Why do or don't you keep plastic toys?

[MichelleAnnette]

I'm just wondering because all the plastic toys we have received are in a box somewhere because I think they are ugly and ds is not interested in toys yet. But I'm not sure what I'm going to do as he gets older. Are plastic toys dangerous? I really don't want a billion toys around anyway, but I will keep all plastics away if they are harmful - I just don't know.

[vloky]

well I read somewhere that they have cancer causing chemicals, and youd want to make sure none are on the recall lists..

[marybethorama]

We keep them because they're fun ;)

I'm not giving up Playmobil and Legos for anyone

If you're talking about plastic baby toys, we have some too. For toddlers really. Most were secondhand but as the kids got older we bought them whatever they wanted. So we have lots of Fisher Price stuff FE.

Many we got were from Goodwill. I might have preferred wood in some cases but I wasn't willing to spend the money.

[newmommy]

I tend to buy whatever DS navigates to. And that's towards plastic!

Plus, I am a BIG fan of Step 2 toys (Made in America too!) and that's where we bought his train table (and where his kitchen will come from).

I also love Fisher Price stuff. He does have some wooden toys so I'm totally agains them.

[maplesugar]

I keep plastic toys because they are what I can easily obtain. I get kind of wierded out by the badness of them, I wish I had the gumption to eliminate all plastic from our lives, but this remains an elusive goal.
Dd loves her plastic toys, and she had never been one to put everything in her mouth, so I deal.

[nextcommercial]

Well, I have a daycare in my home. Just about everything I own is made by Little Tykes. I buy little Tykes, because it lasts forever. I can't afford to go out and buy new stuff each year.

I had some wooden toys, and other than the building blocks, the kids destroy it in less than a year.

The wooden toys from Target don't even make it a month.

So, for me, it's all about durability.

[jjawm]

We've been trying to eliminate all our MIC toys for months now. Boy, that's hard! They're all plastic. We still have some, though, and will probably always have some.

I love wooden toys (not MIC). I love how they look and feel. Dd is too young to state her preference (11 months), so for now, I buy what I like. Right now that's European wooden toys.

[DevaMajka]

I recently read that its only certain plastics that are toxic. PVC (#3) are one of them to avoid. The others are #6 (styrofoam) and #7 (general catchall for other types of plastic).
You could call the manufacturer and find out what type of plastic they use.

I know I read that the plastic in legos was NOT one of those 3 types.
#5 plastics are not known to leech any toxic chemicals.

Here's an article
http://www.naturalfamilyawareness.com/blog/?p=291
it says that legos and Little Tykes, among others, are safer plastics.

http://healthychild.org/resources/ch...op/phthalates/

2003 Toy Report Card - http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/2003-toy-report-card

eta- sorry for adding links. I'm interested in this too. So far, we have tons of plastic toys, but am working on paring them down.

[askew]

We have a 90% plastic free home and that includes DS toys. For us it in completely environmental. I don't want to contribute to non biodegradable waste. I also don't want my child sucking on plastic, which is why we never offered a paci and our bottles were glass.

[BabyBugsMom]

Most of our toys are plastic. I like some wooden toys, but found that my children have different tastes!

We had an extensive wooden train set, but ended tossing most of the tracks because they kept on breaking. Thankfully, the trains work on the plastic Thomas track my 3yods got for Christmas last year. We have tons of baby dolls and stuffed animals, and more cars and trucks than I know what to do with...A large box of legos we're keeping stored in the basement until 2yods loses his obsession with putting small objects up his nose.:

We have a fair amount of Little Tikes. The stuff lasts forever, and as hard as my kids are on toys, I need toys that will stand up to hard playtime. We don't have much Playmobile, but that's more because we haven't been able to afford it. I need to start looking on craigslist and ebay to see what I can get for reasonable prices.

[mammal_mama]

We use plastic here!

[mammal_mama]

Oh, and why: greater affordability and our girls love their toys so it'd be mean for me to dispose of them. After all, I wouldn't want anyone disposing of my plastic computer for my own good, or for the good of the environment or anything.

[Adasmommy]

My daughter is three so she's got her own opinions but I've still got a lot of influence.

I don't like plastic and try to keep it out of our house. I don't like that it's being manufactured and disposed of, that some of it leaches or outgasses, that it is ugly, that it is often cheap/disposable (I'm surprised other posters have found plastic MORE durable than wood!).

Anyway, I try to keep it out/get rid of it in toys or adult possessions because I don't like it.

I also want my daughter to have beautiful things, and to value beautiful things and just generally to share my values. I guess I'll let you know in ten years how that's going.

Oh, also, I like the idea of being able to see how things are made/put together, which is often more obvious with a carved wooden toy than a molded plastic toy (I guess they're made in molds?).

And I really like the Waldorf/Montessori idea of giving your children natural materials so they can feel that they are working with something that came from the earth. She knows wood comes from trees. I don't know how to begin explaining plastic!

[Adasmommy]

I wanted to add that if you're looking for a way to cut down on plastic toys you receive from others, maybe you could make it known that since the whole China scare you've decided to stick with American made wooden toys, even if your motivations are really more complicated . . . ?

