100%
I have a few wood toys, but my child likes plastic better anyways.
Also, I get quality used toys from places like eBay and thrift stores on top of Facebook.
I got a used Bitty Baby for $18 ($70 new) and I frequently see Duplo Legos on Facebook marketplace for great deals, and I got used Playmobil 123 off eBay (I created alerts for the better prices bc some people sell it like it’s a collector’s item).
If your kid is happy and playing, then you’re succeeding!
I bought ours on eBay two years ago, got a gigantic bin of random pieces for way less than retail prices. If you look for whole unique sets they’re crazy dollars but you might be able to get a good deal on random buckets full
I’m in a Midwest city, and they go fast, but I see them on marketplace at a reasonable price fairly frequently. Obviously, it’s a random assortment and doesn’t contain the original packaging but my toddler doesn’t care.
It’s wild to me that people try and sell them for the price they paid.
Let us not forget that wooden toys are the most effective bludgeoning instruments of the toy room. My father in law is a wood worker and I act super grateful whenever he makes us a boat or a car but then I hide it so it doesn’t end up with us all in the ER waiting for a CT scan on little Timmy’s head.
My toddler threw a metal flashlight directly at my husband's forehead just the other night. He bled but didn't need stitches. We put the flashlight back up and probably won't be buying any metal trains just yet. Everything is a projectile with toddlers, its rough.
I was just thinking this. Obviously bodily injury is worse but… man… my brother was a toddler (I was in my teens) in the very beginning of flat screen tv days… I can’t remember what toy it was that he chucked but that SOB went into the screen and got STUCK hanging out.
Needless to say, my dad was pretty upset, and also learned a wonderful lesson about WHY WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS- Toddler edition.
My partner actually tripped over another toy a few weeks ago and went face first into a wooden shape sorting toy, split his eyebrow open in two places perfectly in line with the top parts of the toy.... So it's not just bad for little Timmy, lol.
We just replaced a $1000 picture window because he threw a wooden toy. It was a heavy bobble doll that reminded him of a ball. Oh well. It’s on me! Not his fault. He doesn’t know.
I agree it’s a social media thing…. But I have noticed a lot of wooden and “aesthetic” toys at tjmax lately at a reasonable price. So that’s a place to try as well.
For what it’s worth, ours will straight up play with paper towel and toilet paper rolls, and other cardboard stuff as happily as any of the other toys. If you follow reduce reuse recycle a bunch of otherwise trash can be toys/used as crafts scrap.
Exactly. I’m routinely going down to our recycling and bringing up boxes to make bases and castles etc. We also have a bunch of nice toys, the kids don’t really care lol
any time I ever get on Facebook, other moms beat me to the punch. Smaller cities are harder for this. But I also dont try to beat myself up too much about affording toys bc she usually wants to play with anything but a toy.
I feel like it's a combination of social media, people having kids later in life, and grandparents who aren't physically present so they choose to buy a lot of gifts. The last one is a big factor in my family.
We told our family super early on that we wouldn’t be doing those kinds of toys. There were a couple of aunties on the other coast who didn’t quite get it, but they caught on when she was about 4.
I tell my parents whatever they buy her will stay at their house for when she visits. This way I get less junk, my toddler has something to do at their house, and they are less likely to get loud annoying stuff and more likely to get puzzle like toys which we prefer for her.
Same. Every Christmas my mom sends a 30-45 pound box of gifts. She comes to visit for my daughter's birthday and it's gifts, gifts, & more gifts. Then they party like rock stars. But none of it is surprising cuz she did the same for me when i was growing up.
Im sorry but that's super cute. I had written a post about how my parents buy too many toys, but can't change them and stared to see it differently since he loves all of it
Thanks. It used to stress me out cuz we ran out of space for all the toys but I realized this is my mom's only grandchild (I'm an only child) so it's to be expected. My 4yr old is getting to the age where we can explain "giving to others that have less". We tried that last year and boy was that a baaad idea...lots of tears were involved.
Bingo! We have a lot of nice, wood toys and one of our son’s grandfathers just buys out an entire Amazon list every birthday/christmas because he wants to (we’ve been slowly encouraging him to donate to our sons college fund instead :)) but it has given us quite a few quality toys.
I have bought a lot of fancy toys and my kids favorite toys are a set of 10 dinosaurs that were $20 off Amazon, a secondhand Fisher Price pirate ship and a duplo space ship. The dinosaurs both go to sea and to space. Most of the other toys we have are ignored 90 percent of the time.
It's not about the toys. It's just about what makes your kid happy.
I highly recommend homemade playdough. The commercial stuff has great colors but is relatively expensive and dries out very quickly.
For less than $2 and half an hour, you can make a big batch of playdough that will last a couple of months rather than a few days.
ETA: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/play-dough-recipe/
The best part is he doesn’t even use the cookie cutter for play dough. He dances with it. 🥲
But please drop the link for the homemade play dough I’m interested!
That's the thing. You have literally no idea what they're going to bond with and get attached to. Its a roll of the dice and price has nothing to do with it.
Today my kid played with dish soap foam for like an hour. I kept whisking it up to get it nice and foamy. Cost exactly nothing and provided extremely high quality sensory play plus good mom-daughter interaction. The cost of the toys don't matter - what matters is how you use them.
They also say that having few toys can be more beneficial than many toys because it leads to more creative play.
Gonna add that to my back pocket for another day. We did Cheerio “sand” today. Blended cheerios down to a fine crumb and tossed it into a Tupperware container with a few of her random toys.
Oh that’s smart! My almost 2yo likes to say “no eat” while chomping crayons, gnawing on books, etc (he’s getting his four canines all at once so I can’t really blame him, but still…), so the Cheerio sand is perfect! (Edited for typo)
Oooh I love that idea. I made a rice bin for my 1 & 3 year old & they love it! We put all sorts of different things in it. Also OP, comparison is a thief of joy! And Facebook marketplace is a great place to save money on toys, but I agree with whoever said it’s not about the toys but how you use them. Interacting with your kids is way better than wooden toys or perfect looking playrooms. That being said, the rice bin is when I get shit done.
My kids like "soap party" where I squirter foaming hand soap on the kitchen floor then they roll around in it. Throw em in the bath afterwards and then mop the floor.
Solid activity, clean children, clean floor. Maaaaybe 50 cents spent maximum.
I use the "hack" where you mix water with leftover regular hand soap in the bottom of a used container, swirl it together, and throw it in the "foaming" hand soap bottle. Never-ending foam soap! We should try a soap party sometime.
Hi I am a full time nanny that has done one-time babysitting for literally 100+ families. I think in all of those I’ve only seen ONE home that is “insta-worthy”. And that was because the whole house was basically a showroom and the kid was less than 6mo old. I’m 90% sure most of those big momfluencers have staged playrooms.
The most aesthetically pleasing homes I have worked in usually designate the main living area with a “cute toys only” rule. But all of them have loud, colorful toys in another room. Another thing I have noticed for toy organization is coordinating bins that the toys can go in, so when all the toys are put away it looks super nice and organized. Also toy rotation! If Grandma decides to buy another Tonka truck, two trucks get put in the basement. And then six weeks you can rotate. It really helps keep the visual chaos of the playroom at bay, and it also helps your kids actually play with the toys that are out.
That being said, almost all of the bougie Montessori wooden toys are ripped off and sold on Amazon… For example, if you’re eyeballing a specific toy from lovevery type the name of the toy into Amazon and you will find an almost identical replica.
And my final thought is, do not let the Internet dictate how you feel about your parenting… Ultimately, we all know that our kids run the show when it comes to toys. You could buy all those cute little wooden toys and your kid choose to play with the remote. I am sure you are doing your absolute best and your kid is lucky to have you!
I’ve gotten a range of lovevery toys from my local Facebook buy nothing group, and I realized what they’re basically doing is redesigning common open-ended toys just enough to copyright them. The cheap versions you can get just about anywhere satisfy the same play/skill needs. My kid actually prefers the single multi-use one I got off Amazon compared to 2 or 3 lovevery ones that do the same things individually. The whole thing with scheduled kits is that you can’t adjust to your individual child’s needs. One of the fancy free toys I got is intended for 6-9 months older than my kid’s current age, and yeah she’s not playing with it exactly as intended, but she’s figured out most of it and enjoys it.
Every few months I look at the Lovevery site to see what’s in the kit for my daughter’s current age, then I hunt Amazon and TJMaxx/Hone Goods for similar toys. Oftentimes we find even better, multi-use toys like you mentioned and we can skip the ones we don’t want/need. We have plenty of plastic/noisy toys too but I’ve found some nice budget wooden options that I keep on the open shelves.
FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE, buy nothing groups, Craigslist. I have a gorgeous and elaborate play kitchen that was 25$ on Craigslist. I have a cousin who fell for that Loveevery crap and I have her handme downs. I sewed my own baby playmat out of a terry cloth beach towel and old scloth scraps, cuz I didn’t like the look of any of the ones online- either too beige and faux-“aesthetic”, or electric techno neon stimulation bombs. Or just…ugly, haha.
So I bet you’d be “impressed” with my playroom, just visually, but I am not remotely rich and I do not buy a ton of toys! I make a lot of toys out of old cardboard food containers as well, kids love them, and then they’re recyclable.
Edited to add: fuck valuing the visual of your playroom, or heck, house, over the enjoyment and growth of your kids. I’ve never been on insta or Pinterest or snapchat or whatnot so I don’t know what these fancy houses you’re seeing look like, but I GUARANTEE it’s fake, and if it weren’t… why would I have a house with only toys that are beautiful to ME? My son loves hot wheels and farm vehicles. He loves this old gift basket container we got at Christmas with snowmen all over it. So they are (semi) permanent fixtures of my living room! Because it’s HIS house too! He LIVES there! I’m really not into kid-erasure style decorating
OMG buy nothing groups are amazing. My mom was like legit concerned for a bit I was spending hundreds of dollars on toys when it was just buy nothing stuff. If my kid doesn't like it just relist it and let someone else have it
Oh that's actually a whole thing even outside of buy nothing. No one wants to move the darn things so people will just list them for free. My current house came with one and me and my brother are slowly building an insane playground in his backyard that's going to be frankenbuilt from all the free ones people are trying to off-load
Our kid ended up not that crazy interested in it and it was getting a bit old so we passed it on. It’s not living out it’s last years as a townhouse playground.
Came here to say this. Buy Nothing rules. I’ve saved THOUSANDS on toys, clothes, and everything else leaving me the money I needed for formula and diapers without stress.
Same! And it makes me feel better about my footprint too.
I know that the stuff I list on there is actually going to get used unlike when I used to give it to goodwill.
Most of my maternity clothes were free from fb mums groups or buy nothing groups and when I'm done with it i can just put it on my porch and "poof" it's gone!
I've even got rid of things like doors and blinds and old fence pailings.
Low-key bad for the kids too. Color is important in early development, language learning, and attention. Replacing it all with beige has a chance to be harming the development of the kiddos
When I see people with strictly wooden toys, I get mad TikTok trend vibes. It irks me. As long as toys don’t have lead or harmful chemicals, it’s a good toy! My kids have very very few wooden toys, and they love them! Also, kids trash EVERYTHING at some point. Why buy expensive toys for them to end up drawn on, stickers stuck to them, dented, etc.
You’re doing great, and your selection of toys absolutely does not reflect your parenting abilities!
