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How long do toys last in your home?
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
United States
December 3, 2007 4:38pm CST
When my little kid was a baby, all her toys were in practical brand new pristine conditon. She never played with them roughly. She would just sit in her crib and stack them or hug them. It was too cute.
But, now that she is older and more mobile, her toys are much more the worse for wear. There are barbie doll pieces and heads everywhere; crayons strewn under every piece of furniture and pieces of coloring books and other assorted toys at every turn. She doesn't just throw them down, she takes them apart.
I try to keep things up off the floor to avoid slip hazards, but it's hard with the 24/7 kid tornado following so close on my heels. In our house a toy lasts on average one to two weeks. The stuffed toys are all in pretty good condition, though they do get dusty from being played with on the floor. I have to wash those often. How long do toys last in your house? Do you have any tricks for getting little kids to take better care of their toys?
1 person likes this
7 responses
@larskie23 (866)
• Philippines
4 Dec 07
in our house we have 3 children, a twin and a boy, my avatar is one of the twin, and when they have any toy, its really fortunate for the toy to last for two weeks, they are so excited to play with the toy everytime they have a new one. the other night, their mother brought them a disney puzzles, one for each of them, and mind you, later that night, one piece of the puzzle have gone missing.
my other sister, have 3 kids, and its the same situation, what she did is, every new toy they received every christmas is put in one cabinet and never touch by any of her kids. so until now, they are still very pretty and new. they just take out the toy each time she can watch the kids play with them. specially toy cars, barbie dolls.
@sudiptacallingu (10879)
• India
4 Dec 07
One week max to max. the moment my 8yr old can lay his hand on a new toy, he will start understanding its mechanisms first. Anything will pass on as a toy, even the thermocol packing of electronic goods. His birthdays are a nightmare to me. The moment guests leave, he will sit down with all his toys and start his experiments. At two in the night, you can actually hear me yelling at him to clear up. But the storm blows for, as I said, one week max. By the end of it, the toys look like an actual storm has blown over them. None are intact and in playable condition any more and maybe after a month, he just forgets about them. But I am not denied completely either, I am left with a good lot of working batteries that I reuse lol! but no tricks from my side. I firmly believe that toys are to be taken apart by the children they are meant for and it gives me a good opportunity to visit the shopping malls again.
1 person likes this
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
4 Dec 07
My son plays nice with his toys. He does take out batteries and hide them if he can get the compartment open, but that's really about it. Otherwise he's pretty gentle for an almost 2 year old boy. If he is rough with toys, we take them away. He's learned his lesson.
1 person likes this
@kuting (885)
• Philippines
4 Dec 07
my son is starting to be just like what you described. he was really sweet before and we didnt have any problems with his toys. now that he started walking, his patience got a bit shorter. im worried about pricey toys that his godparents gives him cos he would play with them for awhile, bang them on walls or tables the next minute and kick them around after. right now we just give him toys he can bang around and a cart he could ride about. the other toys are in safe keeping at the moment.
@sephrenia (567)
•
3 Dec 07
while i haven't got any tips that could help, i wanted to respond because i know exactly what you mean!
My two are 5 and 9 and neither one of them can seem to keep their toys intact any more and i'm beginning to wonder if it's even worth buying them half the time.
My son actually broke the household record for fastest ruination of a toy yesterday. Previously the time was 1 whole day, He managed it within an hour and I still don't know what he did to ruin it.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you arent alone!
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
4 Dec 07
Thank you for commisserating with this very frustrated mommy. If my little kid weren't so young, I'd put her on a toy budget or ask her to pay for toys out of her allowance. As is, she would not understand and would cry a lot. I will have to grin and bear the toy destruction for awhile longer now. Thanks for dropping by. Always nice to hear war stories from other moms on the front lines of raising kids.
1 person likes this
@TyNSethsMom (136)
• United States
3 Dec 07
I understand what you are talking about. Now I have have two boys so I dont have dolls laying around but there are cars everywhere. It takes him about 5 minutes to chip the paint or break the wheels off. I am a stay at home mom and my house still looks like a mess. I probably clean it 4 times a day.
@moneyandgc (3428)
• United States
4 Dec 07
My older three children have two baby sisters. One is with me and my husband and one with my ex and his wife. I have said before that his new wife and I have become best friends over the years. While in their little girl's (she is 2)room a few months ago, I saw toys that were my son's when he was a baby. There were quite a few! He turned 10 years old in September. So those toys are now on the 4th child, she sent a few home with me too. I guess technically these ones have been played with by 5 kids.
The toys that don't last long for us are the boy's motorized stuff. Remote control cars never last long, or if there are a million pieces they are lost on no time. They are the worst about games! I don't think they own a single game that has every piece that it came with!
I wish I had advice for you. I think the baby toys last longer because we are the ones taking care of them!
