To think books are not the same as treats?

[ShadeofViolet]

I dont buy the DC toys often - Christmas and Birthdays. However I buy books all the time, normally one or two a week for DS1.

DH says this is just the same as buying toys every week, but I dont think that it is.

AIBU?

Use the library

use it or lose it!

Your house will be overflowing with books!

YANBU to want your DC to have books.......could you borrow them from a library sometimes though? Assuming that is that it's the cost DH objects to?

We mainly use Oxfam Books - and they all go back once DS doesnt want them anymore.

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They are treats in that they are getting something new but they are more longer lasting than toys. I love buying my kids books, though sometimes they are too expensive, and they have 100s of them but really enjoy reading. DD usually has about 6 books on the go, reading all of them.

A treat is something in frequent. So if you get books all the time they are not a treat.

I don't think it's the same. Books are... well...different. Somehow. You can't have to many books (just too small a house!) but you can definitely have too many toys.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that I see books in a different category to toys, I dont know why though!

I buy books all the time too it costs a couple of pound for a decent book on Amazon.
I pass everything else on and they hardly get toys as random treats.
I am saving their books to pass down to their children probably because my Mum binned all my childhood books.
I love walking in their rooms and seeing a lovely full bookcase (sad I know).

yanbu
I never got books as a treat, I just got them for the dc's as imo it part of their education

I had a similar argument with DH. I asked my mum not to buy him any toys when she looked after him for a weekend recently (he's had stacks of "treats" recently) and he came back with a book.

I had no problem with it. DH did. I told him he was being an arse. I still have cherished books from my childhood, kept in a box. Can't bear to part with them. I haven't kept many toys though. Can't out my finger on why either but I do see books as different to toys.

Books are classified under 'life's essentials' ... food for the mind ... by encouraging reading you are giving your children the tools for a lifetime of learning and discovery. Get your books in whatever way suits your family ... library, charity shops, on-line shops, high street, sharing a 'book-pool' with other parents, all of the above etc ... but carry on doing it!

I guess they certainly can feel like a treat, in the sense that DD, 3.2, loves them and is excited when she gets a new one (frequently, we're very lucky as my mum, a librarian, gets great deals and scours Oxfam etc - I've hardly bought any but DD has over 200!)

but I do agree they are different to toys, they are essential IMO to a well-rounded childhood, a book-starved, toys-rich child is much worse off than a child with loads of books but barely any actual toys.

having said that just having the books isn't everything, part of the reason they are so great is that they encourage interaction, where toys often don't. so there's no point having loads of books if they just sit on a shelf unused, but that's a whole other (sad) thread!

BTW, as I said I don't buy books very often unless I see some real bargains, but I wouldn't completely rule out books as treats per se, i.e. they can still be great presents!

If anyone ever asks what to get dd as a present. I always say books.

I do think they make great presents but not many people see this. My big sis jokingly tells us not to buy her kids books, but secretly I think she seriously doesn't think they're a good present.

I buy them anyway. Her kids don't read enough (judgey me).

Never have too many books and keep them ALL even the baby ones.

YABU, You can use the librairy
to get books every week.

Books are fab. We didn't have any when I was a child, just a dictionary and a microwave cook book (at least I could spell and know how to cook a sponge cake in a microwave, useful skills ) Ds and I have loads of books now so we can read whatever we want.

You could argue why have so many DVD's, you can rent them cheaply so why have tonnes of them?

we get them out of the library, but Ds definitely sees new books as a treat

A book is a treat. But I wouldn't ever feel guilty about buying a book in the same way I would about more unnecessary clothes, brightly coloured plastic etc. See it more in the same way as non-basic fruit (ie blueberries, kiwis etc)- a necessary treat

And if we can't afford it one day, there's always the library (which we do use anyway) and tesco basics apples.

I keep books forever, though. Have books from both sets of grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles and have given books to nieces and nephews, so the cycle continues.

If it's a money thing, check if you have any second hand book shops or book fairs near you- it's a great way to while away a couple of hours in a fantastic atmosphere and the dc can choose as much as they like. Got 20 pre loved books for £15 last week!

Books are not a treat like toys.
We are on first name terms with our librarians, and dd (soon to be 14) has asked specifically for 4 books for her birthday next month)
I have read 26 books this holiday, I bought 10 from Amazon, the rest from the library.

I buy books very often for DD, sometimes new, sometimes from charity shos. I don't see them as something I should save for special occasions and buy them without considering them as being a special treat.

DD does have 100s of books. She has bookcases in her room and also uses the one in the living room. She also has books on her bed shelves, in the bathroom, in her playroom...

But we do regularly cull. Those finished with I recycle - I either take them into the school I work at for our book browser, in the past I have sent some to DD's school, some go to charity shops, so get passes to family or friends; they never get thrown.

To me buying books is NOT the same as buying toys. Mind, I have no problem with buying the odd toy even if not at a birthday or Christmas.

I don't use the library. Our local one is a mobile library which is not that regular and the selection of books is very limited, even more so for children. The other library is a drive away although close to school, but because of after school events it is still not convenient.

Mind you, DD is about to join a book group at that library called Chatterbox, which is once a month - she will read a book, come together to chat about it, do related activities and games, etc.

I am the same, I have no problem buying books (recently got four of the Harry Potter books for £2.50 total from a charity shop) but get annoyed about buying crappy plastic toys. I think Redglen hit the nail on the head.

Books are not treats - they're everyday necessaries, IMO, and part of education. WE rarely bought toys - only birthdays and Xmas usually - but would buy books whenever we saw new ones that appealed (and could afford it). We also used the library but have amassed about 2000 children's books over the years (including my old children's books). I will also buy lots of books from charity shops. I don't cull them really at all.