Struggling with toys

Yesterday we went and picked up three new toys for Joseph for Christmas. Well, he'll play with them now and we'll stick a bow on them and put them under the tree on Christmas morning. They are all big, plastic, loud, and bright. He's IN LOVE with them. ::sigh::

We'd love to only have safe wooden toys. We'd love for him to "use his imagination" all the time and play with wooden spoons. But the truth is, Joseph is drawn to the bright colors, lights, and sometimes the noise. The plastic works well because it's light and sturdy, and frankly, it's affordable.

So, we're making compromises. We do prefer non-plastic, for both the environmental impact AND his own safety. There are a lot of nasty chemicals [read: neurotoxins] in plastic. But at least from an environmental standpoint, buying these things used (which we did, and will do as much as we can) keeps these toys out of landfills, and doesn't require additional fossil fuel resources to make. And I don't know for sure, but I think used is better health-wise, too, as the plastic has had a chance to off-gas.

So our strategy is to buy safe, buy used, and buy LESS. I don't think it's a terrible strategy.