The baby is now approximately -3 months old, and brightly coloured plastic crap is already taking over my flat! Help!! It's not that I don't appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness, and desire to bring presents and welcome Blob into the world. And I understand that trying to ensure everything entering my house is organic, handmade, all natural, is an exercise in futility. And I understand that nobody should be expected to shop for baby presents at the elitist, up market outlets that sell said organic, handmade, all natural gadgetry....But there has to be some middle way?
First, there are the health and safety concerns; BPA is scary, and equally scary is the stuff that hasn't been discovered yet. It just seems logical that nasty chemical manufacturing processes should, well, create nasty chemicals. Plus the recall of so many made in China kid products....Then, there's the 'sanity' element. Must every brightly coloured plastic thing make loud annoying noises? Even if it's not designed to, I can testify that the 5 year old next door can find a way of making the most innocuous looking plastic thing squeak and honk. And there's the clutter issue. I'm pretty sure plastic blocks are specifically designed to make the floor look as 'busy' as possible....part of the visual appeal when you're 5. I'm not sure why I'm convinced I'd be less annoyed with wooden blocks, but I am.
The Dad insists its perfectly okay to tell everyone coming to a baby shower that we don't want plastic presents; that seems in violation of my midwestern sensibilities. Meanwhile, I wonder about the accumulation of plastic crap that must be happening in every household with a small child; where does all of this stuff go to die when kids grow out of it? And most importantly, how can I avoid the problem entirely (apart from moving house on a yearly basis; which is a pretty good solution to accumulation...)?
First, there are the health and safety concerns; BPA is scary, and equally scary is the stuff that hasn't been discovered yet. It just seems logical that nasty chemical manufacturing processes should, well, create nasty chemicals. Plus the recall of so many made in China kid products....Then, there's the 'sanity' element. Must every brightly coloured plastic thing make loud annoying noises? Even if it's not designed to, I can testify that the 5 year old next door can find a way of making the most innocuous looking plastic thing squeak and honk. And there's the clutter issue. I'm pretty sure plastic blocks are specifically designed to make the floor look as 'busy' as possible....part of the visual appeal when you're 5. I'm not sure why I'm convinced I'd be less annoyed with wooden blocks, but I am.
The Dad insists its perfectly okay to tell everyone coming to a baby shower that we don't want plastic presents; that seems in violation of my midwestern sensibilities. Meanwhile, I wonder about the accumulation of plastic crap that must be happening in every household with a small child; where does all of this stuff go to die when kids grow out of it? And most importantly, how can I avoid the problem entirely (apart from moving house on a yearly basis; which is a pretty good solution to accumulation...)?
No comments:
Post a Comment