Three Thoughts about Toy Quality

You may have caught on from previous posts that I don't like to waste money, and when I do have to spend it I like to buy quality. How I don't want to spend my money is on replacing toys that have broken one week after receiving it. Grrr Argh!

I have two girls and they are by no means rough with their playthings. So it is always disappointing for me and especially them when something breaks due to poor quality. And it makes me wonder what are they learning from all of this, or where a valuable life lesson might exist. Here are three thoughts on that:

1) Environmental

When a toy breaks and can't be fixed, it goes into the garbage. And it seems to me that this is happening in greater frequency (especially after Christmas and Birthdays). I can't help but thing of all that plastic that is ending up in our landfills. It is going to take years for it all to break down. Not to mention the wasted resources each year to make more toys that quickly turn into junk. I want my children to think about the planet first and not playtime things. A hard lesson for a five and two year old.

2) Financial 

No amount of crazy-glue was
able to save these two toys.

How are kids (and sometimes adults) supposed to learn about the value of money when their immediate response when something breaks is "Can I get a new one?" Our immediate response is "No". That isn't the solution to the problem, you can't just run out and replace things. Sometimes you need to step back and ask yourself, "Do we really need that?" and "Is there a better quality alternative?" You sometimes end up paying a little bit more, but then you are buying quality.

3) Family Values

My girls are playing with the Sesame Street Clubhouse by Fisher-Price that I played with at their age. Why? Largely due to the better built toys from that time but also because their dad took care of it and he respected his toys. Since toys these days seem to be lacking quality it more important than ever to take care of our belongings which includes putting them back where they belong at the end of the day. Again a hard lesson for a five and two year old.

Thinking of the Fisher-Price clubhouse and the fact that is was made in the USA makes me think twice about buying products with the now all too common "Made in China" label. I'm not seeing the quality anymore and I think it is all about getting consumers back into the stores to buy more things.

How does your family handle broken toys?
What toys have stood the test of time in your house?