Do you have plastic toys? - Page 2

[counterGOPI]

Originally Posted by reducereuserecycle

nope-none

if people give them to us i give them to the Goodwill the next day.

it was easier for us because we sorta started out with the idea of not wanting plastic toys. we didn't have to make a "transformation."

i let dc play with plastic toys when we are at friends' houses.

i just prefer to keep them out of our house.

i also know a waldorf teacher that has plastic toys. : (i feel she is sorta a phony though-not cause of the plastic toys-i have many other reasons)

most of dc's waldorf classmates have plastic toys in their home

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some plastic toys have lead 


unfortunately, some wood toys have lead too (ex. Melissa and Doug)

:
plastic has too many toxins and chemicals for me to risk letting my kids have them.

natural toys are not pricey at all. you get what you pay for kwim?

but my kids fav toys are the free ones like river rocks,pincones and sea shells or the htings i make them like knitted animals. my 4 month old loves wooden spoons shes no where near eating yet but loves to play with them.
you can find lots of handmade and or natural toys in thrift stores btw

[bandtmum]

We have a few plastic toys left which will be pretty much purged for her birthday as she will have new things to take her attention. The problem I find is not with the younger children but my six year old who LOVES his plastic knights, these would be very expensive to replace, and he uses them all the time, every day in a very open endend way with his wooden fort, wooden pirate boat etc so although I hate them (so ugly) i think that i will just have to accept them. I just love the look and feel of natural materials, but for children who dont mouth there toys some plastic can have its place I guess.

[ema-adama]

I am starting to have to seriously weed out plastic toys and DS is only 6 months... but IL's LOVE plastic and technology and really believe I am depriving DS by not allowing it.... So I was chatting with my parents about this (they managed to bring me and my brother up without most of what our peers had) and found my fathers words very helpful. He said that plastic per say is not that terrible or 'evil', but as a parent I do have a responsibility to maintain a a healthy environment for my children. The problem happens when I don't say "no plastic" and then we are flooded. The odd plastic toy being in the house will obviously not destroy a child. The easiest way to keep plastic in the minority is to make a clear policy of no plastic, and then bend the rules gently when it suits you.

Something that I am saying to my IL's now is that when my son is playing with something, I want the toy to be 20% of the game and his actions/interpretations/play to be the other 80%, not have his toys doing the playing for him as most electronic toys do. I read this 20- 80 thing somewhere and it made beautiful sense to me.

Thought I would share this, as it can be such a difficult issue, and I am only on the very begining of this road. I am sure I will find more challenges and inspiration as I go.

[sarah&dina]

I grew up with mostly natural toys and I took it for granted that DH's family would buy natural as well. (I don't know why I made this assumption as they're not at all into natural living to begin with...) Anyway, after getting maybe 5-6 plastics rattles and balls I finally asked them to stop with the plastics. So far they've respected my request and purchased her 2 wooden toys. In the meantime I try to encourage her to play with the natural toys, which she mainly does anyway, but I keep the plastic toys out for when my ILs pop by unexpected since we've had some minor family "issues" due to our mutual frustration with conflicting child-rearing philosophies (mine: homebirth, breastfeeding, etc. vs. theirs: drugged up hospital birth, formula, etc.) So, I'm trying to play nice and show some flexibility and so far, at least as far as the toys go, they've been reciprocating well. My parents only get her natural toys.

