A toy shopping story: sucky or responsible?

[bainsidhe]

I really think it depends on the older kid's age and the kid themselves. My niece is six and toys have exploded throughout the household. Giving a board game with small pieces means you will find bits in every room of the house. If niece had a younger sibling, she wouldn't be stuck playing with baby toys, she just wouldn't have toys with small pieces that are easy to lose and ingest. Not all toys come with barbie shoes, marbles and game pieces, after all.

[SuperRTL]

That is so sweet! Tell him what a nice boy he is for thinking of his sister.

He asked for a sister for years (a brother would have been ok, too, if he couldn't have a sister) and she was the best present ever! He reads to her every day and is trying to teach her colors. He's one of the sweetest kids I've ever seen, and it's not just cause he's mine lol

[Nashida]

I don't know if it helps any, but when my brother and I were growing up I wasn't "restricted" because of his age. We're five years apart, and when I was little I was all about Barbies and Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket (the really, really tiny ones, not the lame stuff they have now).

I did keep most of the little stuff in my room, which had one of those pocket sliding doors to get into it. My mom installed an eye pin and a hook into the door to make a "lock" that he couldn't reach, but I could (with the help of a coat hanger) so he couldn't get in there while I was at school. He also had a bunk bed in his room, and he couldn't really climb up there, so I kept some stuff up there too if we wanted to play in the same room together. As he got older I just watched him carefully if we shared toys but I still made sure anything teeny weeny was out of his reach. By the time he was old enough to really play with them, he wasn't interested anyway.

Maybe have moms that come up concerned try something similar? Show older sib where to keep tiny toys so they're out of reach if the tot is around, but also have a few things that can be safe to use with a little one. Restricting an older child to baby toys is not a good idea.

[XCashier]

Maybe have moms that come up concerned try something similar? Show older sib where to keep tiny toys so they're out of reach if the tot is around, but also have a few things that can be safe to use with a little one. Restricting an older child to baby toys is not a good idea.

Or install a lock on older sib's door? I agree it isn't fair to restrict the older sibling. I would think if he/she could keep the toys in the bedroom and the bedroom door locked or blocked so Little Sib can't get in, he/she should have the age-appropriate toys.