What to do (if anything) when kids want to spend their pocket money on plastic tat

[Scrumplet]

Because DS does. He saved up for a couple of months, and then took his pick at the toy shop. And he bought a made-in-China Power Rangers Megazord.

I'm caught between thinking it's his money, he's earned it and saved it up, and so it's his choice what he buys and from where - and wondering if I should veto these kinds of choices because of the ethics of buying something poor quality and plastic from the other side of the world, where workers may not be paid/treated respectfully, and with a lot of embodied energy and which can't be recycled. Rant over.

I don't want to lecture and rant. And in the face of a blanket ban, he is likely to rebel rather than take my ideas on board intrinsically. Is it a slow burn thing, especially with young kids, where they're given simple ethical information and left to make their own choice - and in time, they may or may not sign up to the same set of values?

I suppose the deal could be thaat he has to buy something so unsustainable like this second-hand? Ah, I dunno. Any thoughts?

If he is using his own pocket money which he's saved up then I think you should let him. By all means explain to him why you personally wouldn't choose to buy something like that yourself, but let him make his own decision.

And make sure that when he does get tired of it, it goes to the charity shop where someone else will get some use out of it.

Kids do get the message eventually. With mine it was after seeing a very moving nature documentary about polar bears, where a baby polar bear cub died. Now when we talk about the environment they crystallise my lectures about switching lights off, not too much bath water, etc into, "It's bad for the polar bears isn't it Mummy?"

Thanks, Fibonacci. You're right: DS needs to feel that if he earns and saves his pocket money, he can spend it on what he likes, toys-wise. I can keep him gently informed of the ethical issues connected to the choices he makes, but it is his choice. I think that if he adopts certain values in time because he chooses to, they will run deeper and will be more likely to stick ... it just might take a few purchases of plastic tat to reach that point!

In the meantime, I'll look out for age-appropriate, sum-it-all-up documentaries, and we will be frequenting charity shops and boot sales to get rid of any no-longer-played-with said tat. Already, not a lot goes in the bin in our house, so I think we'll do OK on this score.

Thanks again.