When our son was born we knew we wanted to keep everything as natural as possible. Including toys. We are not comfortable with giving him plastics. And we prefer for stuff to be made in the USA, but are willing to adjust depending on the item (example: many safe, natural toys are made in Germany and such). Any toy we have ever bought for him has either been wooden or a soft toy made with organic cotton.
So, my mother-in-law mentioned this fisher-price toy she wanted to buy for our son for his birthday and asked us if we minded if she bought it for him. She had seen it advertised on tv and very much felt that it would be great for him and that he could really use it. We had not seen it before so we looked it up on the internet. Neither of us cared for it. It plays (obnoxious) music and lights up. It is made in china. It is 99% plastic - no ideal what type of plastic either.
We wanted to say no. We did not want him to have the thing....for obvious reasons. But my mother-in-law thought it would be so great for him. And we really appreciated that someone wanted to do something kind for our son. So....we told her that it would be fine to buy it for him.
Anyways, so yeah....nearly 3 weeks later he has a huge piece of plastic crap sitting in the living room. At first he played with a lot, but as time has passed he's played with it less and less. We keep the switch turned off which = no lights and music. But we honestly regret that we said okay about it. For many reasons.
We recently reflected on our original goals and why we had set those goals. In doing so we realized we need to be more firm about these things. But how? How do we tell people that we do not want the plastic, 'made in 'who knows where' gifts for our son when the things we prefer him to have can sometimes cost much more than what one can find by just running to the nearest wal-mart?
I would like to figure out how to gently lead people towards these safer gifts for our son. I find myself looking back to when we told MIL 'okay' and wishing we had instead went to a natural toy website and showed her the different items she could buy for him for the same price.
And I also would like to figure out a quiet way of letting people know how and where to find toys that are safe and natural. Which would be a lot easier to do if natural toys were sold in most stores instead of just on the internet.
Any suggestions?
So, my mother-in-law mentioned this fisher-price toy she wanted to buy for our son for his birthday and asked us if we minded if she bought it for him. She had seen it advertised on tv and very much felt that it would be great for him and that he could really use it. We had not seen it before so we looked it up on the internet. Neither of us cared for it. It plays (obnoxious) music and lights up. It is made in china. It is 99% plastic - no ideal what type of plastic either.
We wanted to say no. We did not want him to have the thing....for obvious reasons. But my mother-in-law thought it would be so great for him. And we really appreciated that someone wanted to do something kind for our son. So....we told her that it would be fine to buy it for him.
Anyways, so yeah....nearly 3 weeks later he has a huge piece of plastic crap sitting in the living room. At first he played with a lot, but as time has passed he's played with it less and less. We keep the switch turned off which = no lights and music. But we honestly regret that we said okay about it. For many reasons.
We recently reflected on our original goals and why we had set those goals. In doing so we realized we need to be more firm about these things. But how? How do we tell people that we do not want the plastic, 'made in 'who knows where' gifts for our son when the things we prefer him to have can sometimes cost much more than what one can find by just running to the nearest wal-mart?
I would like to figure out how to gently lead people towards these safer gifts for our son. I find myself looking back to when we told MIL 'okay' and wishing we had instead went to a natural toy website and showed her the different items she could buy for him for the same price.
And I also would like to figure out a quiet way of letting people know how and where to find toys that are safe and natural. Which would be a lot easier to do if natural toys were sold in most stores instead of just on the internet.
Any suggestions?
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