I’m not sure if this has been discussed before(I didnt search it either to be honest)
So last week I had to buy gifts for my nieces and nephew, all under 8 years and had a wee look in their play room. All sorts of barbies, dolls,crafty stuff, doll house/furniture,mini kitchen, books were lying in the room amd still one of them moaned that they havent had a new toy since forever.
Not to forget they have ipads and iphones (without sim ofcourse)
When I was a child, I never had a room full of (mostly forgotten) toys. All I had and still lying at my parents place was one box with all the stuff that I loved playing with.
Dont you guys think that this a bit too much?
I was so put off buying any new stuff for them. Do kids really need a room full of every imaginable toy character?
I dont know may be its too early for me to pass these sorts of judgement as my wee one is hardly 6 months old.
It is too much. I only buy my daughter when she does something good or achieves something. I am rich too so I dont buy her Everything thats in the Market.
My nephews have a toy room that have ever toy that you can imagine. But they hardly play with them. They have desire to buy only. And noone even cleans that room now.
This is how things are.. materalism
I want my daughter to go out and play and in willing to spend on that too.
Re: over indulgence ?
yes it’s too much in my opinion BUT what if one thing that I have learned from parenting is that every parent does and wants to provide the best to their children so if this is what makes them happy, so be it. Some parents just love buying toys for their children, some love to buy clothes and others indulge in expensive sports/activities.. they are all doing their best so lets never judge a parent.
and if you dont want to buy toys for them,.. dont.. seriously you can get them books or better yet take them out to a trip to zoo, children’s museum and spend time with them.. may be parents dont have time for these activities and they make up for it by buying toys, which is natural, but they are your nieces and nephews, you can step up and be the role model.. gift them a membership to some place that will cost just the same as toys but it will be an incentive to go out and have fun. you can make a difference.. it’s your family. 
Re: over indulgence ?
Of course they don’t need a room full of toys. They also don’t need the box full of toys you remember so fondly.
What they need is stimulation, interaction, inspiration, novelty, variety as well as familiarity/routine. And that has little to do with how many or how few toys they have. Toys are just one way to provide these experiences for kids. There’s a lot more to it.
If you don’t want to give them toys, don’t. As GtG suggested, arrange for activities with them.
Re: over indulgence ?
Thanks gtg and so2 for the suggestion.
You guys are right, I was judging the parents. I shouldnt be doing, its not really my place.
I will try and arrange some outing for them over the weekend. Its a brilliant idea.
Re: over indulgence ?
Buy them clothes. The kids clearly have enough toys so no point getting them a new one - just get them chocolate or something to eat along with the clothes, and they’ll be just as ‘temporarily’ happy with that as they will with a new toy lol. Plus, Mum will be happy as clothes are always used, so you’ll still get points for giving a tofah lol 
Re: over indulgence ?
Well I’d judge the parents too, so don’t feel bad about that. Not just for the over indulgence itself, but the impact it has on how the kids think as they age.
Re: over indulgence ?
this!!!
people don’t realize the impact of providing everything that their kid desires.
sure…we’re pretty much all in a position to provide much more than we ever had but if we don’t instil values then what have we really accomplished? have we truly done the “best” for our kids?
Re: over indulgence ?
Forget indulgence of material things, heck even excessive praise from parents will mess up a kid.
Re: over indulgence ?
My husband always complained that his mom didn’t get him those mechanical pencil boxes…all the kids had them except him while he younger. This time around when we visited my MIL explained her reasoning behind not getting him that. She said he would have been too occupied with the pencil box and wouldn’t have paid attention in class. It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford it…she purposely didn’t pay it from him. I really learned a lesson from it. You have to think about how each toy going to affect the kid…and if getting it might cause more problems. And also that parents need to be able to say NO.
Re: over indulgence ?
Just saw this article and thought you would be interested: How to Teach Kids to Be Grateful: Give Them Less - Jenn Choi - The Atlantic
Re: over indulgence ?
So I took them to a zoo and on our way back the kids asked me to now treat them with a short trip to toys r us.
They did have fun at the zoo and I was happy till the last request :-/
Re: over indulgence ?
Thanks SO2 that was an interesting read.
Re: over indulgence ?
Awww don’t be disappointed.. You did your best but you won’t be able to change kids behavior in a day. They are used to getting toys so it’s normal for them to expect that, you started something different.. Keep up with it and they will know zayash auntie likes spending time with us and they would enjoy that too much more than toys.. Consistency is the key as you know with your six month old as well.