For the discriminating tyke
By Never teh BrideI’m always a little wary of spending any sort of real money on children for anything other than health, safety, nutrition, and enrichment. I watched my six younger siblings grow out of clothes, get bored with toys mere minutes after receiving them, and ding the heck out of all of their furniture….that is, when they weren’t accidentally painting on it or carving their initials into it.
I understand that one must drop enough cash on things like carseats and cribs to ensure that they won’t suddenly turn into a fiery ring of snakes or devour the baby in the dead of night, but the thought of dropping a phat wad on a single purpose changing table because it will instill junior with an early aesthetic sense makes me cringe.
That’s not to say I don’t like looking at kiddie rockers inspired by the Galapagos Islands or a high chair whose design was based on the fabled hanging gardens of Babylon. So while it’s unlikely I’ll ever be purchasing any furniture from Arlington Modern Children’s Furniture, I do like to have a gander at what’s on offer on the web site and imagine the day I’ll be able to stock my home with expensive furniture that will be pooped on, scratched, and forgotten without giving it a second thought.
Plus, is it just me, or do both of the pieces above look darned uncomfortable?
July 15th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Those high chairs with the little flimsy strap and no sides are INCREDIBLY dangerous. It’s just way too easy for a kid to slip off to one side and wind up hanging by their armpits (or their chubby little belly, either way) from the side of the chair, or worse, pulling it down over their heads. I mean, seriously, the high chair my son used for two years was the same one my siblings and I used, so it wasn’t designed for safety but sturdy functionality (since it was made somewhere around the 70s), but at least it had sides to it!
I absolutely agree that single-use furniture (hell, single-use anything except the fire extinguisher) is pointless. However, there’s something to be said for a “special chair” for the kiddies — it’s kind of reassuring to them to know that they have something that’s entirely theirs, that no one can steal from them just because they’re bigger. But then again, I tend to believe that that’s something better off being an heirloom, since most kids are only going to want to use a kiddie chair for a couple of years at most.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:49 am
I had just such a high chair when I was a wee one, LadySun, and I remember it being quite uncomfortable. Of course, it was old old old and had been used to rear many of my aunts and uncles and cousins.
With six younger siblings, it became apparent quickly that nothing was sacred. There was nothing that couldn’t be stolen from me and given to a sibling when necessity demanded it. Heck, my dad even basically gave my brother my bike!
July 18th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
It’s not just you. Modernism has gone way, WAY too far, especially when it comes to children’s furniture. It’s one thing to buy yourself a dreadfully uncomfortable chair; it’s another to inflict it on a poor, defenceless baby.
There are even rocking horses in the shape of…commas. How thrilled Junior must be with his faithful friend…Comma.
Jeebus wept.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:14 am
Hey, Comma and I had a lot of good times!
July 24th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Raincoaster, get thee to good old RiteAid. Perhaps not at all stores, possibly not even all times of the year, but a nice sturdy rocking-horse of the old-fashioned equine variety may be had there, and at a reasonable price, too.
IMO, commas should be saved for the books, which should be plentiful.
Teeny, miniature child-sized furniture is destined to either get handed off to the next batch of children, or to be used to house a collection of dolls (and/or other toys).
July 29th, 2008 at 3:45 am
What is this RiteAid of which you speak? Here in Canuckistan we have no such creature, alas, but we DO have wooden toboggans from Canadian Tire, so if all else fails we can just strap the kids to that, papoose-style.