Monday, September 6, 2010

Why I'm the crazy hippie mom who doesn't give her kids "real" toys

This week I was called "a dirty hippie" disparagingly and "happy hippie" with much admiration.

My kids get dirty playing outside. Its true. Most of their clothes are stained with the good red earth that we have here. They spill out of the house often before breakfast and have to be herded like sheep back into the house. Particularly in bad weather. They love rain and wind and anything that makes a good muddy slop in the farmyard to play in. So I take the dirty hippie comment as a compliment.

The other shocker is that they have relatively few toys, atleast toys most families recognize.

But I do provide plenty of materials for making their own toys....see what kids do when they don't have action figures...








They spent all day yesterday making these and playing with them. The peg rail Wild Thing is holding? That's a clone ship. The other is an elaborate play scape modeled after the scene in Star Wars where Jabba the Hutt goes out to the desert to feed people to the monster in the pit.

Ummm....they apparently spent a lot of time watching Star Wars while in Ottawa!

6 comments:

skylark said...

You're the best and most fun happie hippie mom.

Trina said...

I can't believe that someone would say "dirty-hippie" to anyone.

If someone said that to me I would be hysterical with laughter.

What is the alternative being a hyper-clean republican?

Too funny.

Peace,
Momasun
www.fairiestarhill.blogspot.com

Kerry said...

I think it was a combination of knowing we didn't have a bathtub for 6 weeks (but we did have a sink the kids washed up in, lots of swimming, and for the adventurous an outdoor shower set up by the barn under a ladder!) ... my half naked grimy kids running through the yard when she arrived ... and most importantly, being compared unfavourably to me by her teen daughter.

The grass is always greener...and apparently dirtier!

Kelly said...

jealous. I'm in a house full of plastic crapola and feel powerless to get rid of it because so many things were "gifts". Ugh. What's the statute of limitations on a $50 remote control fire engine???

Kerry said...

Batteries die and the toy is then "broken" put it away to "fix it" and let it disappear into the basement in a box to donate!

I keep things a year and if kids don't ask for them when they've disappeared I know its safe to get rid of them.

Carolyn said...

LOL! Yes, your children were actually watching Star Wars when I arrived to pick up A for her sleepover here. ;-)