[mamaUK]

I will not be buying any plastics for my LO b/c of the toxins in it and I have made it clear to family aswell that my LO's will not have it b/c of this reason. I hardly has any plastic when I started to research living a Waldorf inspired life about 3 months ago, I found plastic toys ugly to look at and knew that they would break and look tatty so quickly too so I hardly bought any. I think we had 'Happy Land' (The same as Little People I think) and three My Little Ponies'. That has all gone. It was when I was researching 'natural creative play' on google that I fell upon Waldorf. I had never heard of it before and realised it was what I had been searching for for the past three years since my first LO was born. I am in the proccess of decluttering the entire house to live a clearer, simpler life, healthier life (e.g getting rid of plastic in the kitchen too) I had cancer when I was 21 so anything with toxins in it freaks me out a bit. We're trying to eat as much whole food aswell. So now all of her toys are wood or enamel. She has:
- wooden kitchen
-enamel pots and pans
-sturdy glass herb jars (we have a carpeted floor so they won't break if dropped)
-wooden fruit and veg
-play silks
-stirring xylopone
-three tone flute
-wooden tree blocks
-rainbow stacker
-natural stacking house
-hay wagon set
-rainbow silk streamer
-inside sand pit with metal little spade and fork and rake
-two wooden people with cotton dress up clothes
-wooden teddy jigsaw
-wooden table with chair (she spends so much time 'working' at her table)
-pine cones
-pebbles
-feathers (Craft ones as I didn't feel safe using ones from outside b/c of bird flu and stuff )
-twigs

I would like to have a dolls cot and a natural cloth doll and a little wooden rocking chair for her. I wonder what santa will bring!

These are more than enough toys for her and keeps her occupied for hours.
She also has 6 books from the library which get rotated with new ones on a fortnightly basis. I have also collected her the whole set of 'My First Little House' books which are so lovely and they are kept in a woven basket. She adores them! All this is in our living area as she likes to play near me and are on a low open shelf so she can easily reach them.

Slowly over the next few years I am going to collect some of the Ostheimer figues for her. I know they are expensive but I feel like they are heirloom quality and can be passed onto any grandchildren!

So basically, no plastic b/c of the possible toxins and the fact that they can be ugly and break easily. Plus I want my LO to play with beautiful toys that feel nice to hold and touch. The exception might be a little tub of lego when she turns four. There are also about six tiny plastic animals which are in her sand pit b/c I can't afford Ostheimer ones yet ! LOL

[Angierae]

We are just starting to really crack down on the plastics. Its amazing what can accumulate in just 7 years. What is left: We have legos and playmobile that are kept in the playroom closet and used when asked for. Some musical instruments with plastic components. Butterfly nets with plastic handles and some dress up shoes and necklaces. And a bucket of schleich fairies and horses that I am on the fence about.

That being said, in our storage room is a bin each of, barbies, my little pony, polly pocket, little people, and littlest pet shop. We get this stuff for gifts and the girls can't stand to get rid of anything that was gifted to them. They've never asked to play with it. I doubt they'll play with the stuff more than once every 6 months or so, probably when a cousin that gifted the item comes over. I do think that having it "somewhere" keeps my 7yo from feeling like she doesn't have any of the toys other people have. My 4yo cares less. But I would like to totally toss it. I wish I had been stricter with what we kept when the girls were younger.

[tallulahma]

Originally Posted by audreyhorne

we have a basket of lego, which only comes when less like-minded children come over, or when we've had a string of really bad weather, and we have some playmobil and bilibos. i cannot think of a single waldorf family with children over five whose home we have been to that didn't have playmobil. my dd has a little playmobil "child of the forest" mushroom fairy who lives in a tree stump that is super sweet. we don't have plastic plates or cups or food containers, and we mostly have natural toys, but as the kids get older, some quality plastic toys have crept in.

we totally love our playmobile zoo. I forgot to include that in plastic! Its so non offensive to look at, and I think (since dd1 is only 3) that dh & I enjoy it the most.

Originally Posted by mamaUK

Slowly over the next few years I am going to collect some of the Ostheimer figues for her. I know they are expensive but I feel like they are heirloom quality and can be passed onto any grandchildren!

I am too excited to start collecting ostheimer.

I am making myself restrain ATM, because dd1 really plays with every single thing we have right now, I like to keep it simple. I dont want to overwhelm her.

thats the thing with well made wooden toys- nothing ever breaks or wears out!

