Down with the kids

Before kids, actually before Big Sis became a toddler, I would cast a disparaging eye over family homes where you waded through knee deep plastic toys in the living room. Honestly, I’d say to myself – why do parents these days buy so much crap for their kids? Why not a few nice wooden puzzles, a ball for outside and a bike for their 6th birthday?

I realised we had lost this particular battle when a childless friend of ours walked into the living room today and said “Ah, I see the kids have taken over the house”. And he was right – even Ikea couldn’t hide the tide of plastic spewing from the GSERT (or is it a BVAK or GNET). Like kilos at Christmas or that 4th glass of wine – it just crept up on us!

I blame the $2 shop. Before kids I wouldn’t have stepped into one. Now, I can’t walk past! Walls of $2 items that will make Big Sis so happy and quiet for just $2!!!!!! Rewards for the star chart, quiet games while we out at dinner, on a plane, a rainy afternoon. Our area has them springing up like mushrooms – seriously, the strip now contains 4 $2 (or similar) outlets. I think there must be a strict correlation between number of prams in a street at any time and the number of $2 shops.

Before a plane trip that I was particularly nervous about (travelling alone with 2 little kids) I went into a $2 “like” shop (you know the ones – lots of things are actually $6 or $3.95) and spent nearly $100. I’m still not sure how I managed it – but with baby Little Bro on my knee I managed to amuse a 2 and a half-year-old for 3 hours with one hand and a bag of crap. Sure, they almost had to dig us out of a mound of sticker backing paper, discarded colouring pencils and invisible ink markers – but we got there. I do envy those Steiner mothers, I just don’t know how they do it.