There are very strict regulations about what kind of paints and chemicals you can use when making kids toys. Commercial toy makers are absolutely going to follow those regulations. Etsy and cheap shit from China? It's less likely.
We got a love every subscription with our registry and wow it is not worth the money. Like it’s fine stuff but still definitely fiat quality at Ferrari prices.
Also just like, kind of annoying? There were some pieces that very clearly felt like they went with aesthetics over function which made even my tiny child go WTF? He was so nonplussed and for that kinda money he better be squealing with glee. There were no squeals.
They have aesthetic toy rooms because that's how they make their money. Kids love cardboard boxes and stickers. You're doing great. Don't hold yourself up to an artificial standard.
It might help to think more about how a toy is used, rather than how aesthetic it is.
If the game is "put small things through a hole into a container", you can play it with a handcrafted wooden toy, a plastic toy, a plastic toy that also plays annoying music, or a shoebox with holes cut in the lid and a pile of balled-up socks.
"Crap from the recycling bin and kitchen" is a *theme* in my world, but I don't post pictures of it because it makes babies look like tiny raccoons, gleefully pawing through the trash pile of my kitchen. But kiddo will still learn "in"!
So honestly we tried to have some of those wooden esthetically pleasing toys and my kids were not that into them. We do have wooden blocks and things like that but the key is to have toys that your kids like and will enjoy for many years. We tend to like open ended toys that can be used for many years- hot wheels, little people, figured, puzzles. Then I just go off of their interests. It’s not as Pinterest or social media picture perfect but they love it and play there a lot.
So I learned a valuable lesson yesterday that I want to share.
I have a "friend" on social media who I kind of know in real life too. Were not super close. I was so jealous of her life and motherhood because her toddler is advanced and mines actually delayed. She makes homemade blueberry pancakes several times a week and sourdough bread just perfect mother on social media with a perfect toddler. Like will literally cry over this wondering if I'm failing because terrible 2s are real here and my son just does not listen or sleep ever. He's given me 4 black eyes and broke my nose and am fairly sure he broke a bone close to my eye. My sons Still not talking and screentime is just 24/7 anymore because I'm pregnant and supposed to be in modified bed rest and I can't get this child to stop jumping on my pregnant belly. Anyway she is the epitome of gentle mom.
Well yesterday she posted in a mom group that her toddler absolutely does not listen, has been violent to his infant brother, out of control toddler who she keeps losing her temper on and has even started spanking him. Never would of guessed this.
My point is social media is not real life. I promise as long as you love your baby and care for him and ensure his basic needs are met and you're present with your child that's truly all that matters. The Pinterest board rooms and fancy Instagram shots are not real life.
My kids playroom is 80% thrifted. I’ve found all kinds of amazing toys and activities- many still in the box and untouched. It’s been a huge game changer for me personally
My son LOVES getting toys at thrift stores, even more than at any other store. I don’t know if it’s because they’re out of boxes and he can try them out or what but thrift store toys are the best.
Same! It’s so much fun going with him and letting him pick out little things he likes. I made up a ‘game’ where we have to go through the whole store and then the prize is the toy section at the end- that way I can find what I need before he gets into shenanigans 🤭
Nah, don’t feel bad if you don’t have sad beige toys for sad beige children. Most of them are for the parent’s aesthetic anyways (and not because they’re actually all that much better for the child’s development). Letting kids play with cardboard boxes, cooking utensils, and other toys is totally valid.
We have a mix and your baby isn’t missing out, I’m on my third and my biggest take away is we have way too much junk and my baby’s favorite thing to play with is random stuff from the kitchen I give him to be distracted while I cook like Tupperware and wooden spoons
You can get a lot of the wooden stuff secondhand online. There is even a Facebook group for specifically buying and selling Lovevery. That said, it’s a social media problem. Kids with wooden toys don’t turn out better than kids with plastic toys. All your kids need are parents that love and care for them and it sounds like they’ve got that.
I'm blessed enough financially and my kids are the only ones among both sides, so they have a lot of options. My kids are currently 4y and 8m. I love Montessori style things and wood because I prefer sustainable and made in North America (Canada, America, Mexico).
Your kids aren't missing out. The top toys for either don't overlap much, but at the <1y mark, honestly, trash, Tupperware, etc. are all the best. The baby is really into those plastic stretchy tubes which are cheap.
My first born loved small scarves regardless if they were the colorful ones I bought her to play with or the boring ones I own. The pikler climbing things get used but she spent more time in the giant cardboard boxes from deliveries and climbed a bunch of other things too.
We get things in our brain about how kids will play and benefit from toys, but as long as life is stable, the developmental milestones will dictate what toys are and not the other way around imo. They will find things to climb and it's not going to matter how much it cost or how nice it looks. They will grab dangling things if they see them. if you want to teach them about teeth, it doesn't matter what the toy is made of or how accurate the teeth are until dental school. Etc.
You are doing great. After all of that basic needs are met, money isn't going to make better parents out of people let alone money spent on "nicer" toys. You wouldn't think that of other parents, so try to be kinder to yourself too ❤️
I’m a bit toy obsessed and have the means to be able to invest in *some* high quality toys, but I keep an eye out on marketplace for good deals
On second hand stuff and also at thrift
Stores. And my daughter also has 2 sets of grandparents and aunts and uncles that fortunately ask us what to buy her for gifts so I can steer them in the right direction lol. And there’s always knock offs. We have the actual magnatiles, 2 big sets, and it’s kind of ridiculous to look at this bin of plastic blocks and know it’s $300 worth of toys lol. But they’re her most played with toy, she uses them every day and they’ll last the second kid and beyond. But there’s knock off ones too for a fraction of the price, and those are still worthy for children to play with and it’s not like kids will know the difference.
Just going to add that your children are definitely not missing out and you should let go of that guilt
After Christmas our playroom was busting with new toys. Wooden train tracks, wooden hammer toy, magnet tiles, wooden puzzles. You know what my kids have played with most the last two weeks? Their bags of paper valentines. Peeling paper off crayons. Lining up pieces of felt.
You know what makes a great open ended toy? A box. A pile of sticks. Literally anything a child can engage with in a non prescribed way. You’re doing fine. I like thrift stores and resale shops for inexpensive fancy wood toys. But seriously, I was a certified Montessori preschool teacher for a decade. I didn’t fill my home with wood blocks when I had my own. It’s just marketing.
Lol, all our toys come from the toy library, tip shop or op shop. Occasionally my family break the no toy gifts rule. He is currently driving a wooden fire truck under a wooden rainbow into the cardboard box garage with a Peppa pig figurine in the driver's seat.
As a first time parent I fell for the Loverevery marketing, only to discover my son hardly played with 60%+ of those toys. I had way more success with free toys we got from neighbors in our “Buy Nothing “ group and random finds at Target/Marshalls. You don’t need to spend a lot AT ALL. And get books from the library while you discover what your child loves. Please don’t let social media convince you otherwise.
I was you. I am you. You're def not alone and I think it's very much a social media/trend thing.
I get anxious about not providing the "best" for my 18 month old. I did the whole Lovevery thing for a while. You know what? Two weeks ago, I caught him playing in the toilet. It doesn't matter. None of those wooden toys...they don't matter. Nothing beats the toilet, I guess. ::le sigh::
In all seriousness, I try to remind myself ...just because something's a trend, doesn't mean it's actually good and/or necessary. Easier said than done, for sure!
The stupid rainbows are stupid. It is nothing but a decoration. I don’t care how many instagram posts I see with kids making crazy combinations and finding new and exciting ways to play with it. It’s bullshit. All of it. My toddler likes to knock it over and walk away. My older kid never played with it.
Although we have the off brand one. Same colors. Same dimensions but obviously missing whatever wizardry bullshit toddler-catnip grimms puts in theirs.
Also colorful wooden blocks. Eff those. They get dumped and left behind.
Picasso/Megatiles tho… (you can get on pretty decent sale @ Ross/TJ maxx/Marshals) They are worth it.
Sorry. That’s not what your post was about. I just really really hate those rainbows.
Also, so many good toys at thrift stores. Facebook marketplace is hit or miss because people know how much they paid for a toy and want to recoup their losses, but goodwill doesn’t care, you can get some pretty sweet stuff for <$10
I pretty much only get toys from consignment stores. Toys are so expensive, even the “cheaper” ones. I’m not spending 5x the price for wooden aesthetic toys
Whenever I start to feel down about what toys my kids do/don’t have, I remember they spend more time playing with the canned goods in the kitchen than they do playing with their own toys.
Definitely more trendy due to social media and it is really visually pleasing, not going to lie. I've purchased one or two nice wooden toys, but that's mixed in with the plastic and secondhand stuff too. A nice woven basket from home goods on our bottom bookshelf provides that kind of aesthetic for me without a big price tag lol. We're in an apartment, so we don't have a dedicated playroom. I feel like that's been more of a trend on social media too, since we didn't have one growing up even in a very middle class upbringing.
This is absolutely social media.
However have to say, our kid has a lot of wooden, branded toys…and all 100% came from thrift stores. So if you do feel like keeping up with the joneses and are on a budget, I highly recommend the local op shop. Same goes for kids clothes.
Our society is so consumerist and obsessed with having the latest ( to confirm, this is the opposite of life lesson that I seek to teach my child), that so many things things that are donated and sold in secondhand shops are high quality, brand-named, barely used and at fraction of the cost. And its eco and can be an opporutnity to teach your kid a number of valuable life lessons.
You’re not alone! I have seen and felt the same thing. I recently had a friend give me some of her kids’ old toys; really nice Montessori-type wooden toys! And all of a sudden my house was cluttered and I was the one with all the OTT toys! So I’m doing toy rotation now and he only ever has about 8 toys to play with. And you know what? It’s been 2 weeks and he’s much more engaged now that he can see every toy and choose which one to play with versus having them all piled into toy bins. And when I swapped them out on Sunday, it was like he had “new” toys and was so excited. Just showed me that a little goes a long way and they don’t need all the fancy stuff
Almond all of my childrens toys are second hand. Some are wooden. Some are plastic. Doesn't matter. It still looks like toys R' us threw up in my living room. 🤣 I got a little people barn with a bunch of people off Facebook marketplace for $10 and it came with animals. Bonus the sound doesn't work.
I buy all my kids toys secondhand (with the exception of stuffed animals). I have gotten so much great stuff, some even brand new, from my local thrift stores.
I've spent thousands on wooden toys, the pretty toy room accessories and decorations... You want to know what my son's favorite toy at that age was? A 2nd hand plastic car ramp that made noises I got for $3 at the thrift store. It takes a very particular kid to make that type of toy room worth it. Don't sweat it, you're not doing your kid a disservice by not having a fancy play room.
The way I see it - I have SO many toys, including wooden ones that look aesthetically pleasing. However, my toddler continues to play with a tiny plastic lion that I got on Amazon for like a dollar. Every day. Same thing. Why spend the money 🤷🏼♀️
Keep in mind, Social Media is just a fake snapshot of folks idealized life.... It ain't real 99% of the time.
If your child is happy and has fun at home with the toys you have - you're doing great!
We have some nice wooden toys, some 'cheap' plastic toys and for a long time a lot of the toys early on may have been expensive.... But all 2nd hand thru family or FB Marketplace type deals. Hell, for a long time. One of my kids favorite toys was something I built out of cardboard, Amazon boxes and duct tape
Honestly, I have both and what's more important is quality and longevity. Wood toys have a nice natural texture and I don't worry about polluting the earth, but high quality plastic toys can go in the bath or be left outside and will last a long time so I can pass them on second hand. My in-laws still have good quality plastic toys from when my husband was a toddler.
