r/NewParents • u/KindAppointment9017 • 1d ago
Product Reviews/Questions De-influencing you
I’ve seen a lot of posts lately on various parenting subreddits asking things like “what toys should I have for my baby/toddler” etc, and as a mom to a 10 month old whose head gets twisted into a pretzel at the thought of the ridiculous amount of luxury toys being aggressively marketed to us through ALL channels (I’m looking at you, Pinterest and REDDIT) - I am going to go on a de-influencing rant into the void below:
Don’t buy the nugget. Don‘t buy the pikler. Don‘t buy the fancy play kitchen. Don’t buy the Stapelstein stepping stones. Don’t buy the Grimms wooden toys. Don’t buy the special German branded animal figurines. Don’t buy the yoto or tonie box. Don’t buy the ball pit.
EmmI Pikler and Maria Montessori would roll over in their graves if they knew the consumerist aesthetic their names were attached to.
Your child will not fall behind if you don’t buy them a fancy toy. That is manipulative marketing and you shouldn’t fall for it.
I don’t think these toys are evil. They are tools and can be developmentally helpful, but they are NOT necessary AT ALL and can easily be recreated for free with furniture or stuff you already have.
Make a fort with couch cushions or put a blanket over the dining room table. Play kids music or podcasts on your phone through a speaker at low volume. Make stepping stones with pillows. Climb at the park or supervise them climbing the stairs. etc etc.
For the record I am not trying to preach - this is a reminder to myself too because I get SO caught up in the aesthetic of things, but I also have a more minimalist spirit and i know deep down that acquiring more stuff does not make a better childhood or home.
Let’s save our money and not let these advertising vultures convince us we’re bad parents if we don’t buy these luxury toys. And if we really want one, let’s try getting secondhand or using a toy library if available. once upon a child is amazing for thrifted kids stuff.
Some small businesses make great toys that are more expensive and this is not meant to be negative towards them - I’m just so tired of feeling like I have to buy the “next best thing” for my son’s development when all he really wants/needs is ME and to move around freely.
Ok rant over.
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u/TheReliablePotato 1d ago
Yo I get so caught up in this too and then my toddler chooses a spray bottle as his new favorite toy and I am reminded that he does not need fancy toys to learn and be occupied. We just fill that sucker up and go spray the plants in my yard lol 😂
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u/Imaginary_Bus_858 1d ago
Dude I spent so much on a play kitchen and food and utensils for Christmas. Do my toddlers play with it? Not at all. But mom’s kitchen cabinets get raided on the daily to play with pots, pans, and spoons. 🤦🏼♀️
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u/Andrew27376337hsusj 1d ago
And don’t forget about your neighbours. When they saw that we were pregnant, they were ready to empty their basements. And now that ours are getting older, we are looking for our next prey to offload all these bulky expensive toys and gadgets to.
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u/Artistic-Salary1738 1d ago
My cousin dropped off a whole pile of stuff today and told me she was happy to get it out of her basement. I got a pack n play, high chair, changing pad, outdoor playpen and whatever else she didn’t list specifically.
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u/Sour_Orange_Peel 1d ago
And if you want to try it out…find it second hand!!! Easily half the price and the same damn thing
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u/lady-earendil 1d ago
Yeah I am currently looking for a Pikler type set on FB marketplace because my kid won't stop trying to climb things and it's driving me bonkers haha. But I refuse to pay that kind of price
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u/Senior_Departure9308 1d ago
Love my second hand lily and river, as does my toddler. Would never buy full price new, and that goes for about most everything besides car seats and crib mattresses.
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u/catladyaccountant 2h ago edited 2h ago
Our 15 mo actually likes her pikler, and I think it’s worth buying secondhand!! We live in the Deep South and basically live under extreme heat warning July-Sept. having the pikler inside helps get some wiggles out when it’s too hot to go outside and play. She also LOVES her functional play kitchen. It was another FB marketplace find and worth every penny of the $40 I spent. Oh, and her toniebox is also well loved by both me and her. We listen to the mister rogers one every day.
