Let’s jump right in with a post, shall we? WordPress would like me to have a post explaining myself but let’s hope I don’t need a mission statement and it all becomes obvious rather quickly… (but..for more about me and my blogging aims…. you can always have a peek here)
This was originally going to be a ‘gift guide’ type post for children but it quickly deteriorated into a ‘children have horrible taste’ post. As a mum of 4 children under 6 I have been through the full toy lifecycle. The first moments of parenthood, you imagine your children playing together collaboratively, imaginatively, in a room full of toys just like you see on pinterest. You know, something like this:

This is a toy that my children will turn their noses up at
But somehow your children have only one aim and desire and that is for their toys to look like this:

As proof of their terrible taste my 4 and 2 year old just ran up behind me asking who we were buying these pretty toys for
In fact there is scientific evidence about this negative correlation, the ‘cheap plastic paradox’. The more you like the way a toy looks (but that retro fisher price original vintage ebay find will look so GREAT on their shelf)…. the less likely it is to feature on their Christmas list. This paradox exists in other spheres: see, interior design or clothing your under-6 year old.
The trick, therefore, is to find some kind of sweet spot, with toys/bedrooms/clothes that aren’t total rubbish that still pass muster with a discerning 4 or 6 year old who has seen her friend’s peppa pig bike and now thinks her islabike (about four million times more expensive) is no good. Some actual suggestions to follow soon rather than this general kvetching.
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