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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To buy DS a huge Mr Men book box set just cos? Worried about spoiling him!

54 replies

ilikeyoursleeves · 14/02/2013 21:50

ie not for a birthday or any other special occasion? I keep going on about dh spoiling our kids cos he buys them toys quite often in between Xmas and birthdays. Ds1 is starting to say 'I want I want...' a lot and I don't want him getting spoiled.

He is 5.5 and his latest thing he loves is Mr Men books. He can read them perfectly himself and really enjoys them. He has 3 but is now asking for more. I just found a box set of 47 books for £30 (RRP £125 or something) and I'm swithering whether to buy them or not, I don't want him to be 'spoiled' but can you really spoil someone with books? Or I could keep them and give them to him for say, Easter or a good report at parents night?

AIBU to give him them?

OP posts:
HeadfirstForHalos · 14/02/2013 22:12

My kids idea of a massive treat is a Pot Noodle Hmm They have lots of toys and game but still get excited by the shit small things.

sukysue · 14/02/2013 22:14

get him the books it's educational ennit ?

MortifiedAdams · 14/02/2013 22:16

Buy the set and give him the box it comes in and every time he is extra nice or does something very well he will get a MM book as a reward.

jellyboatsandpirates · 14/02/2013 22:18

I came on to say "buying books is never spoiling." Then see someone else has already beaten me to it. Smile
Toys, sweets etc, yes. Books no - you can never have enough! He's showing a keen interest in reading. Embrace it and buy him them. I had great fun collecting all the Mr Men books when my ds went through the same Mr Men obsession a couple of years ago!

5madthings · 14/02/2013 22:19

That's a good price for them and books aren't going to spoil a child. I agree with meg re spreading them out over a few days/weeks.

Bluebell99 · 14/02/2013 22:23

I agree with buying books but not Mister Men books! They are the most tedious dull stories ever.

jellyboatsandpirates · 14/02/2013 22:26

Shock at Bluebell. We all love the Mr Men books in this house! Instead of buying the entire set in one go, it's much more fun to actually collect them. That way you can also spread out over weeks to make it fun.

MegBusset · 14/02/2013 22:27

Some of the later ones are a bit tedious (I think at some point Roger Hargreaves stopped writing them and his son took over, whereupon the quality went downhill and the storylines became rather repetitive). But the early ones are fantastic.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/02/2013 22:29

As everyone else has already said: books don't counts as presents/treats/spoiling unless they are really shit/based on a tv show

mrsjay · 14/02/2013 22:33

get them Mr men rock I loved Mr men when i was 5 dds have the collection too just get them Grin

ReturnOfEmeraldGreen · 14/02/2013 22:34

I bought this set for DS, no special occasion, just because. It's a nice indulgence, do it!

deleted203 · 14/02/2013 22:36

Another poster saying firmly that you can't spoil anyone by buying books. Books are a necessity in life. (Looks around at the roughly 10,000 books in the house Grin).

bonkersLFDT20 · 14/02/2013 22:43

I would get the set (it sounds like a bargain!), but I would give him one a week, in number order, so he can have the thrill of seeing his collection build up (and the words on the spines take shape).
Friday night could be new Mr. Man book day; something to look forward to.

It's so easy to get swept away with their enthusiasm and it's natural to want to encourage it, but I think you can keep the excitement going on for much longer if you give them to him gradually. Within a year he'll have the whole set and it'll be something he'll remember for ever.

valiumredhead · 14/02/2013 22:58

Children aren't spoiled by being given presents, they are spoiled poor parenting and you can never have too many books. Fact Wink

Dollyboo · 14/02/2013 23:09

Well my Ds is 5.5 also and having had a look at the mr men offer from the book people I've just gone and ordered the entire set for a bargain £30!! And free delivery. Its not his birthday or a special occasion but something he can definitely benefit from.

OP, have more confidence and do what you feel you'd child would benifit from, do you really need a reason to treat him?? I didn't.

Dollyboo · 14/02/2013 23:10

Oh and my DS is constantly I WANT I WANT too!

iliketea · 15/02/2013 06:46

We have bought different sets like this when we have seen them on special. We give them to dd one book at a time - normally used as a "bribe" for getting enough stickers on her chart. She's 3yo and already everytime we go out she asks for a book (never toys or sweets, just books). She was most impressed last week when I "found" a book carrier that fitted all of the last series that she has got over the last few months Smile

Sixparrotspullingupcarrots · 15/02/2013 07:30

Get them and give them to him one at a time.

Mrspartacus · 15/02/2013 07:35

I bought them for our son, and he didn't love them at all! My other children havnt enjoyed them either, so though I agree with other posters in that books are not spoiling.............. I would buy a different box set!

sparkle12mar08 · 15/02/2013 08:05

Buy the set, keep them in your wardrobe/cupboard, and dish one out at the end of every week for nice behaviour. Job done!

Bakingtins · 15/02/2013 08:13

I also think you can't have too many books. If you give him the whole set at once I suspect he'll be a bit overwhelmed and they will gather dust after he's read a few. Buy them, stick them on top of the wardrobe and give them to him gradually, perhaps when he has behaved particularly well?

thegreylady · 15/02/2013 08:17

Books are never spoiling. The more books a child owns the better. Too much plastic tat or too many sweets are spoiling but books, drawing paper and colours and apples Grin are verging on essential below food and warmth and with love at the top of the list. You can't have too much/many of these things.

Original poster
ilikeyoursleeves · 15/02/2013 08:19

Thanks all I'm going to buy them today! Great idea to dish them out one at a time too :)

OP posts:
pointlessalbatross · 15/02/2013 08:29

I'd say get them. Like others have said, you can never have too many books and you can give him them gradually.
We have that set for our ds. He's only 4 months old but my dh reads him Mr Tickle every night. He can recite it from memory now! If ds is grumbling dh starts telling him Mr Tickle and he calms down instantly and listens happily. Hopefully ds will get as much pleasure reading them himself when he's older as we do reading them to him now.
Some of the stories are definitely better than others though.

ChristmasJubilee · 15/02/2013 08:39

pointlessalbatross just had to re read your post. I thought it was your 4 month old reciting the books from memory. Now that's smart.

Yes, OP I would buy the books. We have hundreds of books and 3 good readers!

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