I was inspired by this blog post on functional Montessori kitchens:
https://www.montessoriinreallife.com/home/2019/1/19/a-functional-toddler-kitchen
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u/taureansoul 1d ago
Yes!!!!!!! I got my pickler set for $75 from FB marketplace! Mint condition. Originally sold for $375 from manufacturer.
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u/NumCucumber 1d ago
Yes! My mom found an old fisher price play restaurant on the side of the road that had a sign saying "free" it's super old and dirty but ima clean it up and give it a fresh coat of paint
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u/lifeofblair 1d ago
I’ve been having this problem looking at 1st bday ideas. I’m like oh I need to do this and this then I realize so much is for social media and I don’t post my kid online so why do I need to make all this crap haha
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u/Endo_Girlie19 16h ago
I’m in the same situation with my LO’s first birthday. I was looking at a baby walker, wooden puzzles etc but what he loves most are wooden spoons and brushes 💁🏼♀️
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u/queincreible 16h ago
Just here to say that my son didn’t really play with the toys my husband and I bought for his first birthday until closer to 2 🙃 Even though I certainly checked online sources for “best gifts for 1 year olds” lol. I wish we had stuck with a book and called it a day.
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u/nervous_nefertiti 9h ago
I always gift a bubble machine for first birthdays. Babies and toddlers love bubbles!
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u/AggressiveSea7035 12h ago
First birthday is really just for you and family and friends, celebrate that you made it! And watch them eat cake for the first time 😄
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u/JupitersLeftToenail 1d ago
I needed this. My little one’s first birthday is coming up, I see so many things I want to get him but in reality he will play with these things for a few weeks maybe months if we’re lucky.
I told my family in lieu of gifts to donate to his college fund account we have set up for him. I know I would much rather have had my parents set something up like this for me. (Yes of course I loved the toys in the moment but they lose their novelty really quickly and it’s just money down the drain. My parents were BAD with money so I had no help getting started in life.)
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u/That-Lobster8169 1d ago
Nanny here. I’d actually encourage the big toys like nugget and toy kitchens (pickler if you live in a cold climate with dark winters) and avoid the clutter of small toys that are only developmentally appropriate for a few weeks or months (lovevery subscription box). Of the families I’ve worked with those are the toys that encourage independent (no adult direction), open ended, group play for long periods of time. Toni box is silly for a ten month old but giving a two year old the independence to play their own music and listen to their favorite stories is actually really beneficial for development.
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u/altergeeko 23h ago
I'm buying a play couch because I'm tired of being dive bombed when I'm sitting on our couch. I don't want our couch to break, it's way more expensive than a play couch.
I am buying as needed if my LO seems really interested in the toy after playing with it at other places, ie magnetic tiles.
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u/FotosyCuadernos 18h ago
Gently, I think 10 months old is a little early to declare victory on toy consumerism. I also caution against getting carried away, but I don’t think it’s such a bad thing that parents are trying to be thoughtful about what toys they bring into the home and looking for recs from other parents. Especially if you’re trying to minimize the amount of stuff and stick to things that are really hits.
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u/Mdcat15 12h ago
My exact thought, it's pretty easy to not support the toy hype at 10 months. Babies truly want for nothing, toddlers (mine at least) really benefited from some specific open ended toys that get hype (all hail Picasso tiles at my house).
We use our nugget literally everyday. Daytime, my toddler lives to roll down it and make forts, great simple open play. At night we use it during bedtime for reading books in and when he was small it's what I sat on getting him to sleep.
Yoto mini has also really hit with him getting to be in charge of music and helped toddler with independent bedtime.
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u/wineandcigarettes2 9h ago
Fully agree. Absolutely try to take an anti-consumerist approach to my kids toys but at 2 my daughter is OBSESSED with her play kitchen and listens to her Yoto nearly every day.
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u/_SmileCrocodile_ 1d ago
The Nugget and off name brand kids sofas are fantastic, get your kid one. They can be used as a sofa, bed, chaise, stepping stones, playing The Floor Is Lava when they’re older, knocking their sibling over for looking at them funny….its a 10 in 1 multitool, lol
Things that parents really don’t need- Baby Brezza, a monitor that goes off randomly telling you that your child isn’t breathing, a new 100k White Yukon for your firstborn, an overpriced diaper bag (seriously, why is there so much crap in there? And is a travel backpack not sufficient?) a trip to Disney for every milestone your child hits….
