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’m less concerned with the price of her toys and more that your kids are allowed to deface and trash theirs

I don't think I've ever started a thread on here, whats that got to do with anything ?

Oooft...lots of people quite testy on this subject, appears to have hit a nerve.

What's the outrage over asking how much the rocking horse cost? The OP was admiring it. I'd definitely ask one of my good friends how much they spent on an item. They'd ask me. And have. So what?

A £££ teaset for kids is a bit like an elaborately decorated cake...very nice until it's put to use, then it's a cake like any other.
It's a waste of money to me...but it's not my money so I don't care.

She and her partner must be very wealthy so the amount of money spent on her dc is probably in proportion to it .
There will be others that think your dc have a lot spent on them and so on .it's all relative .

You know there’s a middle ground though, right? Well used and well loved but still looked after.

My eldest got a play kitchen for her first birthday. Not overly expensive, about £80. It has been played with nearly every day for four years by her and her now almost 2 year old sibling.

It still looks in new condition despite being so well loved because they I taught them to look after their toys. I don’t allow them to deface them.

I wouldn’t call crayon marks and stickers trashing and defacing thays normal child behaviour. What’s the point of a toy if you have to follow a child around making sure they don’t put a sticker on it etc ?

Well anyone that has a "toy room" is obviously going to have a lot of money to spend.

Never mind the cost of each individual toy.

Anyone who is massively over-consuming in the present day with the justification that they are investing in heirlooms for their future dynasty is frankly delusional. Odds are good that everyone will be on the move within a generation, fleeing climate crisis and societal breakdown with only what they can carry on their backs.

A huge heavy wooden horse is an expensive way of storing a single night of firewood slathered in toxic paint and varnish fumes.

Sounds like she’s quite well off. Wealthy people buy expensive stuff. Why would she spend a few grand on kids toys instead of a few hundred? Well, the same reason some might spend five grand on a holiday instead of £500. Or £2 million on a house instead of £200k.

I bought second hand, and occasionally new.

All toys were sold on after my kids were done with them with a few given to cousins.

I thought of it as renting rather than buying.

Why does it bother you? It's up to her. She's keeping the dolls house manufacturer in business.

I hate posts like this one. Sour grapes.

She can start a thread on whatever she likes. You don't have to chime in.

Did she 'poke around their house'? I think that's your imagination isn't it? Hyperbole.

Nosy questions? They are friends...they went to primary school together. They know one another very well. It wasn't a formal viewing. It's FINE to ask your pal what she spent on a TOY she is showing off. Fuck sake.

I was at school with someone who an an heirloom rocking horse. Except that 40 years later neither she nor her sister want it and now their children are too old. It wasn't as good as my hand me down horse anyway!

I think essentially this just boils down to people earn good money and use it to buy nice things. Not really much more to it.

Yes of course there is a middle ground.

My son played with his toys and always looked after them. In fact some of his toys were bought from a brilliant Barnardo's charity shop near us and had been obviously donated by families where the toys had been played with and looked after. And when he got older a lot of his toys were passed on to other children and to the charity shop because they were still in good condition.

I wasn't advocating defacing toys.
But toys are meant to be played with not guarded for their resale value.

Do kids these days even want traditional dolls houses or rocking horses...or is it the parents who desire these things for their own aesthetic?
Do kids relate to them now?

What a profoundly silly comment. A £5,000 rocking horse is not going to be finished with toxic paint and varnish. No child’s toy is. The production of children’s toys is heavily regulated and any paints used very obviously have to be non-toxic.

It’s also not over-consumption to buy expensive toys rather than cheap toys. The environmental toll of an £800 dolls house is not greater than that of a £50 dolls house. In fact, the £800 version is more likely to be made in the UK by an artisan toy maker and is therefore probably significantly less environmentally costly than a mass produced one shipped to the UK from abroad where it will fall apart before it can be passed down or donated second hand.

I’m not disputing that over-consumption is a huge issue for people of virtually all economic backgrounds in the UK these days, but let’s not pretend one expensive wooden rocking horse is more of an issue than a cheap and cheerful version from a factory line.

Depends on the kid, surely? My 4yo’s favourite toys are his play kitchen and his dolls house. He loved a little rocking horse (not £5k…) when he was little but he’s too tall for it now.

No she doesn't. You're right, OP. It's a crazy amount to spend on toys.

I think you're getting a bit of a hard time OP - it's not unreasonable to ask the general price of something you're considering buying, and you looked the rest up yourself.
TBH posts like this just make me sad - one child sitting on a ridiculously expensive rocking horse and one wondering if they'll get a hot meal for dinner, never mind expensive presents, due simply to fortune of birth.

@OliveLeader
You're right, of course it depends on the child...I was thinking generally though.

Why wouldn't a child enjoy a rocking horse or dollhouse now? I don't really understand the thought process. They are toys designed for children of course they will enjoy them!

It probably does depend on the child but I’d imagine a lot of it is for aesthetic purposes. I doubt many children would know the difference between a 5000 rocking horse and a much cheaper one.

Make sure she actually wants one.
Some girls won't thank you for that.

I wouldn't because I'm poor but I think we all have a thing we spend money on that could be seen as a waste but get pleasure from whether that's starbucks coffees, designer handbags or in this case children's toys. People can spend their money however they like at least she's spending it on her kids and not on crack, I see that as a win