Whose Toys Are They Anyway?
A few weeks ago at the park Robin showed some interest in a dump truck that another child was playing with. He was easily distracted to another target, but I decided that it’s time for my little boy to have a dump truck of his own, so I went online and bought one.
I’m a fan of Green Toys, a San Francisco company that makes toys out of post-consumer recycled plastics (they’re all BPA and phthalate free), so I got the dump truck they make:
It’s fantastic. It’s much bigger and sturdier than the flimsy little plastic things other kids are bringing to the sandbox, and something about those rounded curves and cheerful colors makes it incredibly appealing. I love it. Other children love it too. They converge on this truck as if it were made out of cake every time we bring it to the park. They will push it around and load it up with sand and run it down the sidewalks and do all the things that I imagined Robin doing with his superior dump truck. I think they would probably play with the truck for hours if they were allowed. They always cry when their parents eventually take them away from it.
Meanwhile Robin has generally wandered off, because, truth be told, he’s not very interested in the truck.
I bring it with us anyway. I bring it because there’s some juvenile part of me that likes having the best truck in the sandbox, even if my kid never plays with it.
This isn’t the only toy I’ve ostensibly bought for Robin, only to discover that the one most pleased by it is me. I’m irresistibly drawn to wooden toys: sustainably-harvested, handmade, yadda yadda yadda. We have all these attractive, sturdy, old-fashioned pieces sitting in our home now gathering dust, because Robin spends his time almost exclusively playing with plastic beepy things made in China.
I mention all this because I think it’s funny, not because I’m planning on amending my purchasing habits or anything. Why would I do that? I’ve got all these awesome toys now!
July 7th, 2009 at 8:18 am
I can assure you that all of those toys will be played with eventually. I’ve found the toys with the most staying power so far have always been the wooden ones. The noisy beepy ones are initially the most attractive, but the ones that hold kids interest for a half hour or more are the basic wooden blocks. Just saying….
July 7th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
That IS a very handsome truck!
I see just such a truck in my — I mean, our little boy’s — future.
Is that also the sand set that you ended up with?
July 8th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Yes, we have the sand set too! It’s also high-quality and attractive — my only beef is that we lost the shovel and you can’t buy replacements separately.
I was chatting with Wendy the other day about how the shovel is the most cherished item of any sand set — rakes are universally scorned, and while buckets are nice, they basically depend on the shovel to achieve maximum fun. Unless of course you have a walrus handy.
But mostly kids just want the shovel.
I got the Green Toys recycling truck too (http://www.greentoys.com/recycling.htm). Robin likes loading it up with those wooden blocks you gave him!
July 8th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I think that’s a great truck.
July 9th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Did you call the company? When I was looking at the reviews I noticed that someone mentioned that her family lost the rake and the company sent them one for free… esp worth a try since they’re in SF!
That recycling truck is just too cute.
July 10th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Hey that’s a good idea! I just sent them an email.
July 17th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
[…] I am in very great danger of totally blowing the household budget on birthday presents. As we’ve already established, I’m not really great at separating out the things I desire for Robin with the things that I […]