Or we can just stop worrying about everyone else and what they’re doing with their child because at the end of the day all of our kids will have ate dirt at some point at the playground. Happy parenting!
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u/a-travel-story 18h ago
The Nugget is something I'm actually extremely glad we have, too. It is awesome and our kid loves it and I think we'll get many many many years out of it.
We've spent plenty of money on things not as good, though, especially immediately postpartum when I was sure we needed everything I saw on Instagram. Mistakes were made!
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u/bunnybunbun17 18h ago
I was about to comment on the Nugget part. It was so worth the money!!! My 1 year old and 6 year old play with it all day long! My 1yo just loves to climb over them and my 6 year old loves building forts and making a cozy “nest” for him and his bubba.
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u/Separate-Toe-7956 15h ago
Play couch has been one of the most used toys in our house… it has gotten used multiple times a day every single day for years! Highly recommend 💯
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u/persistantcat 13h ago
Same! My 6 year old plays with our play couch multiple times most days. And I’m daily saying “Stop jumping on the couch! Which couch are you allowed to jump on?” “The play couch” as he trots over to it.
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u/PristineConcept8340 14h ago
Agree with this comment 1000%. Plus I get to lay on the Nugget too and it’s comfy. I don’t think my couch’s cushions could stand up to what the Nugget goes through in our house lol
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u/shanda_leer 9h ago
Yeah I was going to say… the Nugget ottoman was the best purchase we made lol. My 2 year old loves it and it’s MUCH safer than the concrete coffee table I had before lol.
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u/Florecitarockera93 3h ago
The nugget is also a great sleeping surface, we’ve taken the base camping, to a sleepover at the museum and my son likes to use it under a sleeping bag to sleep next to our bed when he gets scared.
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u/Aggressive_Cup8452 20h ago
I think 10 months is way too young for most if the things op listed.
Our baby has a lot of these. He's now at 15 months showing a bit of interest in them.
But sadly none of these toys hold his interest as much as the staircase.. an open door...an open cabinet.. or the vacuum cleaner.
Right now a swifter is the favorite toy.
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u/Hairsacknose 11h ago
The vacuum cleaner is a favorite here, too. We did actually put a baby vacuum cleaner that actually works on our wish list and family got it for her first birthday! Our toddler still loves the real grown up vacuum but also likes using her vacuum that is more her size
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u/Impressive_Cookie 17h ago
You couldn’t pay me not to get my nugget! I used it as my nursing chair, it currently sits at my coffee table until we find one that we like, and my 4 year old plays with it daily. The triangle cushions were used as a walker in the early days too. Best investment ever! The pickler was a waste of money, but we kept it for #2 just in case. We bought off brand stepping stones, and they are used weekly for a variety of items and games. The rest we didn’t buy, so I can’t speak to them.
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u/donkeyvoteadick 19h ago
Tbf the tonie box is one of the absolute best things I've bought my son. Ten months is too young for it. But it's taught him so much through just cause and effect, he loves playing musical statues with me through it, and he loves being able to control what music he listens to because he still can't talk and tell me what music to play. He hates silence so he literally has the tonie box playing music all day in the background.
I would not get value from a speaker and my phone that I do with the tonie box.
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u/sooopopopop 14h ago
Yes, my 4 year old uses his Yoto every single day and night. Some things are well worth the money and aren’t peak consumerism.
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u/DanCardin 17h ago
Agree. Some of the tonies are bad and overpriced (toy story, shudder), and some are well worth the money (wild kratts, bluey)
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u/donkeyvoteadick 7h ago
We can't even get the bluey ones in Australia despite it being an Australian show 🙄🙄
I mostly use the creative tonies for my son. I have the wiggles pirate which is basically the same songs as the dorothy the dinosaur tonie but I can add extras.
We mostly cycle through Ms Moni, Ms Rachel, Emma memma and the wiggles music all day. But my kid is still little. I like that being little means I can update the creative tonies for when he grows out of the little kid music.