[mlh]

Originally Posted by milehighmonkeys

There are some quality toys that are plastic. It's the cheap junk we try to avoid. DD really loves her little people. I could hardly deny her little people! This week, we were reading Nim's Island. She went and retrieved a little girl, the iguana and the seal (or is it a sea lion) to go along with the story. So cute!! I remember loving little people when I was a little person. LOL

We also kept the Little People. MY MIL gives the kids tons of plastic toys and most of them we give away. We have however kept the Little People Farm and all the animals. Even though it is plastic it helps her to use her imagination when she plays and I like this!

[emmaegbert]

hmm, I came to Waldorf gradually (and wouldn't say I'm 100% waldorf, just that it really happens to align with what we already wanted more than other schooling systems). We are definitely phasing out plastic, but not entirely. I didn't ever intend to acquire it (aesthetic and environmental reasons as mentioned by others), but it just seems to find its way into our home anyway. However, we did avoid getting a LOT of plasticky stuff.

I always had a no batteries rule. We had a strict "no licensed characters" rule. (we also did no tv/dvds, not b/c of waldorf but b/c we just knew it was right for us). I never wanted junky toys. I hate the marketing to kids. Yet I am surprised now by things that even I chose a year or two ago. I don't mind some plastic, but once I began to see school and home setting without it, I became much more choosy about what we have. I also love the idea of making our own toys and playthings. And we "gather" plenty of things, which is fun. I also love the idea of scrounging everything up everything else second-hand, etc, but boy I just don't like shopping enough to do that. And then, ew, my son just sees all the nasty crappy junk at the second-hand store and begs and begs for it...

I got a LOT of legos and playmobil as hand-me-downs. Actually they aren't even all "out" yet, but in one closet I have some of the sets organized in small tubs and my son can use them when he wants to (free access, doesn't have to ask or anything, but they aren't laying all over the place... we live in a small apt though so there is no "playroom" and toys have to have their place and fit in the available spots). We haven't bought those, but seriously, I LOVED those toys as a kid myself, and I see my son using them in fabulous ways. Plus, they were free... and I really don't have a lot disposable income. (really, we don't, and yes, usually you get what you pay for, but those proper "waldorf" toys are very pricey). Waldorf-approved or no, I can't imagine getting rid of those.

We have some plastic sand toys-- like others say, mostly just acquired-- and I don't mind, they live packed into a smallish canvas bag that is ready for beach or sand-pit trips. I keep as much as fits in the bag, basically.

We have some nice plastic trucks (2 big ones, a few small ones). We have some (nice) plastic play animals, and a plastic gear set.

What can I say? We live in a wasteful and acquisitive society. I think I am not really right in step with the mainstream on a lot of stuff, but certainly not all THAT far away from it either. I try (more and more consciously) to minimize my own use and consumption of non-renewable, non-recyclable items, but I just can't be as perfect and virtuous about it as I like.

[missbuns]

I just can't imagine being so hardcore about all plastic. It's not like it's all evil and bad. We have a couple of Sasha Dolls http://www.sashadolls.com/ which are amazingly beautiful dolls which can be bathed and splash around. They are my favorite dolls in the world. They were designed by Sasha Morgenthaler, a Swiss artist. I adore Waldorf dolls but all dolls are different and serve different purposes. I think there is room for "non-waldorf approved" stuff in life as well. As long as it isn't some tacky character junk.

[counterGOPI]

Originally Posted by missbuns

I just can't imagine being so hardcore about all plastic. It's not like it's all evil and bad. We have a couple of Sasha Dolls http://www.sashadolls.com/ which are amazingly beautiful dolls which can be bathed and splash around. They are my favorite dolls in the world. They were designed by Sasha Morgenthaler, a Swiss artist. I adore Waldorf dolls but all dolls are different and serve different purposes. I think there is room for "non-waldorf approved" stuff in life as well. As long as it isn't some tacky character junk.

again for me its not so much waldorf but the horrible toxins,poisons and chemicals in plastic!

