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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To HATE getting my kids getting given plastic tat for presents?

146 replies

Oops41 · 22/12/2020 13:48

Of course, for birthdays and Christmas people give presents (which is so lovely and kind and thoughtful of course) but I HATE it when they unwrap it and it's a piece of cheap plastic tat from Amazon. Inevitably they are poorly made, last one play, end up in the bin this creating more landfill. I thought I would avoid plastic crap this year with the children not having parties but some friends and family members have still been really kind and given presents despite this lovely kindness, I'm always really pissed off when they open it and its some cheap nasty plastic toy. I dont mean that I want them to spend more on them, they needed get presents at all, but in honesty a handmade card, a book, some sweets would be so much better. The children are always excited to receive presents and generally tear then open, get the toy out and it never lasts. They're not massively interested or it breaks very soon. Gaaaaaaah!
Does anyone else get really pissed off with this or am I a miserable old bag? Its seen rude to request certain gifts but honestly it would reduce so much wastage and landfill!

OP posts:
yoyo1234 · 22/12/2020 15:02

I would not call lego, Barbies, playmobil, fisher price garage, sylvanians plastic tat (maybe the garage but that maybe because my DC to date have not particularly liked cars/garages that I recall).

MistleTOEboughski · 22/12/2020 15:02

It's true this plastic tat is bad for the environment but rather than focus on kindly meant gifts it's better to reduce your own consumption and campaign for change in manufacturing laws.

BigGreen · 22/12/2020 15:05

YANBU! Mil thinks more is better and bought our kid 13 presents one year Shock and of course they were tat. I'm so strict now and impress on her just a couple of things and ask her to get them 2nd hand on eBay.

Original poster
Oops41 · 22/12/2020 15:06

@MistleTOEboughski is it ok for me to have a rant on mumsnet anonymously to get it off my chest without offending the kind gift givers AND reduce my own consumption and campaign for change. Or does doing this mean I cant do the other...?

OP posts:
Original poster
Oops41 · 22/12/2020 15:08

@biggreen second hand off ebay is a great idea

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TheKeatingFive · 22/12/2020 15:08

Ok, glad we’ve clarified that playmobile/lego isn’t plastic tat.

I’m still interested in this idea of breaking after one use. Even the crap free with magazines lasts a lot longer than than. Some of it is borderline indestructible.

TheGoogleMum · 22/12/2020 15:10

I think parents can be a bit too snobby about plastic toys. Wooden ones can be lovely but usually more expensive and kids often love the plastic stuff. DD has plastic toys that have lasted well, so maybe we just haven't been bought the sort of thing you mean! I can't imagine something so rubbish it lasts just one play session

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 22/12/2020 15:14

Not all plastic toys are tat but all tat is plastic

MistleTOEboughski · 22/12/2020 15:15

is it ok for me to have a rant on mumsnet anonymously to get it off my chest without offending the kind gift givers AND reduce my own consumption and campaign for change. Or does doing this mean I cant do the other...?
That's what AIBU is for I guess, useless rants.

Original poster
Oops41 · 22/12/2020 15:15

I mentioned Amazon I my first post and a PP questioned it. A reason I mentioned Amazon is because this is where most of the tat we recieve comes from. People have Amazon Prime and search for (eg toy pony/ toy car) and find it with Prime delivery so think it is legit. But it has come from china directly to the Amazon warehouse to fulfil and its unbranded cheap tat that probably doesnt meet manufacturing regs (CE etc) despite having this printed on the box. I have fallen foul of this too and think it has come straight from Amazon.

Become people jump on me and say all toys are made in China - I know! But they are through a company that will test, develop and make sure they are fit for purpose. Amazon is absolutely flooded with cheap knock offs coming straight from china that do not last. This is what I mean by cheap tat.

Apart from the landfill, we have also reciebed things that are unsafe. I recall a toy with a button battery in it that where the battery chamber did not require a screw to open it so my child could access it easily!! Scary stuff!