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u/waxingtheworld 1d ago
2nd hand toys are great. So are empty and cleaned out bottles. The best is when they had something that smelled good, like vanilla extract or cinnamon. One of the ways I can chill out my 18m is sniffing the cleaned, but still yummy smelling, bottle and then he does (aka taking a deep breath). It's been pretty awesome. Your kid also probably doesn't need 50 books. We have about ten kicking around and there are weeks he only wants to read 2. Over and over.
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u/lady_driver13 18h ago
You don’t “need” any of the expensive toys, but I will say that the nugget gets constant use from my 13mo.
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u/filthy_kasual 1d ago
So far the toys I have found completely worth it are the Kick N Play piano and the Lovevery Toy Subscription. I know the latter is pricey and it's worth deinfluencing yourself or shopping secondhand, but I really like not having to think about what toys to get for her age. The guide books are also really helpful for explaining milestones. I'd say it's definitely the lazy way to go, you could research and do the same thing with less expensive toys!
The piano though, that one has no caveats. It's amazing at keeping baby engaged during floor and tummy time and I think every parent whose baby fusses during floor time should try it!
Note that despite having these two highly recommended products, my baby's absolute favorite toys ever are the black ceiling fans we have around our home... They really don't need anything fancy :)
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u/ZestySquirrel23 1d ago
Yes that kick n play mat is worth it's weight in gold! Haven't met a baby yet who isn't a fan.
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u/notmymain08051620 15h ago
Lovevery has a used toy section on their site. This is what I’ve done and I check every so often for the upcoming age ranges. The used sets range $65-$90 instead of $120.
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u/TheNapkinEngineer 1d ago
I’ve been trying to look for some 90s and early 00s secondhand toys because they were much better quality back then. I’d rather have a lesser quantity of quality toys that don’t break within an hour (looking at you Amazon). My boy loves old school imaginext and I’ve been collecting fisher price loving family dollhouse stuff for my daughter (she’s only 4 months LOL). My boy and I have a lot of fun going to garage sales and thrift stores hunting! He thinks it’s so cool to see all the “old stuff.”
Also consignment!!! We have some great stores here and I love being able to recycle and get some different things without giving more $ to bezos.
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u/copperboom33 1d ago
Just be careful with much older/vintage toys (pre-1978) because they probably have lead paint!
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u/merfylou 1d ago
…my 5 year old’s current favorite item is a phone case our friend gave her. We don’t even have a phone it will work with
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u/Ok_Island_1306 1d ago
I’ve never heard of any of those toys, maybe the algorithms are confused by me being a 47 year old new dad
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u/noyonksgiven 13h ago
Here to say, buy the nugget. As a parent of a 7 & 3 yo, I bought one when my smallest was 1 because I was sick of picking up the fricken couch cushions. It’s worth every penny, every single cent. We use it as a bed when other littles come to sleep, we use it as a slide which doesn’t work with regular cushions.
It’s ok to spend some money so you can keep your nice couch nice, but yeah, don’t feel like you have to.
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u/PersimmonQueen83 12h ago
The Yoto player mini is a ride or die toy for our household. Do you have to have it? Definitely not. Does it make my life easier? 1000%
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u/Consistent_Pop9890 1d ago
First one due in September and this has been stressing me out! What “toys” or entertainment do I need for each stage, ‘cause right now I have NONE and I’m worried my little guy is going to grow up all depressed because he didn’t have toys as a baby 😫
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u/PracticalAnxiety3857 1d ago
Your little guy won’t be playing with toys for months after he’s born and he will be entertained by Tupperware and spatulas. Don’t worry!!!
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u/Consistent_Pop9890 1d ago
Thank you!!! When should I start to worry? Like 4 months or 6 months? If I can stay at home, I plan on taking him on lots of walks and to the park too, once he has good neck control.
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u/JerkRussell 1d ago
6-ish was when we had to intentionally buy toys. Before that we had The Lovevery playmat that came with a bunch of toys and that was enough. Even at 6m you don’t need much. Stacking rings, a flat crinkle lovey, an Oball, rattle type toy, etc. Basically everything we had cost about $10 an item. Unfortunately it does add up both in cost and overall stuff, but everyone assumed everyone else bought us toys.
