Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, it is about buying high-quality, open-ended, toys that my DD will be interested for many years. It is about building a toy inventory that grows with my child and will be around for the grandchildren. It is also about not overwhelming my kid with flashy junk (that, yes annoys me!).

She has an awesome set (multiple sets) of HABA blocks, play silks, dozens of Holtztiger animals, a simple wooden dollhouse, a couple wooden trucks (Fagus), and simple wooden peg people. She also has a small kitchen filled with wooden and felt food, and two baby dolls. She plays with this stuff everyday, and has for years. She has never needed more.

I don't like buying things that will only serve me and my family for a limited period time, toys included. We are somewhat minimalistic. We live in a small place.

I also try to buy local, support small business, avoid made in china.

We are also TV free while DD is awake and put our foot down on electronic toys. Plastic is OK sometimes (she does have some playmobil which we love), but we do not need anything interactive like Leapster or TAG, or whatever. We do not buy any type of educational electronic. We read books together. We also plays tons of boardgames. And, we will play some iPad apps together. DD loves books. It was important to DH and I that she enjoy books. She sat on Santa and asked for more books this past year. And, at 3.5 she can read at a beginning of the year first grade level.

I am a WAHM. DD is an only child and can entertain herself for hours in imaginary play. I don't think I have too much time on my hands. I have done a lot of reading on this subject. We all have different priorities. Her preschool has no battery-operated toys, though plenty of plastic for pretend. I never care if she watches TV or plays barbie at a friend's house. But, we can control what goes on in our home. I don't feel like it is "controlling." It is how we choose to raise our family.

Why on earth do you want a toy inventory and to keep the toys for the grandkids.

Bragging rights. Pay attention!

Anonymous wrote:Wood toys hurt like hell when your kid throws them at you. Or maybe it's just that my kids make more "distracting movements" when they play. I guess I failed somewhere.

I'm honestly surprised at the number of delicate flowers who are bothered by the noise that battery-powered toys make. In fact, I'm going to go so far as to say that plenty of them are lying. Come on, you all live in a densely populated urban area, and even if you live in the suburbs, you are BOMBARDED with noise. Toy noise is so minimal compared to all that other noise that it seems very disingenuous to say that it's so bothersome. Also, I'm sure your kid makes far more annoying noises than most toys.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I live such a simple life! Couldn't care less what the kids play with. If it it is loud and annoying, it stays in their room, if I step on it then it gets thrown in a bag. If I saw them licking the paint or or chewing off chunks of plastic, I'd probably take it away but otherwise they just play. So far the kids still seem relatively normal.

I live such a simple life, too. My children have toys and they play with them. Why are people acting like choosing toys we like to have in our homes makes some of us overwrought and neurotic? Families are different, parents are different, children are different. And, yes, all our children will learn to use computers, no doubt about it.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP with the "toy inventory." I used that wordage because I do feel like we are building one. Like a PP said, some of these toys are expensive. We are not rich. To be clear we have a HHI of 80K. This is why we live in a small condo. But, we have been onboard with this from birth. For her first birthday she got her first set of HABA blocks, and she got 2 more sets the next birthday. Each Christmas she gets a few Holztiger Animals. She got play silks one Easter, etc. etc. etc. When you try to not buy a lot and go crazy, you can save for the more expensive stuff.

Luckily, my parents and in-laws ask for ideas. They have given her the wooden toy kitchen and the dollhouse among other things. When people ask what they can get her we always say books. Otherwise, we accept all gifts. (we also do not host birthday parties for her yet. just small family things) Personally, I love seeing the though put into a gift. I have never thrown out a gift. never.

I can remember two times she got battery operated toys that I did not like. One was a crayola glow thing that broke after about a weeks use. The other was a V-tech laptop thing that I kept in our bedroom. She played with it a lot. But, grew out of it so quick. Also, once my mom bought her the cheapest plastic food ever. I let DD play with them despite myself. Of course, our DD tried to bite them and they were misshapen in a week.

This is not about plastic vs wooden. She loves her few playmobil sets. I love Lego. I actually dislike very much all of the Mellissa and Doug wooden toys. I prefer felt and knit food above wooden food. One of her favorite toys from birth have been plastic stacking cups (a gift.) She is 3.5 and still incorporates those things into her play!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For me, it is about buying high-quality, open-ended, toys that my DD will be interested for many years. It is about building a toy inventory that grows with my child and will be around for the grandchildren. It is also about not overwhelming my kid with flashy junk (that, yes annoys me!).

She has an awesome set (multiple sets) of HABA blocks, play silks, dozens of Holtztiger animals, a simple wooden dollhouse, a couple wooden trucks (Fagus), and simple wooden peg people. She also has a small kitchen filled with wooden and felt food, and two baby dolls. She plays with this stuff everyday, and has for years. She has never needed more.

I don't like buying things that will only serve me and my family for a limited period time, toys included. We are somewhat minimalistic. We live in a small place.

I also try to buy local, support small business, avoid made in china.

We are also TV free while DD is awake and put our foot down on electronic toys. Plastic is OK sometimes (she does have some playmobil which we love), but we do not need anything interactive like Leapster or TAG, or whatever. We do not buy any type of educational electronic. We read books together. We also plays tons of boardgames. And, we will play some iPad apps together. DD loves books. It was important to DH and I that she enjoy books. She sat on Santa and asked for more books this past year. And, at 3.5 she can read at a beginning of the year first grade level.

I am a WAHM. DD is an only child and can entertain herself for hours in imaginary play. I don't think I have too much time on my hands. I have done a lot of reading on this subject. We all have different priorities. Her preschool has no battery-operated toys, though plenty of plastic for pretend. I never care if she watches TV or plays barbie at a friend's house. But, we can control what goes on in our home. I don't feel like it is "controlling." It is how we choose to raise our family.

Why on earth do you want a toy inventory and to keep the toys for the grandkids.

Anonymous wrote:"And surrounding your baby and young child with tried and true traditional things (like wooden blocks) is probably safer in terms of chemical exposure than giving them lots of plastic to chew on. But my kids do have plenty of plastic toys. "

Hypocrite Alert!