I remember wanting the toy iron so badly. But like others have said, by the time I was six, I was doing real ironing, and didn't need a toy. Started indeed with hankies moving on to what Mom called the flats: table cloths, pillow cases. Then aprons, then finally dress and shirts. Dad wore white shirts to work, and he would pay the girls 15 cents each to iron his shirts., after all he would have to pay the laundry 75 cents, so it was a bargain. By the time I was 10, I did all my own ironing, plus the ironing for "the babies" (my siblings under age 5), and a 3rd of the household ironing.