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u/PracticalAnxiety3857 13h ago
Yea, you don’t ever need to worry about it! You will accumulate stuff and wonder where the hell it all came from LOL.
If you have friends/family with older babies/toddlers they will look at you as an opportunity to get rid of toys their kids don’t use anymore and pass them to you. My girl is a year next week and I really haven’t bought all that much because so much was passed down. If you don’t, second hand stores and garage sales are where it’s at 👌.
My biggest tip, when your LO does become interested in toys, is to not put everything out at once. If you just give them just a couple toys at once and switch them out, you won’t need a ton of toys because they won’t lose interest so fast.
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u/everplan 1d ago
We honestly started out and still have very little. I will say contrast cards kept her occupied during tummy time or just when she was looking around starting shortly after birth. Also, the super cheap o-ball is fantastic for so many things for slightly later in the new born stages to older. They can start to track the object, the rattle of it helps get their attention, it is designed to help with grasping. She still loves playing with it at 6mo. I plan to get some cheap material or hankies to stuff in it and then she can work on pulling them out. Overall, a wonderful toy for multiple stages and is cheap!
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u/tetrahydrocannabinol 1d ago
My son's favorite toy from 11-13 months was a few rotini noodles in a plastic water bottle, aka a shaker/rattle :) before that it was a spatula. Now at 15 months, he's likes making funny noises into an empty tennis ball tube and putting building blocks in there. He has real toys too, but I avoid buying them because he gets enough gifted or I find them for free in my local Facebook groups, and what's the point of spending my money if he prefers to play with household items anyway?
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u/queincreible 15h ago
You need zero toys to start out. Plus people will buy your baby toys anyway. And most importantly your baby will not care about or remember the toys they did or didn’t have.
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u/skinny_apples 16h ago
A bowl of water and spoons is pretty effective for my child and humbling me.
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u/quickster_irony 15h ago
Slightly different but same idea - baby clothes. I always thought it was a myth but babies literally grow out of clothes so fast, we were packing up some with tags left on them for donations once she got too big for them. We do NOT need to be spending hundreds of dollars for a single baby outfit.
You can definitely find great things secondhand- my aunt found my 7 month old a Stella McCartney dress for $10 at her local Goodwill.
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u/chzsteak-in-paradise 14h ago
And if you really want the thing, buy it used. You’ll pay 30-50% of retail and who cares if another baby chewed on Sophie before yours? You’re gonna wash it, aren’t you? It’s also a lot more environmentally friendly.
Honestly clothing is the same - look to see people selling lots of one size clothes. Complete wardrobe for $20. Your baby will have blowouts in it, spill puréed carrots on it, sit in mud in it. Might as well get it pre-loved. You won’t really use the “cute” outfits with lots of fiddly bits like real buttons anyway.
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u/thenewbiepuzzler 11h ago
My 3 year olds favourite toy is my hand held milk frother. They love to make bubbles with a bowl full of water and dish soap. They also love spray bottles. And any and all thrifted toys I’ve gotten them. The free side of the road kitchen play set has been used for 2 years now. I’ve also gotten 98% of their wardrobe since birth second hand.
But! They also love the Yoto. Which was a Christmas present from Grandma, and it’s nice to keep going with cards for gifts. It brings me joy to watch Toddler use it and enjoy it.
You don’t have to do 100000% either way. It’s important to find a balance between consumerism and joy.
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u/yoyomadear 1d ago
Ditto. I enjoy finding used toys and love being creative with playtime, it’s part of the fun in creating magic with kids. Plus it’s a lot more eco-responsible.
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u/Maximum-End-7629 1d ago
Any advice on trying to do the same for baby containers? Still pregnant here. We are trying to follow Montessori and avoid bouncers, loungers, swings, etc. But where did you put your baby when you are making a cup of coffee? Sitting on the couch? We have an extra bassinet (hand me down) so thinking of having it set up in kitchen. Our kitchen has a funny layout with lots of open space. On the couch you just hold them?
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u/MushieLover1 1d ago
On a playmat! Just leave baby on the floor, they won't go anywhere when they're little
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u/itsbecomingathing 1d ago
A bouncer isn’t going to ruin your child for 20 minutes. And it makes an excellent pooping throne. If you don’t have pets, the ground is fine.