I hate receiving ugly toys from people but I hate donating all their gifts that they thoughtfully picked out too! :

[vloky]

Seems even wooden toys aren't safe from lead paint though.- http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08004.html

[h1pp1ch1ck]

We dont do plastic, we had a huge overhaul and replaced the plastic with natural troys. It took a while and the kids chose what they wanted as replacements (that we could afford)
ALL plastic is toxic on different levels, nearly all is made in China so you are encouraging what is basically slave labor and it does not degrade. I couldnt live with myself seeing our children chewing on plastic toys knowing it could lead to serious illnesses later in life, or that people were treated like slaves, beaten and even died, just to make it and that when it breaks it will be adding to the landfill mass for the next 500 years. Its really not worth it just to make your kids "happy"
We educated our kids in choices and why things are fashionable (disney films etc) and how many toys are just commercial. Also exactly what plastic is. We rarely go to toys r us now, but when we do they are astounded by the sheer amount of plastic junk.

We discovered a garbage dump in our garden when we moved in and there are plastic dolls and toys from the 1950s that are not the slightest degraded, a few things are starting to ooze into the earth and nothing grows there. That sight would put you off plastic for life.
We dont want to be part of the problem by increasing the demand, but part of the solution.

[delphiniumpansy]

I cannot imagine a childhood without legos. They are made in Eastern Europe or Mexico. But, I also try to buy some of these things at places like value village so they are, in a way, recycled. We do have some plastic crappy little ponys that dd LOVES but we try to encourage her to use the better quality stuff. I think it is about values. I would rather dd have good quality toys, like Plan toys which are made in Thailand. But, she does love those Ponys so we have a few of them. My friend has her 20 year old ponys and just gave them to her 4 year old. That is a great way to recycle plastic stuff.

[h1pp1ch1ck]

Personally, we have had lego and playmobil. There are different levels of toxins in the plastics and these are much lower. I see these as educational quality items, that will last to be passed down or sold. My main issues are with the junk plastic toys that are high in toxins, break easily, dont degrade or recycle and will not hold a childs interest any longer than wanting it in the store.

There is a website that lists the levels for each product/manufacturer. It was interesting to see that hasbro and mattel are a few of the main ones that refuse to even think about reducing toxins. Little tikes did, but I think they are still no good as the toys do break and loose the aesthetic qualities by its color fading easily. Then the parents dont want it around looking ugly and the kids loose interest. The plastic is so thick, I dread to think how long that would take to degrade and its also large, so again adding to the landfill mass.
Older plastics are dubious as they are starting to degrade and could be leaking higher levels of toxins. There is also the problem of the toxins realeased into the air while these things are being produced.

Its a difficult choice for some, because even in natural toys if they are cheap then you move into the area of made in china and work ethics, not to mention the lead problems now. Nova natural toys sell some beautiful, quality toys, as do many other places. We now go for handmade wahm toys, or make them ourselves (which is so much nicer at Christmas and birthdays. The children really treasure them).
You have to rethink the whole toy issue and go for quality, not quantity and then they even get played with! How many toys do children have that are forgotten? partly because they dont know they have them for all the other toys in the room. Natural toys usually do not require batteries, or further expense and are easier to repair if needed.
We are very broke and manage to still invest in these toys, any I have resold held most of its value, some even more. So I dont beleive cost is a factor, theres always a way. We start buying one thing a month early on for Christmas and birthdays.
We dont like the commercialism behind Christmas, so we were more than happy to loose all the plastic, packaging and last minute hunt for the batteries, not to mention the screaming kids because Aunty Sue bought the "wrong" Barbie, or the toy the child got doesnt work. We just have lovely, family Christmas's together with a few gifts (at least 1 handmade for each other each) instead

I understand it must be harder for those at shool, or with out side influences, but who wants to be the same as everyone else anyway? this is your children and their future childrens health at stake. Everyone makes a difference in this. The sooner people open their eyes to the problem and stop hiding behind ignorance, the sooner we can get the whole messed up circle dealt with.
Sorry to go on about this, but this is a subject close to my heart and I hope you can spend some time thinking about it. It is a long process, especially if you have older children, but well worth it.

[MichelleAnnette]

h1pp1ch1ck, can you or someone else give me a link to info on made in China stuff and/or plastics in general? I am concerned both about the workers who make the products and the products themselves. I would like something I can pass on to family members who keep buying my baby plastic crap.

[h1pp1ch1ck]

Originally Posted by MichelleAnnette

h1pp1ch1ck, can you or someone else give me a link to info on made in China stuff and/or plastics in general? I am concerned both about the workers who make the products and the products themselves. I would like something I can pass on to family members who keep buying my baby plastic crap.

You can find lots on Google but heres some good ones to get you started.

Plastics in toys inc pvc, which is still in most toys;

This one is really helpful for families

http://www.greenpeace.org/internatio...oxic-toy-story

http://www.mothering.com/articles/gr...toy_story.html

http://www.checnet.org/healtheHouse/...sp?Main_ID=138

http://www.checnet.org/healtheHouse/...sp?Main_ID=139

Greenpeace 2003 toy report card

Asian labor

http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/...ile.cfm?id=263

http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/en/we...ticle_id=50285

http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/uploa...eongReport.pdf

Everyone should read this one