Call me Scrooge!

[BWVDenise]

But every time I wander into a toy store, I think "what a waste of plastic!" I think people buy WAY too much for their kids! They just don't need all that STUFF!

 

[EROS]

I would agree!!!!!!! I'm aghast at the number of toys in the homes of our friends. We buy very few. My DS's (age 5) favorite activity is to go to the dump with me to find abandoned gear which we can take apart. In our basement we have several disassembled TVs, computers, monitors, VCRs, etc. He then builds elaborate "rocket ships" out of the hardware and has a great time with fantasy .......

 

[snowwhitemom]

I agree and I am also guilty but are working on changing things.

 

[RitaZ.]

While I agree that many kids have way too many toys, I think it's great that there are so many options for parents in the U.S.A.

I grew up in a communist country where toys were extremely scarce (as were tvs & also childrens' books). The kids that had bikes were usually those whose parents belonged to the communist party (my parents did not) or those whose parents had bikes from way back. Toys were only available for purchase once a year and it was based on a lottery system. The higher your number, the crappier the toy (not to mention the fact that there was no money to buy what was offered). Naturally we all wanted bikes, but only a selected few had them. My mom and dad were always sad that we had few toys (my mom still talks about it today) & that they couldn't give us much. We never had a bike or a tv as children.

Childrens' books were sold at the book store using the same system. At least, that's the way it was over 20 years ago. Now that American dollars are welcome in Cuba, the sky's the limit. This is not a flame in any way, I just wanted to share a different perspective.

 

[BWVDenise]

Rita, thanks for sharing that story. I guess I feel that it is SO overdone in this country that it goes beyond reason. I think that a lot of kids (here) have SO much that they take it all for granted...

 

[RitaZ.]

Denise~ No problem!

 

[Dan Murphy]

I agree, Denise, and thanks for sharing those sobering thoughts, Rita. Those of us who have lived a good life here all our lives truly do not know what 'true want' is. Thank you.

 

[newmousecateer]

I agree.

EROS, how cool! Bet DS has a great time doing that, and what a great way to get his imagination working. (Sorry, somehow I have a very hard time picturing you at a dump scrounging around Does make a "down to earth" picture of you though)

 

[BWVDenise]

LOL, Denise! I was thinking the same thing

somehow I have a very hard time picturing you at a dump scrounging around

 

[Kermit]

I agree. We are blessed to be able to provide all the toys children need for emotional, physical, and personal fulfillment, but there comes a point when it's just overkill. DH and I both want to raise our children with just a few essential toys that foster creativity and imagination. We're willing to spend money on things that are good for their developement, like a jungle gym in the backyard, but we're not going to get every plastic gadget that eats batteries and makes noise. I don't know children are expected to learn that it's a good thing to be able to do more with less unless we teach them that from the start.

 

[Keli]

Growing up with 7 siblings we always had a lot of toys at our house because if there was a toy you didn't have one of your brothers or sisters did, lol. Dh and I tried to give our dd a moderate amount of toys. We tried to give her plenty but not over indulge her either