Why Thrift Store Toys are Better for Our Children!

Savannah has been wanting a play kitchen.  We had one before the move, but no one really played with it, so it got downsized.

Well, Savannah is 4 now and she plays with every play kitchen she can get her hands on.  She ran away from me at the orthodontist’s office because she spotted one in their waiting room.  An hour wait at Cracker Barrel?  No problem!  They have a play kitchen!

She has been asking for one that she saw at Sam’s, but it was $100 and huge, so I really wasn’t feeling it.  So, as my mom and I set out on a thrift store adventure over the weekend, I mentioned that I wanted a play kitchen or a cabinet I could remodel into one (like I find on Pinterest) for Savannah.

Well, lo and behold, at the very first place we stopped, there was a well-loved Fisher-Price play kitchen.  The price?  A whopping $5.99!  I had that toy in my buggy before you could say “dirt cheap!”  

I tell you all of that to get to my real point.

Thrift store toys are often better for kids than new.

What?  Why?

Imagination.

I purchased an extremely inexpensive and quite beat-up toy, and instead of fancy fake food and tiny dishes, we raided my mom’s basement for kitchen supplies.  She now has paper plates and cups, mismatched silverware, some plastic Easter eggs, an old metal coffee carafe.  You get the idea.

She thinks it’s the best toy in the whole world, not because it is perfect and realistic, but because she can use her imagination to make it anything she wants!

This exchange pretty much sums it up:

Me:  What’s in that squirt bottle Savannah?

Savannah:  (looks at me like I’m a bit daft) IMAGINATION!

So I challenge other parents out there to really think before you buy the hot new toy.  Ask yourself, “Does this feed my child’s imagination, or drain it?”  Let’s feed those imaginations, people!!  

Now, does anyone out there have any imaginary Alka-Seltzer?  I have a stomach ache from all the imaginary food I’ve eaten since we gave her the kitchen set!