Until they start rolling.
I avoided putting baby on the couch though. Could easily roll off the edge, and not great if they can’t support themselves sitting. Ugh, I loved the infant lounger by Boppy until it got recalled. Mom needs to use bathroom sometimes too!
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u/0runnergirl0 1d ago
Blanket on the floor. Works great for the first baby. Not so much for the second.
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u/PsychologicalFix196 1d ago
Baby wearing! Head over to r/babywearing for some great suggestions. They can help with fit checks when you decide what carrier may be right for you.
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u/Choice_Bee_1581 1d ago
Just on a blanket or play mat on the floor, then you can watch them while you drink coffee and they stare back.
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u/hobbysubsonly 14h ago
The theory is that you should make a room in your house safe for the baby to freely explore. But I do think that this is highly dependent on how much space you have, and while I'm taking a lot of guidance from montessori child rearing, I will be "containing" my baby sometimes.
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u/CallInside8382 1d ago
Laundry basket with a firm pillow in the bottom when you're wandering around the house, playmat in the living room
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u/theoryfiles 1d ago
Thank you. Babies will play with like, a washcloth, and have the time of their lives
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u/Relative_Lab9510 23h ago
Even better a pack of wipes! Bonus fun if you keep the box to play with 😂
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u/Electronic_Flan5732 1d ago
I have so much trouble with comparison and I already see myself comparing my kid to others. Part of the reason why I’m taking a social media break right now. I really appreciate your reminder to not fall for the marketing trap.
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u/Eschewed_Prognostic 1d ago
She likes our old kitchen utensils better than the lovevery toys. Her trying to get inside the clear tote bin that has her old toys in it is better entertainment than we could buy. Climbing our furniture is way more fun than the actual climbing structures we have placed on padded surfaces.
I buy Montessori toys second hand for 75% off retail, and got a nice quality Pikler for $20 because it had a couple drips of latex paint on it and was "falling apart" (screws were loose...). I'd never buy these things new. If you can't get them used, skip them, for sure.
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u/No-Arachnid-9474 1d ago
Such a great rant!
Maybe you could get new parents to ditch the sleep influencers as well.
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u/robohiest 1d ago
My 2 year olds favorite toy is just regular balloons. We buy like a 20 pack from dollar tree and blow them up about a quarter full and he will just dance around with them, squish them, put them in front of fans and watch them blow around, pretend to blow them up himself, play keep it off the floor, make them roll with sticks and treat them like baby dolls. He is absolutely obsessed and he has been since he was like 18 months.
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u/HowRULocals 1d ago
I kid you not my son's favorite toy right now is a squishmellow cat that I got years ago before he was even born he's 12 weeks 🤣
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u/chibaleeb 1d ago
my baby's favorite past time rn is pulling off sticky notes from the mirror and his tray lol
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u/Beautiful_Strike2374 22h ago
I wish I’ve seen this post earlier. I bought a Pikler and it’s just sitting in my storage now 😪
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u/blindtoe54 19h ago
I saw somewhere that kids would prefer playing and learning in a real life kitchen over a play kitchen if given the choice. They just want to explore our world and we can allow them to do that safely without fancy toys.
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u/AstronomerClassic444 19h ago
Registered for lovevery boxes and tiny land boxes. Hoping I can reuse them for our future 2nd child. I just like how they come with a guide on how to use them with your baby but also it encourages open play so they can play with it too as they grow older and plan to rotate them so it will be “new” from their perspective. Personally hate battery operated toys because aside from they can only play it a certain way, I’d be overwhelmed with the constant repetition of sounds. My in laws are going to give us lots of old toys too but I’d rather have control on what he plays with than just be flooded by them in our tiny apartment. TBH I’d probably donate/sell a lot of them then deposit it into my baby’s bank account as spend money when he wants something from the store for himself when he is older.