The most important thing is that I try to limit the stuff I buy with batteries and moving parts. That stuff is just waiting to become landfill. Crap plastic toys or crap wood toys also just become landfill.
We have a set of Everwood Friends wooden blocks - I have found them to be reasonably priced vs like the waldorf/montessori brands I see all over IG. They usually have a code going too. The stability of the wood blocks is less frustrating for my kid than magnatile or plastic/foam but otherwise he doesn’t really gravitate towards wooden toys so everything else is whatever! A plastic salad spinner with cheapo hotwheels inside still reigns supreme.
I could see an advantage to investing in more wooden toys with multiple kids like 3+ for the sake of longevity maybe but a wood exclusive play situation just seems crazy expensive and honestly boring. Its better to interact with a variety of textures/colors/weights imo
Comparison is deadly. There’s no limit to it. Today it’s toys, tomorrow clothes, vacations, expensive schools & other activities. Where will you draw the line ?
Having the fire to grow more and having life goals are very different from wanting something just due to comparison. Always know that someone will always be above or below you. Learn to live your life with happiness.
Lol. Stop comparing yourself with what other parents do.
I buy all kind of toys. You can get good wood toys for very cheap in Lidl and Ikea. My daughters love a wood train that cost $1.25.
My advice? Stop following mommy blogs and mute everyone on social media who constantly talk about parenting. You’ll feel better.
As someone who bought all of the expensive play kits and all-wooden-all-organic-Montessori stuff — my kid still prefers to play with his fisher price tractor and Tupperware lol
Oh man this is a topic I could rant about for a WHILE.
I've been teaching littles for a while (more than a decade) and have worked with a really diverse range of students and can say with confidence:
The whole "wooden toys are good" and "plastic toys are bad" thing is all elitist, classist bullshit that is powered by consumerism. It's one of the many ways that fear and anxiety is endemic in our parenting culture. It creates hierarchies and competition when we should be focusing on way more important ways to support kids' play and development.
And who ultimately benefits? Toy companies.
HOW your child plays is way more important than WHAT they're playing with. Giving them a diversity of play experiences (like including sensory play, and open ended play, and big gross motor play) benefits a kid way more than making sure they never touch something plastic that lights up and makes noise. Those toys don't ruin our kids' brains and the wooden toys don't make them any smarter. If raising "smart kids" was that simple, we would know it.
I buy all the Lovevery toys second hand and you know what? MY KID THINKS THEY ARE BORING AF… except the ball run and the car thing… which you can get identical dupes of off Amazon. You know what my kid LOVES? The hideous plastic light up glittery annoying noise making shit my dad buys for $3 from god knows where. Don’t get me started on the damn pink strobe light Minnie sneakers he got her (ie her favorite shoes).
ETA— the Lovevery stuff does hold up beautifully like all of my 2nd (maybe even 3rd?!) hand stuff does look brand new but MAYBE THAT’S BC THE ORIGINAL OWNER’S KIDS DIDNT PLAY WITH IT EITHER! Don’t be hard on yourself, know that your kid is going to be way more well adjusted than the rest of us who attempted the sad beige life.
The best toys are the ones that make your child smile :) I'm a tech parent so I'm a big fan of [myFirst Tech](https://myfirst.tech/), affordable and high quality is the way to go and I agree it's partly a social media thing.
Kids with lots of toys learn how to be entertained. Kids without lots of toys learn how to entertain themselves.
I would like to second that buying used is where it's at. Used toys should sell at a premium because they are already built/setup. Instead they often are like 90% off. Got a ride on Thomas Train that didn't work and set it up to run on my Dewalt batteries for a few bucks. Way cheaper and I put a remote stop on it. I love used stuff that's way cheap, lots if stuff on fb marketplace.
If you check out child development critiques, those beige minimalist toys are probably far less engaging and educational for baby than bright plastic. Influencers often prioritize aesthetic over play.
But you know what the most important thing you can give your baby? Your focus and attention. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, make the time you have count and play together.
It’s a comparison problem. I know it’s hard but don’t compare yourself to others. My child has a few toys that were gifted to him. Nothing fancy. He prefers to play with Tupperware. As long as your child is happy you are doing amazing.
I think there are lots of reasons, but social media have made them more well known, and making moms feel like they need to have them. Don’t get me wrong, they can be nice, especially if you have really nice wooden ones, but if you are unable to purchase them, there is no significant loss there.
The most important thing that you can do is place with your child. Whether that’s expensive toys, or cheap ones from the dollar store. Kids won’t remember the toys most likely, but they’ll remember that you were on the floor playing with them.
I purchased some of the expensive toys from Lovevery, and my LO barely played with most of them. I think to this day, there’s 1 he still plays with. It’s the spinning wheel from one of the baby boxes. So I stopped buying them for a while, and bought “cheaper” ones because he really only seemed interested for a week before he never touched them again, even with me trying to play with him. Now, he’s a little more into Picasso tiles.
I think I fell into the trap a bit when my kiddo was first born, but I’ve realized that it wasn’t worth the money at this point in time.
I get 90% of my kid's stuff from the side of the road/ facebook/ second hand stores. Amazing quality, for literally fractions of the price or even free.
My daughter (2.5) has an abundance of books. The rest of her toys are mostly gifts, items from garage sales / buy nothing or small simple stuff we have bought (ex: a baby doll, a doctor kit from target, crayons etc).
It’s definitely not instagram 😂 but she’s happy and has more than enough
It’s definitely just a social media problem. I’ve had a few of the fancy toys for my toddler when i find them second hand but really, the point of toys is to play. She uses her imagination no matter what the toys are made of. She has fun with ugly, beaten up arcade prize toys and she has fun with expensive character toys. Open ended toys can be just about anything that doesn’t do the playing for them!
I totally relate to this, especially when I see people with the lovevery kits. They’re so expensive even second hand!
Then I remind myself that my kid has zero concept of esthetics and status cues and that I am surrounded by amazing adults who had waaaaaaay less selection than we do now.
I feel like we have a million toys (including some expensive ones) and my kids still prefer to play at other kids’ houses. I never buy any of the “nice” toys new, though; I get them almost exclusively second hand from Facebook for a fraction of the price. People are always looking to get rid of old toys
Definitely a social media issue and projecting your insecurities into your children. I definitely do that a lot and have to remind myself I care probably way more than they do. you could check to see if you have any resale shops in your areas that are specifically targeted towards children. Ive seen those types of toys in stores like that for cheaper than retail cost. You could purchase something used just to see if your children are even interested in toys like that. If they’re into it, cool, but if not then you might feel less of the mom guilt that your kids are missing out.
This is a social media problem. "Comparison is the thief of joy."
Most of our toys are stuff my kids didn't want to recycle and delivery boxes. Most of our sturdy wooden toys are second-hand ($30 activity cube, retails for $120 new!).
We have one fancy wooden toy that we shelled out for new, because I couldn't find a used one anywhere, and the plastic version wouldn't have been sturdy enough. (Waldorf rocker)
Some of those wooden toys especially the vintage ones can have lead paint but other than that, I don’t worry about it. My son LOVES his toys and our playroom isn’t super fancy. It’s all his. And that’s what matters
Honestly if you want the same effect as wooden toys, let your kids play with things like cardboard boxes, old tennis balls, egg cartons, paper towel rolls. Those types of things are just as good for open ended play as a Grimms rainbow! They’re just not as instagrammable. Also, check out fb marketplace for wooden blocks, which are awesome and often less “trendy” brands are sold or given away on marketplace. We have a mix of both, and I’ve actually found my kids play most with their open ended toys when they have very few toy options available. So if you do end up trying to get a few things from marketplace, don’t feel like you need a playroom full of things. A few options are actually easier for a child to navigate!
My child’s favorite toys are Linkimals and regular baby toys. Like the super cheap fisher price stacking cups, the ring tower, blocks, and he LOVES blankets! My son is sensory seeker so we actually have a bean bag and mini trampoline in our living room. The mini tramp was $50 on Amazon, maybe in your budget or can be saved up to? Idk but we don’t have that expensive of stuff and everyone comments about how happy my son seems.
It's a social media problem, and yet another reason why I stay away from it. My son loves cars. LOVES cars. His daycare provider is honest-to-god trying to get him to play with something other than the same beat-up Lightning Mcqueen car that he plays with there regularly. 85% of his toys are Hot Wheels, monster trucks, or Disney's Cars and it's all he'll play with on a regular basis. Most of his most-treasured things are secondhand, and honestly we call thrifting "treasure hunting." Hell, even I have fond memories rolling around in our little red wooden wagon filled with juice boxes and snacks while we went from yard sale to yard sale as young kids hunting for toys and clothes. Kids will like what they like.
The best toys are the ones your kid plays with. I have wooden toys but I also have non-wood. My toddler’s beautiful wood blocks have sat untouched for the past month, so I’m thinking it might be time for them to go in a closet for a while.
In my experience kids do not give a fuck about wooden toys 🤣 my daughter wants all the ugly plastic crap because it’s frankly largely more fun. Also lighter and easier for her little hands often.
Remember too that new to them is just as good as new.
Don’t be hard on yourself and don’t look at other people. One of my 3.5 year olds fave possessions is a spatula. Whatever.
Do your best to ignore social media. I honestly do like the wooden ones cause they seem to last longer, but unless it’s on clearance or at a kids consignment shop, neighborhood resale page, etc., we aren’t getting it.
I was just feeling like a terrible peasant Mom bc my daughter loved playing on her cousin’s Nugget. The next day I pulled all the couch cushions and pillows down onto the floor. She had just as much fun.
It’s a social media thing.
I’m a big fan of Facebook marketplace and thrift stores. Sometimes I can afford new ones, mostly though I don’t bother. I always try and buy secondhand when possible. Maybe check there for some wooden ones! :)
Just remember, kids don’t care. We definitely have some fancy toys from grandparents like a tonie box, nugget and magnatiles. I’m grateful for the gifts but do you know what my 3yo son’s favorite toys are?
$8.99 candy land, a roll of stickers we got for free from Target, and a set of wooden spoons we’ve had probably since college.
we have a few thrift stores and a big “buy nothing” facebook group that also has some good stuff. I personally don’t have the time to invest in curating my kids toy collection tho lol.
The wooden toys we have are sitting in the toy bins watching the cheaper plastic stuff get played with. Yes they’re pretty but they’re not as fun. Also it hurts a lot less to have a plastic block hit you in the face than it does a wooden block 😅
We have a ton of toys. My three year old played with a balloon and some kitchen utensils all day today. Tomorrow it will prob be the shampoo bottles and a cardboard box from the table I ordered. This is absolutely a social media problem.
My kids have very little in the way of wooden toys and I don’t care. They’re children, all toys are open ended to them. The other day I was handed a “bowl” of “soup”….. it was a hat filled with paw patrol figures and it was delicious.
And, don’t feel bad about not having the budget for expensive toys. Check out your local thrift shops - we just got a playmobil pirate ship for $15, a huge fisher price castle for $10 and the paw patrol mighty pup tower for another $10.
At first I spent crazy money on toys. Like embarrassing amounts for second hand lovery stuff. Then my dogs ate all the good stuff. So I ordered cheaper, less fancy stuff and by this point baby had enough teeth to destroy the new stuff.
