To think the baby/ children market has a lot to answer for in terms of plastic

[Peaplant20]

I’m a recent FTM and everything is made of plastic with very few affordable alternatives - all the must have toys, weaning equipment, I was even looking at a tuff tray earlier to buy LO for Christmas and trying to think how I could make my own non-plastic version (metal tray on legs?). It’s like the whole industry is just plastic.

Lidl and Aldi do really nice wooden toys for not very much money - DD has quite a few of them.

The problem is that plastic is cheap, easy to make brightly coloured and into many shapes and designs (and therefore appealing to children), and is easy to clean (and therefore appealing to parents). It's far from ideal, but at least a lot of it can last and can be bought second hand. Far more concerning in some ways is probably things like disposable nappies and baby wipes which won't biodegrade and just sit for centuries in holes in the ground after one use!

There's shit loads of wooden toys and bamboo eating utensils in Smyths

Yep. I feel sick at the amount of plastic and unnecessary stuff my kids have had over the years. It's better now they are older, and I do feel that some attitudes are changing. My kids definitely expect less in terms of presents etc, and things like crackers, balloons, etc, from am environmental point of view. We still buy way too much stuff though.

You’re not wrong, it’s piles and piles of plastic tat.

Tbh I make/made the effort to buy second hand. Realistically for the first few years these toys don’t hold their attention for very long. Same as the clothes, most stuff is practically perfect by the time people pass it on/sell/donate.

There’s a couple of subscription toy library services too which I didn’t discover till quite late on.

Yes it’s awful. I try to only get second hand plastic toys as i can’t bear buying it all. There are lots of nice wooden toys around too.

Yanbu. If I were having my children again now I would ask everyone to buy second hand toys if at all possible.

I also agree re. one-use wipes (not just baby wipes) but you can't say that on Mumsnet!

The problem is with seeing it as “must have” toys. Babies and children don’t need or want half the junk they have, it’s parents (mostly mothers) who want the stuff and are the ones buying it.

Plastic does last well though, which I know is also the issue with it, but we have loads of second hand toys and have passed on a lot as well to others to enjoy- even some of mine from the 1980s are in good working order still. Wood doesn't last as well imo, we have some lanke kande for example, and the colour chipped away and peeled quickly, so wouldn't be as happy to pass it on for someone else to enjoy. A few things have broken too, and actually during covid wood hasn't been as good as can't be washed in the same way as plastic. That said, of course there's an excess and over consumerism is a big issue, especially for cheap toys that won't last more than a few plays.

As with anything, if people checked if it already exists second hand first, and then just buys what they need and not in excess that would make a huge difference.

Yanbu op it's terrible.

There's nothing inherently wrong with plastic - it lasts, is easy to clean, is light so uses less fuel to transport. It's disposable, one use stuff we need to deal with the most.

Yes theres lots. I had visions of a beautiful minimalist toy shelf full of open ended wooden toys but as it turns out we've got loads of plastic things that she absolutely loves, they're just not new- we use lots of stuff passed on from cousins, I pick bits up in the charity shop or if theres something I think she'd particularly like i try to find it on marketplace - most things turn up on there eventually. Up to now I've managed to keep everything in a good enough state to pass on again when we're done with it - plastic is durable and easy to clean so there's that.

I did buy a tuff tray though, she'll have it for years and again we can pass it on after.

Try Whirli for toys. You keep a toy for as long as a child wants it, but then you can swap it for something else when the child is done with it.

I agree completely with you.

But…..(and I’m sorry if this sounds sanctimonious)

We need to adjust our expectations of what we can afford. Plastic has put products into our reach that previous generations couldn’t have afforded.

I saw a comment recently where someone was describing an 18th c peasant cottage in an historical folk park and rather thinking about the bare bones poverty of the exhibit she was adding up the cost of handmade solid wood furniture, hand crafted bespoke fire irons, organic linen hand bedding, organic locally sourced food with very occasionally grass fed meat etc and she concluded that she could barely afford the standard of living of a peasant.

It’s really hard when we’ve been used to having so much so cheaply but all this time it’s the planet that has been paying for it.

If we can’t afford the sustainable alternative, the truth is that we (and the planet) can’t afford to have that item.

It’s not just toys for babies and young children.

I saw a fidget toy advent calendar advertised in the Range. 25 various bits of crap quality plastic which will be landfill in a few weeks and will proceed to sit there for however many thousands of years.

Yes it's awful to think of the landfill. Good quality plastic toys that last don't feel as bad, and I've bought lots of second hand playmobil, lego etc. But the cheap shit that breaks quickly, or single use stuff like balloons, spray webs etc is awful. That said, it's hard to always buy second hand. I'm trying to get specific stuff now dc are older and hate ebay (just posted a rant on another thread), and can't seem to sell our stuff (good condition, low price) on fb. Dc
also like the boxes etc that new stuff comes in. Feels like we need a whole mindset change.

