My good friend has two children with her youngest the same age as my oldest. And she's now having a long overdue clear out of all their old toys. Every time I see her (about once every couple of months...she doesn't live that close) she gives me a bin liner full of their old stuff because my two might like it.
I'm not kidding when I say she hasn't given me a single toy that isn't broken or has bits missing. Some toys have been so broken that she's selotaped them back together and every jigsaw has at least a few pieces missing. I admit I'm a bit anal about things like this...I hate puzzles that have pieces missing and I can't think of things much more frustrating for a toddler than getting as far as almost completing a puzzle only to find the last few pieces are missing.
I'm getting really pissed off with it. Am I being ungrateful? She does give me clothes too which is brilliant and I really appreciate it, but most of the toys just end up in the bin because it's rubbish, but why can't she do this?? My DH reckons she's so emotionally attached to it that she finds it easier to give it to me than to throw it away. He also reckons I should tell her not to give it to me, but for some reason I feel like I'm being rude and ungrateful! And I keep thinking that eventually she'll run out of crap stuff to give me, but it just keeps coming!
But seriously AIBU to think that if you're going to hand things down to other children, they should be in a reasonable condition?? Why would you hand down broken toys that have been selotaped back together? Am I being ungrateful?