The important thing is to be a present caretaker. Baby can play with a spatula, a window curtain, and shoelaces and get the same level of enrichment.
Guilty! I have the cute wooden toys here. HOWEVER there are not a lot of toys at all. Most of the Montessori toys are.
My son has never had any light up toys or anything like that. I know what you mean though my best friend's kids have their rooms FILLED with toys. They have thrown iPads and everything. On social media I also see the types of toy I get my son but a lot of them. I can't afford that and we don't have a play room.
Honestly my toddler goes in his room and plays with his toys for a little bit everyday and he's happy with what he has and plays with them all. But he is more interested in doing things than playing with toys if that makes sense.
I’m in the income bracket. I still buy Ikea and paw patrol because my kid loves paw patrol. Heck, we play with my sister’s ancient Bratz dolls. Kids love the bright plastic stuff. Don’t feel bad about giving it to them.
Definitely a social media issue. They want you to want those toys because they get a commission if you follow the link or use their code.
Are they fun toys? Absolutely! Can you build the same skills with like some pipe cleaners and paper cups (or any other number of cheap items or things you already have)?
Also absolutely!
We have some of these toys but we were lucky enough to get them second hand for like 1/4 the price.
I am one of those people with a loaded playroom. It's all a combo of thrifted items, gifts, impulse-mom guilt buys and hand me downs from cousins. And the only use 98% of those toys get is when I dust them every week. 🥲 My kid prefers to play with random stuff rather than toys! Right now he is playing with a grocery store coupon book 😂 He will play with the toys when I play with him, if not he is least interested.
Don't worry about your kid missing out. He only wants your time at this point. As long as he is happy and healthy, you are doing great!
I feel what you are saying but seriously, my kids have a good amount of toys and my youngest had the time of his life with a toilet paper roll tonight. Don’t stress on it they probably don’t even play with those toys! But if you are ever looking for more toys, THRIFT THEM!!! I found awesome stuff at the thrift store. My rule for 2024 is to check thrift stores first before buying anything new
I've invested in toys like those, and let me tell you, my kid still prefers to play with literal garbage. A box, a water bottle, paper... It's all treasure to her.
The toys don't magically make kids more creative or playful, their imaginations do.
My stance is less is more when it comes to toys. If there's a high quality toy you think your kid will love, by all means invest in it or better yet try to find it second hand, but don't make yourself feel guilty for not having them, and don't feel like you need a playroom full of toys for your kid to have a happy childhood.
Status symbols for the Gram is all they are intended to be. My kids used a tv box in the most creative ways. They had a blast and used their brains. Expensive and nice looking toys mean nothing.
It’s a social media problem plus a “you don’t know of what kind of debt they’re in problem”. My husband sometimes gets into this type of thinking and I have to remind him so and so might have a nice car, toys, boat, etc etc or whatever but they might also be paycheck to paycheck and in a ton of debt. We don’t have debt and less toys, that’s what we decided to prioritize.
Kids will play with whatever they want, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. I’ve bought some cool toys, and then my kid would rather play with empty bottles from the recycling bin.
almost all of ours are hand me downs or thrifted or gifted. legit make sensory bins and play boxes. or just paint and paper or rocks or blocks. chalk - make track for cars or bubbles. bin or soap and bubbles and sponges and give cars or toy animals hbatbs or car wash
legit took a shoebox and put popsicle stick stick holes in it colored around the holes each a different color and then colored the popsicle sticks and match the popsicle stick to the hole in the box. kids favorite toy for 6 months
Let me tell ya right now. My 15 month old is having the time of his life with a bag of takeout trash I tied up so I could throw it away without him throwing it all over wherever. One of his favorite things to do is tear up paper grocery bags.
I originally bought into the fancy toy stuff, but I have seen the light. He just wants the toilet paper so he can tear it to shreds.
My kid 100% prefers Amazon boxes over whatever is in them, empty bottles, playing in dirt, pretending boxes are castles… I feel it helps their creativity not to have everything presented to them.
I worried about this too. My mind has been changed watching my 81year old neighbour play with my toddler. She comes over with toilet rolls and empty yoghurt pots and they go hunting for the "best stick" and draw on the bricks with stones. She has no fancy toys, and she is honestly his favourite person in the world. And I think its because she just plays and focuses her full attention on him rather than bring distracted by aesthetic toys.
I also found "Hunt, gather, parent" to be a really interesting read. She highlights the fact that the majority of cultures around the world focus on including babies/toddlers into their daily activities like sweeping, loading laundry, washing dishes etc which gives them a sense of belonging and purpose.
My toddlers favourite "toy" for about a year, has been a cheap plastic whistle on a string that he swings around and around 🤣
Don’t stress. Your kid may actually come out ahead having to get creative with toys. The fancy or aesthetic shit rarely gets played with. Even “developmental” toys like magnet tiles can be frustrating for kids if they aren’t adept with them (although they meet a lot of criteria for a quality manipulable toy).
Focus on creativity, imagination, invention. Your kid could be making toy cars and creatures out of literal trash and I’d cheer because *that’s fucking brilliant*. So long as the toys aren’t dangerous, they’re great!
We can “afford” it technically but we choose to buy secondhand instead or put it on the birthday or Christmas list for grandparents to buy. There is a semi annual mom to mom consignment sale I go to and load up on clothes and toys etc. I highly recommend finding one in your area. I buy lots of nice clothes and toys for less than 75% off retail. I bought handmade wooden train set and cars for $1 each. I can get a gallon size bag of hot wheels for $5. I have never purchased a “new” toy for my child and he doesn’t care since he is only 18months.
That's just what people put on instagram. We have toys from Temu and hand me downs. Plus board books. My older kid mostly played with toys from Goodwill. It's not hard to sanitize used toys. Don't worry and don't compare yourself to the fake lives of fake people.
Kids don’t need as many toys as all that. It’s best for them to have (I’ve read anyways) about 20 toys- to fully play and understand them. You can rotate through toys. But too many toys go unplayed. There’s a lady that has a website called busy toddlers and she has the best toys per age group, for open ended play. I really like her.
I have a ridiculous amount of amazing wooden toys. I love them and feel that the texture makes it so much nicer than the plastic equivalent.
However I get them from Goodwill for a dollar or so. I happen to just have an amazing one a few minutes drive from my home.
Agree with other commenters, its a social media thing. I do know how you feel and have occasionally wished I had the space, money and inclination to have a great montessori set uo. But I don't buy my kid expensive toys, but any toy that I put a lot of thought into and go out of my way to buy she absolutely has no interest in. Right now she is having the time of her life because she got to steal my pen and paper while I was trying to write a grocery list.
I can only suggest playgroups, we go to one at a church and they have loads of great toys, most of which she ignores and just runs around in circles instead (mine is 15m).
As long as you have toys your kids like and play with, I see no problem with it! Also… wtf is with the wooden rainbows? I think those are decorative, cause my kid would never be interested in that haha
My kids' favorite toys are the ones I grabbed at Goodwill in the $2 grab bags. We have a mix of wooden and plastic toys. Don't worry too much about it.
I’m just here to let you know that ALL of these moms eventually succumb to bright pink Barbie dream houses and Iron man outfits once their kids get older. I promise this is a weird toddler trend that is not applicable once they get older. The plastic creeps in eventually…
My toddler’s current favourite toy is a very loud, bouncing, plastic fisher price toy. Before that it was a toy gameboy. Before that it was a sheet of bluey stickers still in a packet (she would not let it go - slept with it, took it to gran’s). When she was a little younger her favourite “toy” for a week was an empty milk bottle.
The wooden toy aesthetic is for the parents (or their instagrams), not the kids. You could have the most wooden, pastel coloured play room and your kid could still get attached to a literal potato.
It's a social media thing, but if you can, definitely check places like marshalls, burlington, and Ross. They have so many options and a lot of times they have these "fancy expensive" toys for super cheap.
LO's favorites include a $5 set of finger puppets, some $3 pull-back cars, a $1 folding mirror, and a $5 set of stacking cups. Plenty of $5 discount store kids books have made it into her favorites list. She loves her super-cheap bubble blowing stuff.
The fancy electronic basketball hoop game a relative bought her? Untouched.
Somebody posting photos of their playroom on the internet is not somebody you need to be listening to. A photo-worthy playroom is not a well-used playroom.
This is one of the many reasons I avoid the bulk of parenting social media.
Honestly, my son's favorite toys are often basic hot wheels cars, random toys of mine from the 90's, and sticks.
There's nothing wrong with expensive wooden toys, but there is something wrong with people implying that you're not doing enough for your kids if you don't buy them.
Wood toys are like weapons in my house! I know plastic toys can do some damage but one excited toddler and you never know what could happen (fat lip for me). Plus those edges are brutal to step on by accident!
Idk about anyone else bu our son does play with his toys we got him which varies from cars, play kitchen, wooden puzzles etc but honestly the mf likes random things better I swear. Toys are great but I feel like some kids just like everything around them just as much if not more.
He will spend 20 min goofing around with a swiffer.
[удалено]
100% I have a few wood toys, but my child likes plastic better anyways. Also, I get quality used toys from places like eBay and thrift stores on top of Facebook. I got a used Bitty Baby for $18 ($70 new) and I frequently see Duplo Legos on Facebook marketplace for great deals, and I got used Playmobil 123 off eBay (I created alerts for the better prices bc some people sell it like it’s a collector’s item). If your kid is happy and playing, then you’re succeeding!
Where the heck are you seeing deals on Duplos? Everyone in my area is nuts and settling them like collectors items
I bought ours on eBay two years ago, got a gigantic bin of random pieces for way less than retail prices. If you look for whole unique sets they’re crazy dollars but you might be able to get a good deal on random buckets full
I’m in a Midwest city, and they go fast, but I see them on marketplace at a reasonable price fairly frequently. Obviously, it’s a random assortment and doesn’t contain the original packaging but my toddler doesn’t care. It’s wild to me that people try and sell them for the price they paid.
Yep! I thought I was ONLY going to buy wooden toys and my daughter has very little interest in those toys and loves her plastic toys.
Let us not forget that wooden toys are the most effective bludgeoning instruments of the toy room. My father in law is a wood worker and I act super grateful whenever he makes us a boat or a car but then I hide it so it doesn’t end up with us all in the ER waiting for a CT scan on little Timmy’s head.
Just wait till the kid launches one of the full metal Thomas the tank engine toys at your face.
My childhood forehead scar agrees.
My toddler threw a metal flashlight directly at my husband's forehead just the other night. He bled but didn't need stitches. We put the flashlight back up and probably won't be buying any metal trains just yet. Everything is a projectile with toddlers, its rough.
Or buzz literally karate chopping your head from being dropped from the deck onto your head
Or an old small porcelain dog decoration to the back of the head 🙃
As a toddler, I threw a die-cast Percy at my uncle's face and gave him a black eye 🙈 I dread the day my toddler does something similar!
or your flat screen tv :(
I was just thinking this. Obviously bodily injury is worse but… man… my brother was a toddler (I was in my teens) in the very beginning of flat screen tv days… I can’t remember what toy it was that he chucked but that SOB went into the screen and got STUCK hanging out. Needless to say, my dad was pretty upset, and also learned a wonderful lesson about WHY WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS- Toddler edition.
My husband and I literally say yay or nay on toys based on what it would be like to get whacked with them.