[tallulahma]

Originally Posted by missbuns

I just can't imagine being so hardcore about all plastic. It's not like it's all evil and bad. We have a couple of Sasha Dolls http://www.sashadolls.com/ which are amazingly beautiful dolls which can be bathed and splash around. They are my favorite dolls in the world. They were designed by Sasha Morgenthaler, a Swiss artist. I adore Waldorf dolls but all dolls are different and serve different purposes. I think there is room for "non-waldorf approved" stuff in life as well. As long as it isn't some tacky character junk.

dolls like that FREAK me out. but that is a separate issue fromMY childhood

Originally Posted by counterGOPI

again for me its not so much waldorf but the horrible toxins,poisons and chemicals in plastic!

:

plus, personally, i like the vibe a room full of natural material toys has.

*I* get overstimulated in houses with all plastic toys.

I felt this way before i even knew there was a waldorf philosopy, fwiw.

[Attached Mama]

Originally Posted by counterGOPI

again for me its not so much waldorf but the horrible toxins,poisons and chemicals in plastic!

Ditto that !! And I don't like how they look, but mostly that the manufacturing of them is awful for the workers and environment and the toys themselves can be toxic too. So, to me, plastic *is* in and of itself awful.

[lovinlife1219]

Originally Posted by tallulahma

dolls like that FREAK me out. but that is a separate issue fromMY childhood



:

plus, personally, i like the vibe a room full of natural material toys has.

*I* get overstimulated in houses with all plastic toys.

I felt this way before i even knew there was a waldorf philosopy, fwiw.

I just had to agree with what you said about the vibe a home has with natural toys. I have a cousin who's house you can barely walk in because it is so full of plastic junk. We're talking everything you can think of, crammed into a tiny house. For her boy, it's everything spongebob (I mean everything! Eating utensils, bath soap, pencils, games, toys, etc etc) and for her daughter, the exact same thing except it's Disney Princess. It is very overwhelming and you almost get anxiety being there! That being said...up until about a year ago - we had a VERY plastic-y house (is that a word?) I knew I wanted a natural birth and to breastfeed and it just got better from there. That's when we educated ourselves about vaccines, natural living, consumerism, commercialism, and on and on. We had a huge yard sale and sold almost every plastic toy that we had, and with that money bought new wooden toys! My son is a much calmer being because of it. It's not all gone yet, we are phasing it out, but most of it is gone. My immediate family thinks I'm cooky, but they are just "going with it" and respecting my "weirdness" hehe. My IL's on the other hand...they LOVE plastic toys!! So it's been a journey...it'll be worth it in the end

[mamaUK]

[QUOTE=lovinlife1219;12041789 My son is a much calmer being because of it. It's not all gone yet, we are phasing it out, but most of it is gone. My immediate family thinks I'm cooky, but they are just "going with it" and respecting my "weirdness" hehe. My IL's on the other hand...they LOVE plastic toys!! So it's been a journey...it'll be worth it in the end [/QUOTE]

since we rid the house of everything plastic my LO is ALOT calmer and also b/c we have restricted TV viewing to an hour and a half a week. The house feels a lot calmer too. My friends think I am very cooky I am sure, I don't know anybody that is choosing the same ideals as a way of family life which can feel a little isolating at times. Some of the family probably think I'm cooky too and I'm sure they probably feel like I'm controlling aswell, no TV, no plastic toys, not too much sugar blah blah blah. I'm sure they think 'here she goes again'. well i did flip out when my three year old came home from staying with a relative with eye shadow and mascara on...... she's three for goodness sake. I freaked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on the other hand they are supportive of the type of very natural toys we want in the house and I have made it pretty clear 'no plastic please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

[tallulahma]

going "no plastic" has been the hardest thing for us to enforce bc it is incredibly isolating where we live.