I'm not slagging of people who buy from amazon. I'm moaning about amazon and the lack of clarity of what is a decent product and what has just been shipped straight from a dodgy knock off factory

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sophs29 · 22/12/2020 15:23

I completely agree with you! So much so that I have told my family NOT to buy my DS toys unless they're ones he really likes and wants!
Instead we ask for books, colouring books, pens, pencils, painting sets, board games etc!
I 100% know the cheap toys you're talking about, they cost pennies (which is worrying for the factory workers making them) and literally your child presses a button or moves an arm and it snaps off and creates a bloody choking hazard for your child and more waste for landfill!

HitthatroadJack · 22/12/2020 15:23

I'm moaning about amazon and the lack of clarity of what is a decent product

honestly, if people buy tat, they would buy it from anywhere.
Amazon sell the exact same things you can buy from you local toy shop.

You don't even need children to know what brands are safe and decent.

If you receive a fake branded item, you can complain. It doesn't seem that common.

Dominicwestsscooter · 22/12/2020 15:28

You sound ungrateful. Maybe plastic tat is all people can afford.

Original poster
Oops41 · 22/12/2020 15:32

@hitthatroadjack brands are fine, this is not what I'm taking about.

Of course you can also buy cheap tat in shops too, but a buyer can see the quality more easily in a shop and, if they choose to but poor quality cheap plastic tat then that is entirely up to them. Amazon is FLOODED with millions of sellers who ship their products to the warehouse and it is then fulfilled by amazon. But it is tat. It is not amazon selling it. You cannot complain. It would be literally impossible to track down the seller or return it.

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Original poster
Oops41 · 22/12/2020 15:33

@dominicwestsscooter can you explain to me where I have sounded ungrateful? Have a little read of my posts again

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Beautifulbonnie · 22/12/2020 15:34

I 100% agree with you

I just despair at the amount of plastic we’re filling our world up with. When I’m healthy. We do beach cleans. It’s just plastic. More plastic.
However nowadays it’s hair bands?!? And masks that are filling our oceans.

Beautifulbonnie · 22/12/2020 15:35

We’re lucky. Our relatives also hate the plastic thing. So we don’t end up with much. If nothing else they give us money. Which goes on days out. Which we all enjoy.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 22/12/2020 15:36

We should be blaming the manufacturers who are making the breakable plastic tat.

Cassimin · 22/12/2020 15:38

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz
They have lots of toys, well did they’re in their 20s now
I’m a foster carer too do we have lots and lots of things to play with.
We have shelves full of games which we have had for years that are still played with we have boxes of crafts( making wizards hats with my granddaughter today)
I also have kallax units in our playroom full of toys so yes there is plenty to play with so we don’t need any more

dottiedodah · 22/12/2020 15:41

I think YANBU at all! I hate tat, especially as it has such a impact on the enviroment. Maybe you could drop a hint that a recent book say David Walliams or similar would be appreciated . Or a choc Santa ? Thankfully my family would usually give cash or some chocolate.

luckylavender · 22/12/2020 15:47

However cheap or plastic something is, it's very rare that a toy only lasts one play. Unless your children are really rough.

Original poster
Oops41 · 22/12/2020 15:55

@luckylavender we have had things that need assembling and I myself have been assembling them for the children and the plastic is so brittle that it has snapped. Before it's even been played with.

Its good that you have managed to avoid tat like that.

If something lasts we continue to play with it. If it doesnt it needs to be chucked and this is what makes me very cross

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Marleymoo42 · 22/12/2020 16:04

I suggested to the grandparents that they looked into getting second hand toys on Ebay when mine were toddlers. They looked at me like I had 2 heads. It's weird because they go on about recycling and washing out yogurt pots etc. But they are definitely not ok with my children not getting new. Surely the planet has reached peak toys?!

Metafizzical · 22/12/2020 16:09

Can you link to the type of tat you mean?

Lots of my kids toys are plastic and we are all v happy with them (e.g. paw patrol stuff, Lego, Playmobil, Magformers etc) do you mean the flimsy sort of toys that come on the front of a magazine or bulk bought nonsense for party bags?

BethlehemIsInTier1 · 22/12/2020 16:35

Well at least your children are getting gifts this year because many sadly won't be.