Are plastic toys really bad?

[Graciegray]

So I have a 2.5 yo and a 6mo. A mixture of toys for them some wooden some plastic!

I always try to get educational stuff but some toys are just for fun!

I feel like now it seemed a judgy if you get plastic toys. I try not to Google things too much I suffer with anxiety and constantly worry I’m not doing the best for my kids and I worry if I look into this I’ll be in a rabbit hole and deem myself as a bad mum!

But are plastic toys actually so bad? I want to get DS a toy supermarket for Christmas and the wooden sets are so clunky but there’s a smaller plastic set that’ll fit in our living room fine and includes a trolley and food bits! But again just worried should I be avoiding plastic toys all together?

When I'm looking at buying plastic things I look at how much use I'll get out of it, and whether it will be likely to end up in landfill.

As such I've drastically reduced the amount of plastic stuff I buy, especially toys at Xmas.

If there's an environmantally better alternative to something I'll always choose that instead, I always think about my future grandkids and the planet they will inherit.

I don't think anyone is a bad parent for buying plastic though, you can make your own choices and choose the things that are important to you, none of us are perfect.

If you're concerned just make considered choices.

Good quality plastic toys tend to last a long time (which is part of the problem but sometimes a positive), so check whether you can get it second hand firstly. Similarly, when you've finished with it sell or donate instead of throw away.

Don't buy toys for the sake of it (not just plastic)- think about whether they'll actually likely play with it or whatever it's just for the sake of buying and having 'stuff'.

Don't buy poor quality plastic tat of questionable origin.

Yes - they don’t affect development do they? I was worried about this too

i I try to be eco friendly so any plastic toys my kids have outgrown I do donate to charity (and hopefully someone buys for buttons and enjoys! And it doesn’t get discarded haha)

Yes it was more as I was weighing up this toy supermarket

plastic toy supermarket

• bit more compact for our living room
• £80 includes food and trolley and till/scanner

wooden toy supermarket

• larger and more bulky. Would fit but take more space
• £120 without any extras

i know it’ll get used as our younger child will probably have a dabbled next year when she’s up walking and playing with her older sibling

and their cousin visits every month so they sit and play together

OP, you sound exactly like me when I was in the thrall of postpartum anxiety. Just the fact that you care so much shows you are categorically NOT a bad mum.

That being said, my DD had a lot of play value out of the Fisher price cash register (plastic, but very sturdy!) and the Le Toy Van grocery basket (wooden). Both of these items were quite small and versatile.

Op I’m now decluttering all the plastic toys my teens had and I would say that you’re better off buying a smaller number of trusted brands like Lego and playmobil and not the really cheap stuff that comes from any country where you couldn’t trust they meet safety regulations. I didn’t avoid plastic items, just if they were from really cheap websites.

We all know the environmental impact of plastic but lots of plastic toys last for many years. We bought a second hand plastic baby walker which must have been over 10 years old and we used it for about 6 years and then it went to another family. I'm sure it's still going now.

There's a lot of snobbery around plastic toys so think it's important to separate out whether you're choosing wood over plastic due to environmental reasons or not. Interestingly people aren't snobby over Lego.

Especially when our children were young we bought a lot of second hand toys which meant that we didn't really worry about wood vs plastic.

They're not bad as long as they aren't easily breakable and can be passed or sold on for someone else to make use of rather than straight in the bin. The main thing I've got against those toy supermarkets/ kitchens is that all my kids quickly lost interest in them and then you end up with all the bits lost and scattered around.

My dd’s plastic shopping set is now at my parents house and being played with by my nieces who are 4 and 6. Dd is 22, I think it’s been a worthwhile purchase.

Good quality plastic toys will last for years. That's the point. You should want them to.
To me it's more about what the toy is rather than whether it's made of plastic, metal or wood.
Toys that are "of the moment" (ie based on TV characters etc) are likely to have a shorter life than the basics (toy kitchen, dolls, building bricks, trains etc).
Buying a plastic kitchen is fine if it's decent quality plastic. It could last for years and go through several children.

A well made plastic toy is no different to the child then a wooden one.

With your supermarket for example... how sturdy is it? If bits are constantly falling off, then its pointless. But if you've seen it in action, know its sturdy... then it looks logical.

PILs got a plastic kitchen when my DD was 2ish. Shes now 13... and is still in use! (Not by her, subsequent grandchildren and great nephews and nieces)

I found a lot of the wooden stuff broke easily, some plastic stuff lasts better and can be passed on.

I buy what my children like and engage with.

DD was the same, we ended up donating it and buying a separate till which she played with for years, we ended up using (clean) wrappers for the 'food' and if she wanted a shop she'd use her wooden rainbow. She got bored of the set though and outgrew it quickly; stuff they can continue using as their play develops and as they get bigger is good. For that price OP I'd personally buy a separate till and maybe one of the wooden arches. DD got it for her 1st birthday and still uses it now (she's 8) for sitting in to read. It's been a climber, a puppet show theatre, a shop, a rocker, a den, comfy spot to read etc.