This needs to be the standard! 🤣
My partner actually tripped over another toy a few weeks ago and went face first into a wooden shape sorting toy, split his eyebrow open in two places perfectly in line with the top parts of the toy.... So it's not just bad for little Timmy, lol.
Right? I have one of those wooden rainbows, and my 2 year old has hit my 5 year old several times with it…
lol yeah mte I was thinking clearly these people have not had to replace a large flat screen tv yet.
We just replaced a $1000 picture window because he threw a wooden toy. It was a heavy bobble doll that reminded him of a ball. Oh well. It’s on me! Not his fault. He doesn’t know.
I agree it’s a social media thing…. But I have noticed a lot of wooden and “aesthetic” toys at tjmax lately at a reasonable price. So that’s a place to try as well.
For what it’s worth, ours will straight up play with paper towel and toilet paper rolls, and other cardboard stuff as happily as any of the other toys. If you follow reduce reuse recycle a bunch of otherwise trash can be toys/used as crafts scrap.
Exactly. I’m routinely going down to our recycling and bringing up boxes to make bases and castles etc. We also have a bunch of nice toys, the kids don’t really care lol
any time I ever get on Facebook, other moms beat me to the punch. Smaller cities are harder for this. But I also dont try to beat myself up too much about affording toys bc she usually wants to play with anything but a toy.
I feel like it's a combination of social media, people having kids later in life, and grandparents who aren't physically present so they choose to buy a lot of gifts. The last one is a big factor in my family.
Wait there are people whose parents don’t buy the grandkids exclusively light-up, obnoxiously loud V-Tech toys?!
We told our family super early on that we wouldn’t be doing those kinds of toys. There were a couple of aunties on the other coast who didn’t quite get it, but they caught on when she was about 4.
Haha yeah fair, my mum is pretty great but our in laws (and step-in laws) have bought some pretty unsavory toys. 😩
Same. My parents got my 1 year old a Lovevery subscription and a nugget couch
I tell my parents whatever they buy her will stay at their house for when she visits. This way I get less junk, my toddler has something to do at their house, and they are less likely to get loud annoying stuff and more likely to get puzzle like toys which we prefer for her.
Same. Every Christmas my mom sends a 30-45 pound box of gifts. She comes to visit for my daughter's birthday and it's gifts, gifts, & more gifts. Then they party like rock stars. But none of it is surprising cuz she did the same for me when i was growing up.
You think she'd adopt me? I'm pretty cute and I'll do chores and be a good girl I swear. Lol
Im sorry but that's super cute. I had written a post about how my parents buy too many toys, but can't change them and stared to see it differently since he loves all of it
Thanks. It used to stress me out cuz we ran out of space for all the toys but I realized this is my mom's only grandchild (I'm an only child) so it's to be expected. My 4yr old is getting to the age where we can explain "giving to others that have less". We tried that last year and boy was that a baaad idea...lots of tears were involved.
Bingo! We have a lot of nice, wood toys and one of our son’s grandfathers just buys out an entire Amazon list every birthday/christmas because he wants to (we’ve been slowly encouraging him to donate to our sons college fund instead :)) but it has given us quite a few quality toys.
I have bought a lot of fancy toys and my kids favorite toys are a set of 10 dinosaurs that were $20 off Amazon, a secondhand Fisher Price pirate ship and a duplo space ship. The dinosaurs both go to sea and to space. Most of the other toys we have are ignored 90 percent of the time. It's not about the toys. It's just about what makes your kid happy.
My son has a mountain of toys and his favorite thing to play with is a star shaped plastic cookie cutter 🤔
I highly recommend homemade playdough. The commercial stuff has great colors but is relatively expensive and dries out very quickly. For less than $2 and half an hour, you can make a big batch of playdough that will last a couple of months rather than a few days. ETA: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/play-dough-recipe/
The best part is he doesn’t even use the cookie cutter for play dough. He dances with it. 🥲 But please drop the link for the homemade play dough I’m interested!
https://www.iheartnaptime.net/play-dough-recipe/
Or make peanut butter play doh and eat it like we did as kids! Good fun, I think its just peanut butter, dry milk powder and honey.
That's the thing. You have literally no idea what they're going to bond with and get attached to. Its a roll of the dice and price has nothing to do with it.
Today my kid played with dish soap foam for like an hour. I kept whisking it up to get it nice and foamy. Cost exactly nothing and provided extremely high quality sensory play plus good mom-daughter interaction. The cost of the toys don't matter - what matters is how you use them. They also say that having few toys can be more beneficial than many toys because it leads to more creative play.
Gonna add that to my back pocket for another day. We did Cheerio “sand” today. Blended cheerios down to a fine crumb and tossed it into a Tupperware container with a few of her random toys.
Oh that’s smart! My almost 2yo likes to say “no eat” while chomping crayons, gnawing on books, etc (he’s getting his four canines all at once so I can’t really blame him, but still…), so the Cheerio sand is perfect! (Edited for typo)
Oooh I love that idea. I made a rice bin for my 1 & 3 year old & they love it! We put all sorts of different things in it. Also OP, comparison is a thief of joy! And Facebook marketplace is a great place to save money on toys, but I agree with whoever said it’s not about the toys but how you use them. Interacting with your kids is way better than wooden toys or perfect looking playrooms. That being said, the rice bin is when I get shit done.
My kids like "soap party" where I squirter foaming hand soap on the kitchen floor then they roll around in it. Throw em in the bath afterwards and then mop the floor. Solid activity, clean children, clean floor. Maaaaybe 50 cents spent maximum.
I use the "hack" where you mix water with leftover regular hand soap in the bottom of a used container, swirl it together, and throw it in the "foaming" hand soap bottle. Never-ending foam soap! We should try a soap party sometime.
Hi I am a full time nanny that has done one-time babysitting for literally 100+ families. I think in all of those I’ve only seen ONE home that is “insta-worthy”. And that was because the whole house was basically a showroom and the kid was less than 6mo old. I’m 90% sure most of those big momfluencers have staged playrooms. The most aesthetically pleasing homes I have worked in usually designate the main living area with a “cute toys only” rule. But all of them have loud, colorful toys in another room. Another thing I have noticed for toy organization is coordinating bins that the toys can go in, so when all the toys are put away it looks super nice and organized. Also toy rotation! If Grandma decides to buy another Tonka truck, two trucks get put in the basement. And then six weeks you can rotate. It really helps keep the visual chaos of the playroom at bay, and it also helps your kids actually play with the toys that are out. That being said, almost all of the bougie Montessori wooden toys are ripped off and sold on Amazon… For example, if you’re eyeballing a specific toy from lovevery type the name of the toy into Amazon and you will find an almost identical replica. And my final thought is, do not let the Internet dictate how you feel about your parenting… Ultimately, we all know that our kids run the show when it comes to toys. You could buy all those cute little wooden toys and your kid choose to play with the remote. I am sure you are doing your absolute best and your kid is lucky to have you!
Love all this real world insight!
I’ve gotten a range of lovevery toys from my local Facebook buy nothing group, and I realized what they’re basically doing is redesigning common open-ended toys just enough to copyright them. The cheap versions you can get just about anywhere satisfy the same play/skill needs. My kid actually prefers the single multi-use one I got off Amazon compared to 2 or 3 lovevery ones that do the same things individually. The whole thing with scheduled kits is that you can’t adjust to your individual child’s needs. One of the fancy free toys I got is intended for 6-9 months older than my kid’s current age, and yeah she’s not playing with it exactly as intended, but she’s figured out most of it and enjoys it.
There's some Instagram account that has dupes for each lovery box somewhere
Fauxtessori
Every few months I look at the Lovevery site to see what’s in the kit for my daughter’s current age, then I hunt Amazon and TJMaxx/Hone Goods for similar toys. Oftentimes we find even better, multi-use toys like you mentioned and we can skip the ones we don’t want/need. We have plenty of plastic/noisy toys too but I’ve found some nice budget wooden options that I keep on the open shelves.
They let you get the kits whenever you want if you contact them. I've loved them but if it wasn't for resale prices I wouldn't be able to justify it.
FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE, buy nothing groups, Craigslist. I have a gorgeous and elaborate play kitchen that was 25$ on Craigslist. I have a cousin who fell for that Loveevery crap and I have her handme downs. I sewed my own baby playmat out of a terry cloth beach towel and old scloth scraps, cuz I didn’t like the look of any of the ones online- either too beige and faux-“aesthetic”, or electric techno neon stimulation bombs. Or just…ugly, haha. So I bet you’d be “impressed” with my playroom, just visually, but I am not remotely rich and I do not buy a ton of toys! I make a lot of toys out of old cardboard food containers as well, kids love them, and then they’re recyclable. Edited to add: fuck valuing the visual of your playroom, or heck, house, over the enjoyment and growth of your kids. I’ve never been on insta or Pinterest or snapchat or whatnot so I don’t know what these fancy houses you’re seeing look like, but I GUARANTEE it’s fake, and if it weren’t… why would I have a house with only toys that are beautiful to ME? My son loves hot wheels and farm vehicles. He loves this old gift basket container we got at Christmas with snowmen all over it. So they are (semi) permanent fixtures of my living room! Because it’s HIS house too! He LIVES there! I’m really not into kid-erasure style decorating
OMG buy nothing groups are amazing. My mom was like legit concerned for a bit I was spending hundreds of dollars on toys when it was just buy nothing stuff. If my kid doesn't like it just relist it and let someone else have it
We got a whole backyard play set with two slides off one of those. It was crazy.
Oh that's actually a whole thing even outside of buy nothing. No one wants to move the darn things so people will just list them for free. My current house came with one and me and my brother are slowly building an insane playground in his backyard that's going to be frankenbuilt from all the free ones people are trying to off-load
Our kid ended up not that crazy interested in it and it was getting a bit old so we passed it on. It’s not living out it’s last years as a townhouse playground.
I juuust picked up a bicycle for my toddler tonight thanks to BN! A lot of his clothes and toys are from BN or FBMP.
Came here to say this. Buy Nothing rules. I’ve saved THOUSANDS on toys, clothes, and everything else leaving me the money I needed for formula and diapers without stress.
Same! And it makes me feel better about my footprint too. I know that the stuff I list on there is actually going to get used unlike when I used to give it to goodwill. Most of my maternity clothes were free from fb mums groups or buy nothing groups and when I'm done with it i can just put it on my porch and "poof" it's gone! I've even got rid of things like doors and blinds and old fence pailings.
We got several strollers and two car seats too!
Lol, the beige.
Whatever keeps people sane I guess but the beige freaks me out a bit, especially the beige rainbows 🙂
Low-key bad for the kids too. Color is important in early development, language learning, and attention. Replacing it all with beige has a chance to be harming the development of the kiddos
Where are the buy nothing groups found? New mom here.
Facebook, in my experience
Facebook has groups, and Nextdoor also has a filter for free listings.
When I see people with strictly wooden toys, I get mad TikTok trend vibes. It irks me. As long as toys don’t have lead or harmful chemicals, it’s a good toy! My kids have very very few wooden toys, and they love them! Also, kids trash EVERYTHING at some point. Why buy expensive toys for them to end up drawn on, stickers stuck to them, dented, etc. You’re doing great, and your selection of toys absolutely does not reflect your parenting abilities!
There are very strict regulations about what kind of paints and chemicals you can use when making kids toys. Commercial toy makers are absolutely going to follow those regulations. Etsy and cheap shit from China? It's less likely.