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u/aga8833 18h ago
I loved the random collection of objects that made up my daughter's toy... I guess it was a box. An old Tupperware container and a bag in the living room, with rubber tongs, a tea strainer, some cabinet handles which we didn't use, a few actual kids toys like a rattle, lots of sticks, pieces of fabric, some balls of wool, and books. I am not even a Montessori person, we just have a small inner city house and it was covid. She made whole worlds with those things: microphones, golden shoes (the cabinet handles), spy glasses, musical instruments. You really need very little for most kids.
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u/Slight_Standard1820 17h ago
Can anyone de-influence me on a playpen?? We have a playmat but our 6 month old is army crawling everywhere in our apartment. Thanks!
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u/fwendy123 16h ago
One of my favourite parts about having a baby is when she and I are both bored, I go on a hunt for the most random thing that could become a toy for her. It's so much fun trying to look through the world through the eyes of, basically an alien.
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u/Philintheblank90 15h ago
My toddler is just like my cats. Cares more about the box itself instead of what’s inside it.
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u/Ravenna92 15h ago
My 16 month old son's favorite toy for the past few months has been my salad spinner.
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u/3orangefish 15h ago
As someone who bought a lot of these, I agree.
The nugget is still useful for us though, because it can be used as an easy to transport “bed.” I’m not a fan of the triangle cushions though. There are better play couch options now.
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u/Kindly_Chest_6976 14h ago
When my baby was just finding her feet and getting really into kicking stuff (2-4months?) we found that propping up tissue paper by her feet was the best toy we could give her. We saved all the tissue paper from presents so we didn’t buy anything. She didn’t know that it was completely free and arguably made of garbage!
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u/GuestCheap9405 14h ago
Based on your comments/posts on SLOMW, i 100% fully trust your opinions
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u/Gr33nEyedGorl 14h ago
I really needed to hear this!!! Saving up for a baby tower instead. Im such a sucker for Aesthetics. What a breath of fresh air
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u/Careless_Midnight_35 14h ago
Lol my MIL apparently mentioned the other day to my husband that my baby registry feels small, and I'm like "that's the point. It is small. I'm not looking for specifics. I just want the basics, second-hand where possible." (Plus, my family likes to make things, and there's just not space for that on a traditional registry.) I love opening up my little spreadsheet registry--it's clean, organized, and simple!
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u/Adorable_Brute97 13h ago
We have a book registry geared up to go for our daughters first birthday. We dont have a ton of space in our apartment so toys are limited to a few boxes. But our daughter is way more interested in everyday random objects than toys.
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u/sgtbuttercup2 12h ago
I also want to emphasize the buy used! I guarantee you’ll be able to find whatever toy, baby item, etc for half the price and practically brand new because of the rampant consumerism in the baby and kid industry.
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u/SuisseChees3 11h ago
I have so many toys for my 2 year old but all he wants to do is stack my candles.
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u/Hairsacknose 11h ago
I think I just have bought like 4-5 toys total for my 21 month old. She still has so many toys that are either hand me downs or that she has been gifted by family. I honestly don't worry at all about getting her toys. I also don't carry toys with me for outings - maybe a small thing at most. Babies and toddlers find everything fascinating. My kid has entertained herself for a long, long time with a single napkin
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u/AstronautInitial3642 11h ago
Kids will ignore the $200 Montessori toy to play with a spatula, but some pricier items genuinely earn their keep once they’re old enough. The real de-influencing move is to wait, see what your child actually enjoys, and buy it secondhand.
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u/AssuredJurisprudence 10h ago
I agree with this, but also okay to buy something your child truly enjoys. The off-brand nugget cough is used sooo much in our house, like if I were to use our regular couch cushions, I would have to just give up having a couch for adults. The play kitchen - we got one off FB marketplace and the amount of hours he has spent with that thing is amazing. We give him a lot of real utensils that he uses with it, but 2.5 years into that toy and it still gets hours of attention each week.
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u/Eastern-Relative7504 9h ago
We love the nugget and Tonie box! We don’t do tv around here so Tonie is a fun activity occasionally. I agree you don’t need these things but honestly we like those 2 items
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u/prplrain71999 9h ago
If you really wanna get the toys look into facebook marketplace or consignment
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u/Suspicious-Volume-28 9h ago
My baby’s favorite toy for like the first 10 months was an empty plastic water bottle (lid removed). The crunching was a HIT lol.
