to want my DC to only have wooden toys? (Or is this a case of PFB Syndrome?)

[LovestoLove]

I don't think I'm generally PFB - I want my child to respect adults, eat with no fussing/faddiness (or at least no reaction on my part), have no quibbles about the step, won't give copious amounts of juice/biscuits, won't give into tantrums, etc.

But I really have a thing about the bucket loads of plastic toys that I fall over when at friends' homes.

I love wooden toys/puzzles, books, cloth dolls, make-believe things, fancy dress, etc.

Is it totally unreasonable of me to ask parents, in-laws, and anyone else who's expressed interest in getting a baby gift to get something wooden/natural? I know wooden toys are generally seen as more expensive but I've found some on Ebay and other sites that aren't bad.

Or am I going to be seen as crazy? I'm 30 weeks pregnant by the way with DC1.

Ffs ds is having an enormo-meltdown over a plastic chad valley washing machine. Will try to post my picture later.

I've never given a directive to anyone with regards to toy material nor have I given away all her birthday presents.

Marchpane! Give her a strict talking to and tell her that meltdowns are only permitted over wooden toys

I've only read the first 2 pages but have to go against the grain and say YANBU. (although I acknowledge the thread may have moved on since then)

I have 2 ds's eldest is 4.6 and we have very very little plastic as our house is open plan and I couldn't bearlooking at it all from the lounge! They do have a plastic keyboard ( thanks mum ...) but everything else is wooden

Should have added they have a free reign on plastic within the garden

Oh I have explained it gore, in a calm, reasonable way. However I don't think he can hear me above the screaming.

He's now in the bath playing with his collection of old shampoo plastic bottles.

Oops! Him not her. Sorry.

Don't worry. It'll be the washing machine that threw you

I am completley all for wooden/creative toys - it's how I was brought up and how I'm bringing up my daughter, I always appreciated the toys I had as a child and also got excited when seeing the toys in ELC etc but that didn't mean I had to be bought htem! I was happy to see them unlike so many children today who have tantrums if they do not get the latest plastic toy bought for them. The commercialised-mass produced toys are made so that companies can make a PROFIT! not to educate/stimulate your child!

I say go for it - there will of course be thousands of people that disagree but that's because so many people do what all the rest do and buy what's in magazines/what their friends have/what's on TV.

It will be a battle but most def a worthwhile onee. (oh I could go on!)

YANBU. we don't mind plastic so much but we do have a rule about electronic toys. not that i'd ever refuse something, but i'd take the batteries out.

and i think it's ridiculous to say that wooden toys harken back to an age where children were satisfied playing with basic stuff - they aren't born with computer chips in their brains, they still have imagination and take simple pleasures.

wooden toys are a great idea until you drop them on your fecking foot.

Nowt wrong with a bit of plastic. I'm with you on the noisy toys, though; some are inevitable but I keep them to the minimum. Also, some come with a volume control...

The whole wooden toys debate reminds me a bit of Mamas And Papas. When pregnant, it was a mecca for me - many hours I spent perusing tiny soft pastel coloured blankets, sterling silver trinkets, 'welcome to the world' boxed outfits (why?), pastel coloured gentle teddy bears and pretty clothes.

Now that DD is 8 months old, the pastel blanket has been abandoned for a bright red fleece as was too hard to keep clean and not warm enough for the buggy. The trinkets are gathering dust on a shelf, the tiny outfits were worn once, in hospital, and the tiny teddies (the obligatory 'Parsnip' et al) languish in the cupboard in favour of big daft teddies in bright colours and, well, plenty of plastic tat.
Mamas and Papas is for idealistic first time pregnant women, I'm sure of it.

Anyway, I digress, back to the OP, yep a house full of plastic tat here too, and I said I wasn't having any either.

Another point the OP made - two relatives of mine have offered to buy a pink ride-on and a pink Vtech walker. I've politely steered them in the direction of the more unisex ones...

People have mentioned birthday parties as one thing that opens the floodgates for plastic tat - something else that springs to mind is pocket money.

When our dses started getting pocket money, ohhh how it burnt a hole in their pockets - and so many times it got spent on dreadful plastic tat - but I felt it was a good thing for the dses to be allowed to exercise some independance and choice in how they spent that money (though I did put my foot down about toy guns and age-inappropriate stuff).

One thing to be said for cheap plastic tat - it usually breaks pretty quickly, and then you can get rid of it!!

DS1 (age 4) is saving his very meagre pocket money for a Lego parking garage. It costs about £60 and he has about £12.50 at the moment but he is determined to get there! :)

Good for him, bubbleymummy. I hope it is easy to put together - I don't know how much experience you have with lego kits, but some of them are enough to drive you to drink. Do not ever speak of the lego Dumbledore's office kit, please. [bitter experience emoticon]

Note taken HTT! :) He absolutely loves Lego and will make all his little sets over and over. It keeps him occupied for hours! A good distraction for him while I'm mumsnetting cleaning the house from top to bottom .

I was quite keen to have a fair amount of wooden/organic-looking toys for my DD, but it's true what at least one pp (sorry, haven't read entire thread) said, which was that often wooden toys are just not very good quality, in fact, and can be dull and provide little stimulation. My DD ended up with a mix of stuff. The other thing is that there's a big difference between nice plastic and nasty plastic. Playmobil is great, keeps my dd engaged for YEARS.

She is not yet desperate for the really lurid stuff; I am readying myself for the potential that she might suddenly decide she wants something hideous...

She has some really good wooden toys that really suit being wood; a doll house (though the wooden furniture is not interesting at all, and broke easily), a castle, a train set, a little cooker. But there are plenty of things I would not, in the end, have bought in a wooden version. However, I think it's fair enough to try and avoid the unpleasant, noisy stuff, because in my experience, it IS unnecessary.

However, I would never presume to tell people what not to buy for my DD. They generally ask my advice on presents though, which is handy...

Pocket money is a good point. When they have their own money and want something plastic is this the point that you give free choice or is it only free choice if it fits in with yours? Or haven't people thought that far ahead.

I would like to know why people are set on wooden only?
I can see that it looks much better in your home-if you have tasteful decor then bright plastic spoils it.
Bearing in mind that plastic bricks,dolls etc can be used with exactly the same imagination as wooden ones, or old plastic bottles, cardboard boxes,clthes pegs etc what is the benefit for the DC?

My DD gets pocket money. She buys what she wants. Last time she saved up for ballet pumps for her dressing up box. More often she wants books.

You do realise you have to go out of your way to come across the tat? I can't think of a place we would find it without a fair amount of effort. Where does it come from?

I want someone to tell me why it is better for a DC to have wooden dinosaurs rather than plastic ones or a wooden Noah's Ark rather than a plastic one. I can see that the adult likes it better-I certainly like it better -but what is the difference in play value?

I went into a fairly traded all wooden and cotton things shop at lunchtime today and the shop lady gave me such an evil glare. I was followed by a woman in one of those "cover your ears" knitted deer-stalker things on, and she got a hero's welcome.

The man in the pound shop treated all with undiscriminating grumpiness. He had tat-galore. I knew where I fitted in...

pisces, well I could ask you - what is the point of getting the plastic ones when you can get much more aesthetically pleasing wooden ones? :)

It is a serious question.
If I was buying a Noah's Ark I would go for a lovely wooden one because we never had one and I like them but if he was given a plastic one, as a present, what is the difference in play value for the DC?