Bewildered by the cost of these toys - what's the point

[PetiteSourisManoir]

Yesterday I went to visit an old friend. We went to primary school together (all girls private so I'm not going to pretend I'm not also privileged). She's been living abroad for several years but now has a little girl who's 3. I have 2 DC who are 2 and 3.

Anyway, she showed me around her home which was lovely but I've left feeling a little bewildered by the cost of some of the toys.

Her daughter has a rocking horse, I commented that it was lovely and asked where it was from, custom ordered from a specialist maker. I asked how much and she said a little shy of £5000 but it's an heirloom piece. Fair enough I suppose, not something I would do but I get that it's intended to be passed on for generations.
When we were in the toy room and the kids were playing though I noticed how so many of these toys seemed expensive. I got nosey and decided to have a google when I got home. Dolls house - £870, play kitchen - £569, tea set - £129. There were more but these stood out to me!

Now I have 2 boys, but our play kitchen was £160 and I thought that was ridiculous. Now it has crayon marks, stickers etc. on it and frankly I wish I'd spent less or got it secondhand!

AIBU to think what is the bloody point in toys this expensive? Have you ever bought your kids a ridiculously expensive toy? If so why?

I pined for a proper, old-fashioned dolls' house when I was a child and never got one because they were too expensive (no internet in those days so no chance of buying a cheap one to restore). I'd have treasured it and it would have been 100% worth it if my parents had been able and willing to buy me one.

Sorry OP your thread comes across as socially inept and clueless when you consider there are a shit ton of people struggling to heat their house let alone buy a £5K rocking horse.

As for you asking how much your friend paid for it, really? When you were in her house ... And then coming on here to discuss it.

All kinds of wrong.

Why does wondering about the price of something suggest a person is jealous?

Ive googled the price of things I've seen in other peoples houses before out of interest, I have absolutely no desire to have those things myself but that doesn't mean I'm not curious about the price. Why would that be your conclusion?

Is the Dolls House from Harrods?

I can’t get over asking someone how much something cost, I was always raised in the belief that a question like that is really rude!

Anyway, my answer to your OP is that these things are all relative. To a person surviving on £15 of disposable income every month it probably seems ludicrous that you spent £160 on a play kitchen. Taylor Swift recently gave a child she visited in hospital her own set of the outfit Taylor was wearing, at a cost of £4,500. That’s a huge sum for most people but literally not even pocket change to a billionaire like Swift. There’s no point in fretting about what other people spend on these things because there is no objectively reasonable sum to spend on anything; it all depends entirely on the buyer’s personal circumstances.

@YesExactlyYes I also asked for one too as a child but never ever got one.

I had a lovely wooden play kitchen. It cost quite a lot (nowhere near £500) but it was
Over £100 it soon looked battered and grubby

I sold it for £40

I agree with you op. What a total waste of money. And even if they are sold on second hand I’m sure there will be a massive reduction in price. Small children tend to lose interest in toys very quickly. I don’t think I’d spend that much even if I were rich..

We have a Stevenson rocking horse, I have no idea how much it cost as my husbands grandma bought it about 20 years ago. Its huge, its also very strong as it can take my weight. As its made from wood you have to make sure the room its in remains at a steady temperature and humidity so it doesn’t crack. While it was a lovely gesture to give it to us, it just gets in the way.

I think most things are normal prices, our play kitchen was about £80 second hand, it had been looked after so no drawing on it etc. Destroying toys is a no no in our family, you can still have fun with and enjoy a toy without breaking it, scribbling on it etc.

Spending a visit to a friends house and focusing on the toys enough to successfully find them online is both very weird, and not the actions of an actual friend.

Id ask a close friend this if I was thinking of buying it. Fgs it’s a toy it’s not like she was asking how much her house cost. It’s only a thread calm down .

I don't have the kind of disposable income that would allow for a 5k rocking horse. I don't think I'd get one, even if I did, because I wouldn't want to be annoyed if it got trashed or broken by a toddler!

Having said that, what dos it matter? If it makes them happy (as a family, because this kind of purchasing is definitely about one or both parents' enjoyment) and they can afford it, it doesn't really matter what Joe Bloggs thinks.

@DreamW3aver Would you start a detailed thread on here though, having poked around their house and asked nosy questions?

I cannot imagine asking someone what their child's toy cost. That's very odd behaviour.

I would love to know if this is true but if you have a huge amount of money does £100 become like a tenner to most normal wage earners ? So everything you buy is reasonable while everyone else would be open-mouthed. If you only shop at high end shops like harrods does it just become normal to spend £700 on a box of crackers ?

Yup sure, you have your red lines and I have mine. It just doesn't come across as a nice thing to do to a friend.

Having an opinion about something doesn't mean I'm not already calm, but thanks for your concern

I always wanted one of these when I was a child too. Back then they were rare and few and far between. I see them everywhere now I used to just make dolls houses with empty cardboard boxes!

Yes it is, why?

My father made me a dolls’ house, around 1975.

I have no idea what it cost him to make, but the current generation of small kids in our family still enjoy playing with it.

Well I agree toys should be looked after.

But I'd rather see them defaced and used than see them never used in case they get damaged.

I find it extremely sad that some people buy toys and have them sat in their boxes just so they can sell them at some inflated price at a later date. Similar to the idea that some wines and whiskys etc are bought as an investment rather than to actually drink. Totally warped.

If I am ever fortunate to become a grandmother to a granddaughter she will be gifted a dolls house, a beautiful one. I will make it my life's mission 😂

It’s not how I would spend my money (if I had it!), but it’s nice that there’s still a market for beautiful handmade toys, it keeps the skills and craftsmanship alive.

i wouldn’t find it rude if a friend asked me how much a child’s toy cost. What’s the big deal ? Asking how much someone earns or how much their house cost I would find rude however . The world is getting so snowflakey, honestly.

You’re being incredibly judgmental. What you mean is she has more money than you and you don’t approve of how she’s spending it

£160 I’m guessing is the deluxe John Lewis 🙂

It’s all relative, I suppose. Some people have more money than they know what to do with.

I bought my dc a similarly priced rocking horse when they were a similar age. An antique Ayres though, not a reproduction. I bought it for me really; I always wanted one and having a dc was the excuse I needed I suppose! Plus I inherited some money from a grandparent and I wanted to spend it on something that could be an heirloom to remember them by.

My dc were never that interested in it, to be honest, but it is thing of great beauty and I still get a huge amount of joy looking at it, years later. Visiting children always make a beeline for it, and that makes me happy.