The littlest pet shops being THE WORST.

all her friends have them, they are everywhere. At first i thought "ok, a few"... but they are "collectables" and its allllllll dd wanted to play with. But she was never satisfied, always need the NEW one. So i got rid of them all. every last one.

know what? she hasn't asked for them since. not even when we pass the isle at target.

its been over a month now.

[reducereuserecycle]

So i got rid of them all. every last one. 


[Greenmama2AJ]

We're just coming to waldorf/steiner philosophy, so our house is full of plastic. My 14mnth old DS's fav toys are a plastic broom and empty plastic containers. He likes lego and has a plastic climbing centre. Despite this, I would say that our home is more green than 90% of the houses in our area. We have chickens and worm farms, recycle 100% of our waste (even pathogenic material which is composted) etc, grow our own organic veggies etc

I totally agree that the production of plastic is an awful burden on the planet, but to be honest - I dont really like wood that much either.

Most wood comes from homogenous, pesticide gobbling, pine plantations. These wreck absolute havoc on most native woodland biomes. Most of the cheaper wood is sourced from butchered rainforests in Sth America or Sth East Asia.
Commercial wood used by most toy manufacturers is treated with nasty stuff and sprayed with paint or varnish. Treated playground pine contains arsenic, lead and mercury.
Sure, pine cones and twigs are 'good' wood. And I'm sure you can buy organically grown, ethically sourced timber for a hefty price from some genuine retailers. But I can guarantee that most wooden toys sold in your large retailers like Toys R Us are exploiting cheap wood sourced from not-so-innocent sources.

To me I think its important to keep everything in perspective. Natural toys are obviously much more preferable than commercial junk. But I'm not going to deny my DS a bike because its derived from iron ore and oil, even if I do love Steiner dearly

[BCFD]

For awhile back when the MIC story was exploding, I got rid of a lot of our plastic toys, but mainly the cheap stuff. I love Little People and have recently re-discovered old vintage Fisher Price toys and have been getting some stuff for my kids (two of them are past the putting in mouth stage). The toys FP made in the 60's and 70's were wind up with no batteries and/or flashing lights and weird voices stuffed inside of them. I remember my own record player music box, and wind up "TV" that played London Bridge and Row Your Boat (which FP is actually remaking now).

However, we also have a lot of wooden/Waldorfy type toys (wooden cars, blocks, playsilks, wooden Snow White set, etc.).

I admit to getting away from wooden toys and going more for toys that have some sort of educational value to them. However, I do try to stay away from anything battery operated. I have become a thrift store addict and just found an old Mr. Mouth game and couldn't resist!! What a great way to build fine motor skills!

[missbuns]

Originally Posted by Greenmama2AJ

We're just coming to waldorf/steiner To me I think its important to keep everything in perspective. Natural toys are obviously much more preferable than commercial junk. But I'm not going to deny my DS a bike because its derived from iron ore and oil, even if I do love Steiner dearly

agreed. this is what i meant about being "hardcore"--you have to keep things in perspective. i can't stand this black or white thinking about toys.

the vinyl sasha dolls i love are not even made anymore. they were made mainly in europe for "poorer" children in switzerland so everyone could have a high quality doll. the first dolls were designed with a darker skin to match everybody, and many of the boy babies had penises! they are cool dolls. they can take a huge beating and are made for play. people collect these dolls and buy them off ebay for like 500 dollars, but i think buying a used one is a great idea for a kid who wants a doll to drag through the dirt and feed with real liquid and stuff.

another problem i often see is people who buy wooden toys at the trift store. many of the little wooden bowls, figures and baskets are glazed with old poisonous varnish.

i look at each item individually. we have a beautiful wooden haba cart but we also have a metal and plastic toy stroller for the park. we plan on getting a nice wooden kitchen and have all wooden fruits and vegatables but are happy letting our child enjoy her playmobil stuff. i try not to buy junky stuff but not all wood is nice and plastic is bad. i bought an expensive hand carved wooden rattle when she was a baby that broke and splintered!