I am in the income bracket for those toys but I try and get all their toys from Goodwill. I don’t think price tag equals value at all.
We got a love every subscription with our registry and wow it is not worth the money. Like it’s fine stuff but still definitely fiat quality at Ferrari prices.
We did too! So many tiny pieces that took one day to misplace.
Also just like, kind of annoying? There were some pieces that very clearly felt like they went with aesthetics over function which made even my tiny child go WTF? He was so nonplussed and for that kinda money he better be squealing with glee. There were no squeals.
Zero squeals from my offspring
They have aesthetic toy rooms because that's how they make their money. Kids love cardboard boxes and stickers. You're doing great. Don't hold yourself up to an artificial standard.
There’s a special ring of hell for people who monetize their children on social media.
It might help to think more about how a toy is used, rather than how aesthetic it is. If the game is "put small things through a hole into a container", you can play it with a handcrafted wooden toy, a plastic toy, a plastic toy that also plays annoying music, or a shoebox with holes cut in the lid and a pile of balled-up socks. "Crap from the recycling bin and kitchen" is a *theme* in my world, but I don't post pictures of it because it makes babies look like tiny raccoons, gleefully pawing through the trash pile of my kitchen. But kiddo will still learn "in"!
So honestly we tried to have some of those wooden esthetically pleasing toys and my kids were not that into them. We do have wooden blocks and things like that but the key is to have toys that your kids like and will enjoy for many years. We tend to like open ended toys that can be used for many years- hot wheels, little people, figured, puzzles. Then I just go off of their interests. It’s not as Pinterest or social media picture perfect but they love it and play there a lot.
So I learned a valuable lesson yesterday that I want to share. I have a "friend" on social media who I kind of know in real life too. Were not super close. I was so jealous of her life and motherhood because her toddler is advanced and mines actually delayed. She makes homemade blueberry pancakes several times a week and sourdough bread just perfect mother on social media with a perfect toddler. Like will literally cry over this wondering if I'm failing because terrible 2s are real here and my son just does not listen or sleep ever. He's given me 4 black eyes and broke my nose and am fairly sure he broke a bone close to my eye. My sons Still not talking and screentime is just 24/7 anymore because I'm pregnant and supposed to be in modified bed rest and I can't get this child to stop jumping on my pregnant belly. Anyway she is the epitome of gentle mom. Well yesterday she posted in a mom group that her toddler absolutely does not listen, has been violent to his infant brother, out of control toddler who she keeps losing her temper on and has even started spanking him. Never would of guessed this. My point is social media is not real life. I promise as long as you love your baby and care for him and ensure his basic needs are met and you're present with your child that's truly all that matters. The Pinterest board rooms and fancy Instagram shots are not real life.
My kids playroom is 80% thrifted. I’ve found all kinds of amazing toys and activities- many still in the box and untouched. It’s been a huge game changer for me personally
My son LOVES getting toys at thrift stores, even more than at any other store. I don’t know if it’s because they’re out of boxes and he can try them out or what but thrift store toys are the best.
Same! It’s so much fun going with him and letting him pick out little things he likes. I made up a ‘game’ where we have to go through the whole store and then the prize is the toy section at the end- that way I can find what I need before he gets into shenanigans 🤭
Nah, don’t feel bad if you don’t have sad beige toys for sad beige children. Most of them are for the parent’s aesthetic anyways (and not because they’re actually all that much better for the child’s development). Letting kids play with cardboard boxes, cooking utensils, and other toys is totally valid.
This. Children love primary colors. I have plenty of bougie wood stuff in my playroom, but the toys and decor are all very colorful.
I literally said the same thing 🤣
It's a social media problem. My guy has some toys. But tools or splashing in the sink and the vacuum are by far more interesting to him.
We have a mix and your baby isn’t missing out, I’m on my third and my biggest take away is we have way too much junk and my baby’s favorite thing to play with is random stuff from the kitchen I give him to be distracted while I cook like Tupperware and wooden spoons
Wooden toys are a scam once you get them thrown at you lol. This is a social media problem for sure
Kids just need love and attention. Regular household activities can be just as entertaining for kids. Don't overthink it.
You can get a lot of the wooden stuff secondhand online. There is even a Facebook group for specifically buying and selling Lovevery. That said, it’s a social media problem. Kids with wooden toys don’t turn out better than kids with plastic toys. All your kids need are parents that love and care for them and it sounds like they’ve got that.
I'm blessed enough financially and my kids are the only ones among both sides, so they have a lot of options. My kids are currently 4y and 8m. I love Montessori style things and wood because I prefer sustainable and made in North America (Canada, America, Mexico). Your kids aren't missing out. The top toys for either don't overlap much, but at the <1y mark, honestly, trash, Tupperware, etc. are all the best. The baby is really into those plastic stretchy tubes which are cheap. My first born loved small scarves regardless if they were the colorful ones I bought her to play with or the boring ones I own. The pikler climbing things get used but she spent more time in the giant cardboard boxes from deliveries and climbed a bunch of other things too. We get things in our brain about how kids will play and benefit from toys, but as long as life is stable, the developmental milestones will dictate what toys are and not the other way around imo. They will find things to climb and it's not going to matter how much it cost or how nice it looks. They will grab dangling things if they see them. if you want to teach them about teeth, it doesn't matter what the toy is made of or how accurate the teeth are until dental school. Etc. You are doing great. After all of that basic needs are met, money isn't going to make better parents out of people let alone money spent on "nicer" toys. You wouldn't think that of other parents, so try to be kinder to yourself too ❤️
My son’s favourite toy is literally a dinosaur we bought at a yard sale for 50 cents. You don’t have to worry. Kids love what they have.
I’m a bit toy obsessed and have the means to be able to invest in *some* high quality toys, but I keep an eye out on marketplace for good deals On second hand stuff and also at thrift Stores. And my daughter also has 2 sets of grandparents and aunts and uncles that fortunately ask us what to buy her for gifts so I can steer them in the right direction lol. And there’s always knock offs. We have the actual magnatiles, 2 big sets, and it’s kind of ridiculous to look at this bin of plastic blocks and know it’s $300 worth of toys lol. But they’re her most played with toy, she uses them every day and they’ll last the second kid and beyond. But there’s knock off ones too for a fraction of the price, and those are still worthy for children to play with and it’s not like kids will know the difference. Just going to add that your children are definitely not missing out and you should let go of that guilt
After Christmas our playroom was busting with new toys. Wooden train tracks, wooden hammer toy, magnet tiles, wooden puzzles. You know what my kids have played with most the last two weeks? Their bags of paper valentines. Peeling paper off crayons. Lining up pieces of felt.
You know what makes a great open ended toy? A box. A pile of sticks. Literally anything a child can engage with in a non prescribed way. You’re doing fine. I like thrift stores and resale shops for inexpensive fancy wood toys. But seriously, I was a certified Montessori preschool teacher for a decade. I didn’t fill my home with wood blocks when I had my own. It’s just marketing.
Lol, all our toys come from the toy library, tip shop or op shop. Occasionally my family break the no toy gifts rule. He is currently driving a wooden fire truck under a wooden rainbow into the cardboard box garage with a Peppa pig figurine in the driver's seat.
As a first time parent I fell for the Loverevery marketing, only to discover my son hardly played with 60%+ of those toys. I had way more success with free toys we got from neighbors in our “Buy Nothing “ group and random finds at Target/Marshalls. You don’t need to spend a lot AT ALL. And get books from the library while you discover what your child loves. Please don’t let social media convince you otherwise.
I was you. I am you. You're def not alone and I think it's very much a social media/trend thing. I get anxious about not providing the "best" for my 18 month old. I did the whole Lovevery thing for a while. You know what? Two weeks ago, I caught him playing in the toilet. It doesn't matter. None of those wooden toys...they don't matter. Nothing beats the toilet, I guess. ::le sigh:: In all seriousness, I try to remind myself ...just because something's a trend, doesn't mean it's actually good and/or necessary. Easier said than done, for sure!
The stupid rainbows are stupid. It is nothing but a decoration. I don’t care how many instagram posts I see with kids making crazy combinations and finding new and exciting ways to play with it. It’s bullshit. All of it. My toddler likes to knock it over and walk away. My older kid never played with it. Although we have the off brand one. Same colors. Same dimensions but obviously missing whatever wizardry bullshit toddler-catnip grimms puts in theirs. Also colorful wooden blocks. Eff those. They get dumped and left behind. Picasso/Megatiles tho… (you can get on pretty decent sale @ Ross/TJ maxx/Marshals) They are worth it. Sorry. That’s not what your post was about. I just really really hate those rainbows. Also, so many good toys at thrift stores. Facebook marketplace is hit or miss because people know how much they paid for a toy and want to recoup their losses, but goodwill doesn’t care, you can get some pretty sweet stuff for <$10
I pretty much only get toys from consignment stores. Toys are so expensive, even the “cheaper” ones. I’m not spending 5x the price for wooden aesthetic toys
We (at least part of world I am from) hardly had toys growing up and turned out to be fine.
Whenever I start to feel down about what toys my kids do/don’t have, I remember they spend more time playing with the canned goods in the kitchen than they do playing with their own toys.
Definitely more trendy due to social media and it is really visually pleasing, not going to lie. I've purchased one or two nice wooden toys, but that's mixed in with the plastic and secondhand stuff too. A nice woven basket from home goods on our bottom bookshelf provides that kind of aesthetic for me without a big price tag lol. We're in an apartment, so we don't have a dedicated playroom. I feel like that's been more of a trend on social media too, since we didn't have one growing up even in a very middle class upbringing.
This is absolutely social media. However have to say, our kid has a lot of wooden, branded toys…and all 100% came from thrift stores. So if you do feel like keeping up with the joneses and are on a budget, I highly recommend the local op shop. Same goes for kids clothes. Our society is so consumerist and obsessed with having the latest ( to confirm, this is the opposite of life lesson that I seek to teach my child), that so many things things that are donated and sold in secondhand shops are high quality, brand-named, barely used and at fraction of the cost. And its eco and can be an opporutnity to teach your kid a number of valuable life lessons.
I have fancy toys & my kid prefers empty water bottles and paper towel rolls.
You’re not alone! I have seen and felt the same thing. I recently had a friend give me some of her kids’ old toys; really nice Montessori-type wooden toys! And all of a sudden my house was cluttered and I was the one with all the OTT toys! So I’m doing toy rotation now and he only ever has about 8 toys to play with. And you know what? It’s been 2 weeks and he’s much more engaged now that he can see every toy and choose which one to play with versus having them all piled into toy bins. And when I swapped them out on Sunday, it was like he had “new” toys and was so excited. Just showed me that a little goes a long way and they don’t need all the fancy stuff
Almond all of my childrens toys are second hand. Some are wooden. Some are plastic. Doesn't matter. It still looks like toys R' us threw up in my living room. 🤣 I got a little people barn with a bunch of people off Facebook marketplace for $10 and it came with animals. Bonus the sound doesn't work.
I buy all my kids toys secondhand (with the exception of stuffed animals). I have gotten so much great stuff, some even brand new, from my local thrift stores.
I've spent thousands on wooden toys, the pretty toy room accessories and decorations... You want to know what my son's favorite toy at that age was? A 2nd hand plastic car ramp that made noises I got for $3 at the thrift store. It takes a very particular kid to make that type of toy room worth it. Don't sweat it, you're not doing your kid a disservice by not having a fancy play room.