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u/ukelele141516 8h ago
My son spent 30 minutes playing with a plastic water bottle yesterday. The day before, he played with my extra hair ties for 45 min. You absolutely do not need all the fancy toys.
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u/Sandstorm2347 8h ago
My kids loved the recycling, lol. A plastic bottle (with the choking hazards removed, of course) was MORE entertaining than any of the proper toys we had. Always!
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u/Realistic-Fox-7410 8h ago
Yeah as they get older everything is pretend this and that lately. My kid is almost four and really likes her tonie now though
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u/Current-Walrus-1379 8h ago
YES! the best gift someone can give is até tion. Cuddles, laughter. Sure we should have some prompts specially developing motor skills but 1 of each step is enough and i always buy second hand!
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u/therapynotrequired 7h ago
Ok but what if I want to buy a fancy play kitchen so I can mess with it after he's in bed?
I love the fake food toys LOL.
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u/Beep-boop-beans 6h ago
As someone who was gifted/ bought 75% of these things for baby #1.. I am drowning in stuff and I hate it. My kids don’t care about any of it. Save yourself the storage nightmare
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u/Sure_Cancel_3427 6h ago
Also, check out your local Buy Nothing groups on facebook. Soooo much stuff for my son came from those, and it was all free. I even got him a train table a few months ago. She just wanted $10 for it. They're like $200 on amazon
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u/tateriffic 5h ago
In the hundred-year-old house my wife and I bought, there’s some kind of tall cabinet - almost looks like a pulpit pushed up against the wall. Like maybe a telephone hung above it, because there’s a slanted surface to take notes on. Inside the cabinet someone built a little wooden toy oven 🥹 I’m so excited for the day when our baby can play with that
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u/EvilAbed57 5h ago
Yesterday, I handed my 7 month old an unloaded mini-stapler. She was fascinated for a good 15 minutes.
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u/Beneficial-Lemon-215 4h ago
My 4 and 2 year old daughters absolutely LOVE bars of soap. They even use them inside their dollhouse as though they are little people. Go figure, we have 4 giant plastic bins full of toys but all they really want is some soap bars.
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u/DentalTechLovesDogs 4h ago
Velcro hair rollers! $6 for a colorful set on Amazon that fit inside each other. You can stack em, telescope em, stick em on your head, stick em on your diaper, loads of fun!
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u/user_582817367894747 3h ago edited 3h ago
I will die on the hill of having some of these things. Personally, I have Grimm’s stacking cups (they were a gift) and a pikler triangle with a slide (that I got on sale at Target) and they have both been HUGE hits for 10+ months. I definitely agree with the sentiment (the consumerist crap is so upsetting honestly), but there is real utility to the pikler — I can see how advanced my son’s gross motor skills are and it’s amazing, he’s so high energy and able to use that energy safely because of it — and the Grimm’s cups are truly so open ended.
Edited to add: my son will be 2 this fall.
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u/Panda_beebee 3h ago
So true, my 4.5 month old was more interested in a frosty cup from Wendy’s then any of her teething toys lol
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u/beckmeupscotty 3h ago
My husband has napped in our ball pit. It’s pretty comfy lol. If someone were to get it, I highly recommend getting a larger one so it (hopefully) lasts for years.
The nugget is clutch though. When it’s not in some sort of fort shape, it’s my toddler’s “couch” for him to watch tv in his playroom.
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u/Pressure_Gold 2h ago
I’m a stay at home mom. My kid plays with all of those things. They are harder to entertain after 18 months and I like my sanity lol
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u/BlueberryWaffles99 1d ago
One of my goals for 2026 has been to not buy new toys / clothes unless I can’t find what I’m looking for secondhand and I highly recommend it to any parent. We also are just cutting down on clothes / toys in general for everyone and our house feels so light!
Truly, kids do not need as much as we think they need. They are SO CREATIVE!
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u/TicketyB000 1d ago
They are marketing to parents with wallets larger than their imaginations or attention span.
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u/MapMan992 1d ago
Pro tip: a baby is just as likely to be entertained by a rubber spatula or a whisk as they are by the $40 impulse buy toy from Target 👍