgia and backlash against work; we called them 'greenagers' – grown-up teenagers. What we're seeing now is Generation Y having the same feelings, and they're less ashamed about it."

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

    羞怯地

    xīuqiè de

    sheepishly

    feeling or showing embarrassment especially over being discovered having done something wrong or foolish

    抢购

    qiǎnggòu

    snap up

    acquire quickly

    玩具不再专属儿童 “童心未泯的一代”崛起

    对于罗布?维尔纳来说，工作结束以后，游戏时间就开始了。傍晚下班回到家，踢掉鞋子，搬出酷炫的北欧乐高积木箱，这就是他最幸福的时刻。

    “我并没有沉迷于此，不过，乐高玩具的确有一种简单质朴的美好，它可以让我保持头脑清醒，帮我集中注意力，”他有点害羞地说。

    维尔纳今年25岁，他在肯特大学攻读人类学与宗教的博士学位，同时还在北伦敦从事青少年工作，他的妻子阿黛尔是一名老师，两人一起住在北伦敦。说到他下班后孩子气的兴趣爱好，其实很多人都和他一样。

    市场调研机构NPD的一项新研究表明，过去五年中，卖给成人的玩具数量几乎增长了三分之二，光是去年就超过20%。所以“成人玩具”的市场如今已价值3亿英镑（3.758亿美元），并且据说比儿童玩具市场的增长还快三倍。

    与很多其他事情一样，这主要归功于千禧一代。超过半数的“购买儿童玩具的成年人”年龄在18到34岁之间，从500英镑的Scalextric赛车系列到无人机，从Nerf手枪到200英镑的星球大战乐高模型，无一不是他们抢购的对象。

    对一些人来说，这些玩具可以重温童年时代无忧无虑的幸福，而对于另一些人来说，它们可以帮人逃离成人世界的困扰和艰辛——就像其他帮助“正念”的成人填色本和点对点智力游戏一样。

    “某种程度上说，每代人都会这样，”善于捕捉消费趋势的品牌顾问卢?伊勒顿说，“十年之前，人们或许还记得，新闻中全是桌游咖啡厅的报道。那是有着相同的怀旧情绪并且同样厌恶工作的X一代（出生于1970年代），我们称他们是“成年的孩子们”。而我们现在所看到的是Y一代（出生于1980年后）相同的情感，只不过他们对此不感到羞愧了。”