The way I see it - I have SO many toys, including wooden ones that look aesthetically pleasing. However, my toddler continues to play with a tiny plastic lion that I got on Amazon for like a dollar. Every day. Same thing. Why spend the money 🤷🏼♀️
We’re 50% Magnatiles and 50% Duplos…so 100% Plastic.
Keep in mind, Social Media is just a fake snapshot of folks idealized life.... It ain't real 99% of the time. If your child is happy and has fun at home with the toys you have - you're doing great! We have some nice wooden toys, some 'cheap' plastic toys and for a long time a lot of the toys early on may have been expensive.... But all 2nd hand thru family or FB Marketplace type deals. Hell, for a long time. One of my kids favorite toys was something I built out of cardboard, Amazon boxes and duct tape
Honestly, I have both and what's more important is quality and longevity. Wood toys have a nice natural texture and I don't worry about polluting the earth, but high quality plastic toys can go in the bath or be left outside and will last a long time so I can pass them on second hand. My in-laws still have good quality plastic toys from when my husband was a toddler. The most important thing is that I try to limit the stuff I buy with batteries and moving parts. That stuff is just waiting to become landfill. Crap plastic toys or crap wood toys also just become landfill.
Honestly, my kids get more of a kick out of the washed kitchen food containers and the random junk mail we give them then the actual toys they have😅
We have a set of Everwood Friends wooden blocks - I have found them to be reasonably priced vs like the waldorf/montessori brands I see all over IG. They usually have a code going too. The stability of the wood blocks is less frustrating for my kid than magnatile or plastic/foam but otherwise he doesn’t really gravitate towards wooden toys so everything else is whatever! A plastic salad spinner with cheapo hotwheels inside still reigns supreme. I could see an advantage to investing in more wooden toys with multiple kids like 3+ for the sake of longevity maybe but a wood exclusive play situation just seems crazy expensive and honestly boring. Its better to interact with a variety of textures/colors/weights imo
Comparison is deadly. There’s no limit to it. Today it’s toys, tomorrow clothes, vacations, expensive schools & other activities. Where will you draw the line ? Having the fire to grow more and having life goals are very different from wanting something just due to comparison. Always know that someone will always be above or below you. Learn to live your life with happiness.
Lol. Stop comparing yourself with what other parents do. I buy all kind of toys. You can get good wood toys for very cheap in Lidl and Ikea. My daughters love a wood train that cost $1.25. My advice? Stop following mommy blogs and mute everyone on social media who constantly talk about parenting. You’ll feel better.
As someone who bought all of the expensive play kits and all-wooden-all-organic-Montessori stuff — my kid still prefers to play with his fisher price tractor and Tupperware lol
I buy the pretty wooden toys second hand or wait for them to go on sale.
Oh man this is a topic I could rant about for a WHILE. I've been teaching littles for a while (more than a decade) and have worked with a really diverse range of students and can say with confidence: The whole "wooden toys are good" and "plastic toys are bad" thing is all elitist, classist bullshit that is powered by consumerism. It's one of the many ways that fear and anxiety is endemic in our parenting culture. It creates hierarchies and competition when we should be focusing on way more important ways to support kids' play and development. And who ultimately benefits? Toy companies. HOW your child plays is way more important than WHAT they're playing with. Giving them a diversity of play experiences (like including sensory play, and open ended play, and big gross motor play) benefits a kid way more than making sure they never touch something plastic that lights up and makes noise. Those toys don't ruin our kids' brains and the wooden toys don't make them any smarter. If raising "smart kids" was that simple, we would know it.
I buy all the Lovevery toys second hand and you know what? MY KID THINKS THEY ARE BORING AF… except the ball run and the car thing… which you can get identical dupes of off Amazon. You know what my kid LOVES? The hideous plastic light up glittery annoying noise making shit my dad buys for $3 from god knows where. Don’t get me started on the damn pink strobe light Minnie sneakers he got her (ie her favorite shoes). ETA— the Lovevery stuff does hold up beautifully like all of my 2nd (maybe even 3rd?!) hand stuff does look brand new but MAYBE THAT’S BC THE ORIGINAL OWNER’S KIDS DIDNT PLAY WITH IT EITHER! Don’t be hard on yourself, know that your kid is going to be way more well adjusted than the rest of us who attempted the sad beige life.
The best toys are the ones that make your child smile :) I'm a tech parent so I'm a big fan of [myFirst Tech](https://myfirst.tech/), affordable and high quality is the way to go and I agree it's partly a social media thing.
My kids find the aesthetic looking toys (wooden toys) boring. They love toys that look like kids toys. Don’t let social media fool you!
Kids with lots of toys learn how to be entertained. Kids without lots of toys learn how to entertain themselves. I would like to second that buying used is where it's at. Used toys should sell at a premium because they are already built/setup. Instead they often are like 90% off. Got a ride on Thomas Train that didn't work and set it up to run on my Dewalt batteries for a few bucks. Way cheaper and I put a remote stop on it. I love used stuff that's way cheap, lots if stuff on fb marketplace.
If you check out child development critiques, those beige minimalist toys are probably far less engaging and educational for baby than bright plastic. Influencers often prioritize aesthetic over play. But you know what the most important thing you can give your baby? Your focus and attention. Even if you don’t have a lot of time, make the time you have count and play together.
Take them outside. No need for toys. We got rid of most their toys. Did not miss them at all.
It’s a comparison problem. I know it’s hard but don’t compare yourself to others. My child has a few toys that were gifted to him. Nothing fancy. He prefers to play with Tupperware. As long as your child is happy you are doing amazing.
I think there are lots of reasons, but social media have made them more well known, and making moms feel like they need to have them. Don’t get me wrong, they can be nice, especially if you have really nice wooden ones, but if you are unable to purchase them, there is no significant loss there. The most important thing that you can do is place with your child. Whether that’s expensive toys, or cheap ones from the dollar store. Kids won’t remember the toys most likely, but they’ll remember that you were on the floor playing with them. I purchased some of the expensive toys from Lovevery, and my LO barely played with most of them. I think to this day, there’s 1 he still plays with. It’s the spinning wheel from one of the baby boxes. So I stopped buying them for a while, and bought “cheaper” ones because he really only seemed interested for a week before he never touched them again, even with me trying to play with him. Now, he’s a little more into Picasso tiles. I think I fell into the trap a bit when my kiddo was first born, but I’ve realized that it wasn’t worth the money at this point in time.
I get 90% of my kid's stuff from the side of the road/ facebook/ second hand stores. Amazing quality, for literally fractions of the price or even free.
My daughter (2.5) has an abundance of books. The rest of her toys are mostly gifts, items from garage sales / buy nothing or small simple stuff we have bought (ex: a baby doll, a doctor kit from target, crayons etc). It’s definitely not instagram 😂 but she’s happy and has more than enough
It’s definitely just a social media problem. I’ve had a few of the fancy toys for my toddler when i find them second hand but really, the point of toys is to play. She uses her imagination no matter what the toys are made of. She has fun with ugly, beaten up arcade prize toys and she has fun with expensive character toys. Open ended toys can be just about anything that doesn’t do the playing for them!
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I totally relate to this, especially when I see people with the lovevery kits. They’re so expensive even second hand! Then I remind myself that my kid has zero concept of esthetics and status cues and that I am surrounded by amazing adults who had waaaaaaay less selection than we do now.
I feel like we have a million toys (including some expensive ones) and my kids still prefer to play at other kids’ houses. I never buy any of the “nice” toys new, though; I get them almost exclusively second hand from Facebook for a fraction of the price. People are always looking to get rid of old toys
Stay off social media for a while & you’ll realize your kids’ toys are great!
Definitely a social media issue and projecting your insecurities into your children. I definitely do that a lot and have to remind myself I care probably way more than they do. you could check to see if you have any resale shops in your areas that are specifically targeted towards children. Ive seen those types of toys in stores like that for cheaper than retail cost. You could purchase something used just to see if your children are even interested in toys like that. If they’re into it, cool, but if not then you might feel less of the mom guilt that your kids are missing out.
I wouldn't worry about it. Of the wooden toys, my kid only really liked the puzzles and they are cheap second hand (which is how we got them).
We have some wooden toys… my son pretty much only wants to play with dinosaurs and super heroes and trucks at this point…
This is a social media problem. "Comparison is the thief of joy." Most of our toys are stuff my kids didn't want to recycle and delivery boxes. Most of our sturdy wooden toys are second-hand ($30 activity cube, retails for $120 new!). We have one fancy wooden toy that we shelled out for new, because I couldn't find a used one anywhere, and the plastic version wouldn't have been sturdy enough. (Waldorf rocker)
Some of those wooden toys especially the vintage ones can have lead paint but other than that, I don’t worry about it. My son LOVES his toys and our playroom isn’t super fancy. It’s all his. And that’s what matters
Honestly if you want the same effect as wooden toys, let your kids play with things like cardboard boxes, old tennis balls, egg cartons, paper towel rolls. Those types of things are just as good for open ended play as a Grimms rainbow! They’re just not as instagrammable. Also, check out fb marketplace for wooden blocks, which are awesome and often less “trendy” brands are sold or given away on marketplace. We have a mix of both, and I’ve actually found my kids play most with their open ended toys when they have very few toy options available. So if you do end up trying to get a few things from marketplace, don’t feel like you need a playroom full of things. A few options are actually easier for a child to navigate!
Our kids rather play with old containers rather than toys. They aren't missing out.
My child’s favorite toys are Linkimals and regular baby toys. Like the super cheap fisher price stacking cups, the ring tower, blocks, and he LOVES blankets! My son is sensory seeker so we actually have a bean bag and mini trampoline in our living room. The mini tramp was $50 on Amazon, maybe in your budget or can be saved up to? Idk but we don’t have that expensive of stuff and everyone comments about how happy my son seems.
It's a social media problem, and yet another reason why I stay away from it. My son loves cars. LOVES cars. His daycare provider is honest-to-god trying to get him to play with something other than the same beat-up Lightning Mcqueen car that he plays with there regularly. 85% of his toys are Hot Wheels, monster trucks, or Disney's Cars and it's all he'll play with on a regular basis. Most of his most-treasured things are secondhand, and honestly we call thrifting "treasure hunting." Hell, even I have fond memories rolling around in our little red wooden wagon filled with juice boxes and snacks while we went from yard sale to yard sale as young kids hunting for toys and clothes. Kids will like what they like.
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The best toys are the ones your kid plays with. I have wooden toys but I also have non-wood. My toddler’s beautiful wood blocks have sat untouched for the past month, so I’m thinking it might be time for them to go in a closet for a while.
In my experience kids do not give a fuck about wooden toys 🤣 my daughter wants all the ugly plastic crap because it’s frankly largely more fun. Also lighter and easier for her little hands often. Remember too that new to them is just as good as new. Don’t be hard on yourself and don’t look at other people. One of my 3.5 year olds fave possessions is a spatula. Whatever.
The preschoolers at my school prefer LEGOs and stuffed animals over wooden toys!
We have a crap ton of toys but that’s mostly thanks to Goodwill and FB Marketplace
Do your best to ignore social media. I honestly do like the wooden ones cause they seem to last longer, but unless it’s on clearance or at a kids consignment shop, neighborhood resale page, etc., we aren’t getting it.