I can't think of another material I would want baby/young children's toys made from. Plastic is light, really easy to clean, can be moulded into many shapes and can be very durable.

Bamboo and Wood unfortunately is difficult to clean, heavy, can splinter, is too ridged to take a battering from small children and is a very good projectile for damaging everything else in the room when throw.

Metal can also be dangerous if it breaks due to sharp edges, heavy, is easy to dent and colours come off it easily. Also you definitely wouldn't want babies to put in their mouthes.

Glass is also a poor choice for small children and babies as it's fragile, is dangerous when broken and is an excellent projectile.

Plastic is not the problem here , the problem is poor quality items that break easily, overconsumption and too much of it is being thrown away rather than going to a second hand shop or recycled.

Must-have toys? Must have??!! Why MUST they have them?
My kids loved big cardboard boxes, anything with wheels, pots pans and wooden spoons, things from the kitchen for measuring, sieves etc.

What do you mean 'weaning equipment'? IMHO you don't need anything special.

When mine were weaning, they initially sat on my knee while I ate and were allowed to help themselves with fingers from what I was eating cooked without salt and mushed with a fork if necessary, and pushed to the nearest point of my plate. No waste, no plastic.
They progressed from tasting food to their own plate and bowl (melamine at first, admittedly, but actually our picnic kit) with child-sized metal cutlery (was in our family since the 1950s). You could opt for enamelled metal bowl cup and plate.
They sat at the table on a cushion with a cloth tie to secure them - like the Totseat but handmade by a neighbour.

Plastic is not the big issue.

Single use/throwaway plastic is.

Plastic is a strong, safe, useful material.MiL & DM have countless old toys of mine & DH - 30 year old playmobil, lego etc, still going strong.

Use plastic. Then keep on using it& reusing it. Dont buy junky cheap plastic toys that will break etc. Look after the plastic items you buy, dont leave them in hot sun etc that will make them perish faster.

That's another point - good quality plastic toys can and do last. DD (2) is getting a 60s Fisher Price dolls' house for Christmas this year, that I got from eBay, with original, bombproof plastic characters and furniture. It just needs a bit of cleaning and prettying up. I can't get aerated about that sort of plastic. Looking around, we've also got an 80s Fisher Price plastic play garage which has taken punishment from at least three sets of children, now. eBay does have some absolute gems if you have time to look for them.

@Ariela

Must-have toys? Must have??!! Why MUST they have them? My kids loved big cardboard boxes, anything with wheels, pots pans and wooden spoons, things from the kitchen for measuring, sieves etc.

What do you mean 'weaning equipment'? IMHO you don't need anything special.

When mine were weaning, they initially sat on my knee while I ate and were allowed to help themselves with fingers from what I was eating cooked without salt and mushed with a fork if necessary, and pushed to the nearest point of my plate. No waste, no plastic.
They progressed from tasting food to their own plate and bowl (melamine at first, admittedly, but actually our picnic kit) with child-sized metal cutlery (was in our family since the 1950s). You could opt for enamelled metal bowl cup and plate.
They sat at the table on a cushion with a cloth tie to secure them - like the Totseat but handmade by a neighbour.

So they didn't have any toys, just played with pots and pans? That's a shame, a lot of toys are good fun and good for development actually. The issue is people thinking they need loads of them rather than having a reasonable amount. Personally I used plastic reusable cutlery and bowls when weaning, and for bottles as they could go through the dishwasher, be sterilised and wouldn't cause injury, metal?!

I don’t think there is. It’s there, but you don’t need to buy it. Ds is 20 months.

Ds was breastfed and we had a couple of glass bottles as back up
He has a stainless steal beaker
He uses regular plates and cutlery ( teaspoons and pastry forks)
He has some plastic toys like duplo ( mostly secondhand), but the majority still wooden or soft at his age. Blocks, train track, soft teddies, puzzles etc

I’m sure there’s other plastic we use, but it’s really not the majority

I agree that it’s not plastic that’s the issue but garbage, disposable cheap plastic. I’d ban toy magazines first, and lol dolls would be a close second because of the stupid amount of plastic packaging. I can’t understand why we can’t just buy everything loose in cardboard boxes, or take our own when we buy something.

This is exactly the stage of life where plastic comes into its own. My kids' plastic toys are safe, practical, durable and fun.

The plastic packaging that is nearly impossible to avoid for my own purchases is a much bigger problem.

Hmm, not sure it is that plastic is inherently bad. It is the attitude to plastic items as disposable.

My kids have had a lot of plastic toys. Many, we bought second hand, used for years, then sold on or gave away to be used for many years more.

The wooden toys I have bought have been mainly binned when the cat pissed in the toy box. (More of an argument against cats than wooden toys, tbf).

A tuff tray, to use an example from the OP, should have many practical uses for life, and I think that is fine.