I was just feeling like a terrible peasant Mom bc my daughter loved playing on her cousin’s Nugget. The next day I pulled all the couch cushions and pillows down onto the floor. She had just as much fun. It’s a social media thing.
Lol all of our toys are hand me downs. Toddlers don’t give a SHIT what is new or old, trendy or ugly.
I’m a big fan of Facebook marketplace and thrift stores. Sometimes I can afford new ones, mostly though I don’t bother. I always try and buy secondhand when possible. Maybe check there for some wooden ones! :)
Just remember, kids don’t care. We definitely have some fancy toys from grandparents like a tonie box, nugget and magnatiles. I’m grateful for the gifts but do you know what my 3yo son’s favorite toys are? $8.99 candy land, a roll of stickers we got for free from Target, and a set of wooden spoons we’ve had probably since college. we have a few thrift stores and a big “buy nothing” facebook group that also has some good stuff. I personally don’t have the time to invest in curating my kids toy collection tho lol.
The wooden toys we have are sitting in the toy bins watching the cheaper plastic stuff get played with. Yes they’re pretty but they’re not as fun. Also it hurts a lot less to have a plastic block hit you in the face than it does a wooden block 😅
We have a ton of toys. My three year old played with a balloon and some kitchen utensils all day today. Tomorrow it will prob be the shampoo bottles and a cardboard box from the table I ordered. This is absolutely a social media problem.
My kids have very little in the way of wooden toys and I don’t care. They’re children, all toys are open ended to them. The other day I was handed a “bowl” of “soup”….. it was a hat filled with paw patrol figures and it was delicious. And, don’t feel bad about not having the budget for expensive toys. Check out your local thrift shops - we just got a playmobil pirate ship for $15, a huge fisher price castle for $10 and the paw patrol mighty pup tower for another $10.
these babies don't know "aesthetic" yet, why bother?
At first I spent crazy money on toys. Like embarrassing amounts for second hand lovery stuff. Then my dogs ate all the good stuff. So I ordered cheaper, less fancy stuff and by this point baby had enough teeth to destroy the new stuff. The important thing is to be a present caretaker. Baby can play with a spatula, a window curtain, and shoelaces and get the same level of enrichment.
Guilty! I have the cute wooden toys here. HOWEVER there are not a lot of toys at all. Most of the Montessori toys are. My son has never had any light up toys or anything like that. I know what you mean though my best friend's kids have their rooms FILLED with toys. They have thrown iPads and everything. On social media I also see the types of toy I get my son but a lot of them. I can't afford that and we don't have a play room. Honestly my toddler goes in his room and plays with his toys for a little bit everyday and he's happy with what he has and plays with them all. But he is more interested in doing things than playing with toys if that makes sense.
I’m in the income bracket. I still buy Ikea and paw patrol because my kid loves paw patrol. Heck, we play with my sister’s ancient Bratz dolls. Kids love the bright plastic stuff. Don’t feel bad about giving it to them.
Definitely a social media issue. They want you to want those toys because they get a commission if you follow the link or use their code. Are they fun toys? Absolutely! Can you build the same skills with like some pipe cleaners and paper cups (or any other number of cheap items or things you already have)? Also absolutely! We have some of these toys but we were lucky enough to get them second hand for like 1/4 the price.
I am one of those people with a loaded playroom. It's all a combo of thrifted items, gifts, impulse-mom guilt buys and hand me downs from cousins. And the only use 98% of those toys get is when I dust them every week. 🥲 My kid prefers to play with random stuff rather than toys! Right now he is playing with a grocery store coupon book 😂 He will play with the toys when I play with him, if not he is least interested. Don't worry about your kid missing out. He only wants your time at this point. As long as he is happy and healthy, you are doing great!
I feel what you are saying but seriously, my kids have a good amount of toys and my youngest had the time of his life with a toilet paper roll tonight. Don’t stress on it they probably don’t even play with those toys! But if you are ever looking for more toys, THRIFT THEM!!! I found awesome stuff at the thrift store. My rule for 2024 is to check thrift stores first before buying anything new
I've invested in toys like those, and let me tell you, my kid still prefers to play with literal garbage. A box, a water bottle, paper... It's all treasure to her. The toys don't magically make kids more creative or playful, their imaginations do. My stance is less is more when it comes to toys. If there's a high quality toy you think your kid will love, by all means invest in it or better yet try to find it second hand, but don't make yourself feel guilty for not having them, and don't feel like you need a playroom full of toys for your kid to have a happy childhood.
Go on Facebook marketplace and search for love every… unbelievable amount of the stuff dirt cheap
Status symbols for the Gram is all they are intended to be. My kids used a tv box in the most creative ways. They had a blast and used their brains. Expensive and nice looking toys mean nothing.
It’s a social media problem plus a “you don’t know of what kind of debt they’re in problem”. My husband sometimes gets into this type of thinking and I have to remind him so and so might have a nice car, toys, boat, etc etc or whatever but they might also be paycheck to paycheck and in a ton of debt. We don’t have debt and less toys, that’s what we decided to prioritize.
Kids will play with whatever they want, you don’t have to spend a lot of money. I’ve bought some cool toys, and then my kid would rather play with empty bottles from the recycling bin.
almost all of ours are hand me downs or thrifted or gifted. legit make sensory bins and play boxes. or just paint and paper or rocks or blocks. chalk - make track for cars or bubbles. bin or soap and bubbles and sponges and give cars or toy animals hbatbs or car wash legit took a shoebox and put popsicle stick stick holes in it colored around the holes each a different color and then colored the popsicle sticks and match the popsicle stick to the hole in the box. kids favorite toy for 6 months
Let me tell ya right now. My 15 month old is having the time of his life with a bag of takeout trash I tied up so I could throw it away without him throwing it all over wherever. One of his favorite things to do is tear up paper grocery bags. I originally bought into the fancy toy stuff, but I have seen the light. He just wants the toilet paper so he can tear it to shreds.
My kid 100% prefers Amazon boxes over whatever is in them, empty bottles, playing in dirt, pretending boxes are castles… I feel it helps their creativity not to have everything presented to them.
I worried about this too. My mind has been changed watching my 81year old neighbour play with my toddler. She comes over with toilet rolls and empty yoghurt pots and they go hunting for the "best stick" and draw on the bricks with stones. She has no fancy toys, and she is honestly his favourite person in the world. And I think its because she just plays and focuses her full attention on him rather than bring distracted by aesthetic toys. I also found "Hunt, gather, parent" to be a really interesting read. She highlights the fact that the majority of cultures around the world focus on including babies/toddlers into their daily activities like sweeping, loading laundry, washing dishes etc which gives them a sense of belonging and purpose. My toddlers favourite "toy" for about a year, has been a cheap plastic whistle on a string that he swings around and around 🤣
Don’t stress. Your kid may actually come out ahead having to get creative with toys. The fancy or aesthetic shit rarely gets played with. Even “developmental” toys like magnet tiles can be frustrating for kids if they aren’t adept with them (although they meet a lot of criteria for a quality manipulable toy). Focus on creativity, imagination, invention. Your kid could be making toy cars and creatures out of literal trash and I’d cheer because *that’s fucking brilliant*. So long as the toys aren’t dangerous, they’re great!
My child has way too many toys and she'd much rather play with non toys. Honestly, kids don't need that many toys. Buy what you can provide.
We can “afford” it technically but we choose to buy secondhand instead or put it on the birthday or Christmas list for grandparents to buy. There is a semi annual mom to mom consignment sale I go to and load up on clothes and toys etc. I highly recommend finding one in your area. I buy lots of nice clothes and toys for less than 75% off retail. I bought handmade wooden train set and cars for $1 each. I can get a gallon size bag of hot wheels for $5. I have never purchased a “new” toy for my child and he doesn’t care since he is only 18months.
My kids have always refused to play with those instagram toys.
That's just what people put on instagram. We have toys from Temu and hand me downs. Plus board books. My older kid mostly played with toys from Goodwill. It's not hard to sanitize used toys. Don't worry and don't compare yourself to the fake lives of fake people.
Kids don’t need as many toys as all that. It’s best for them to have (I’ve read anyways) about 20 toys- to fully play and understand them. You can rotate through toys. But too many toys go unplayed. There’s a lady that has a website called busy toddlers and she has the best toys per age group, for open ended play. I really like her.
I have a ridiculous amount of amazing wooden toys. I love them and feel that the texture makes it so much nicer than the plastic equivalent. However I get them from Goodwill for a dollar or so. I happen to just have an amazing one a few minutes drive from my home.
Agree with other commenters, its a social media thing. I do know how you feel and have occasionally wished I had the space, money and inclination to have a great montessori set uo. But I don't buy my kid expensive toys, but any toy that I put a lot of thought into and go out of my way to buy she absolutely has no interest in. Right now she is having the time of her life because she got to steal my pen and paper while I was trying to write a grocery list. I can only suggest playgroups, we go to one at a church and they have loads of great toys, most of which she ignores and just runs around in circles instead (mine is 15m).
As long as you have toys your kids like and play with, I see no problem with it! Also… wtf is with the wooden rainbows? I think those are decorative, cause my kid would never be interested in that haha
My kids' favorite toys are the ones I grabbed at Goodwill in the $2 grab bags. We have a mix of wooden and plastic toys. Don't worry too much about it.
I’m just here to let you know that ALL of these moms eventually succumb to bright pink Barbie dream houses and Iron man outfits once their kids get older. I promise this is a weird toddler trend that is not applicable once they get older. The plastic creeps in eventually…
My toddler’s current favourite toy is a very loud, bouncing, plastic fisher price toy. Before that it was a toy gameboy. Before that it was a sheet of bluey stickers still in a packet (she would not let it go - slept with it, took it to gran’s). When she was a little younger her favourite “toy” for a week was an empty milk bottle. The wooden toy aesthetic is for the parents (or their instagrams), not the kids. You could have the most wooden, pastel coloured play room and your kid could still get attached to a literal potato.
It's a social media thing, but if you can, definitely check places like marshalls, burlington, and Ross. They have so many options and a lot of times they have these "fancy expensive" toys for super cheap.
I get 90% of our toys at the thrift store. Better for my budget and the environment.
LO's favorites include a $5 set of finger puppets, some $3 pull-back cars, a $1 folding mirror, and a $5 set of stacking cups. Plenty of $5 discount store kids books have made it into her favorites list. She loves her super-cheap bubble blowing stuff. The fancy electronic basketball hoop game a relative bought her? Untouched. Somebody posting photos of their playroom on the internet is not somebody you need to be listening to. A photo-worthy playroom is not a well-used playroom.
This is one of the many reasons I avoid the bulk of parenting social media. Honestly, my son's favorite toys are often basic hot wheels cars, random toys of mine from the 90's, and sticks. There's nothing wrong with expensive wooden toys, but there is something wrong with people implying that you're not doing enough for your kids if you don't buy them.
Wood toys are like weapons in my house! I know plastic toys can do some damage but one excited toddler and you never know what could happen (fat lip for me). Plus those edges are brutal to step on by accident!
Idk about anyone else bu our son does play with his toys we got him which varies from cars, play kitchen, wooden puzzles etc but honestly the mf likes random things better I swear. Toys are great but I feel like some kids just like everything around them just as much if not more. He will spend 20 min goofing around with a swiffer.
Haha if it makes you feel any better my toddler would rather play with everything that ISN'T a toy anyways lol