Expensive purchases for baby - good or bad?

becs

I like others don't really get the post?
Surely it's the choice of the parents as to what pram, highchair etc that they want for their child and if gran is happy to pay for that I don't see that it's anyone else's business. As for things costing too much, just because you can get a highchair for £15 from Ikea doesn't make something like the tripp trapp poor value. My nephew has the tripp trapp and still uses it now at the age of 8, it's fantastic to have a chair that they can sit at the correct height at the table at when they're a toddler and too big for a highchair. There are highchairs on the market that sell for far more than the tripp trapp that don't do anything else other than be a highchair.Whilst we might consider them poor value for money and wouldn't necessarily choose them for ourselves, life would be very boring and dull if everyone bought the same things at the cheapest price. Everyone is different and if they can afford it then why not. If they were getting into debt over it then I would agree it is stupid.

peachyprice

Hmm, you are coming across as a bit of a brat TBH. What's to get upset about, you're not even PG yet, who's to say she won't do the same for you. Or would you refuse any acts of generosity from her?

Firstly your MIL is bound to be excited at the birth of her first granschild, and as mentioned above, she probably couldn't afford to spend on expensive things when her children were born, so is making up for it now.

Secondly, a Tripp-Trapp will last for many years, and many children, unlike the Ikea high chair. Some things are worth investing in. I had a fair few baby items that were passed from my children, to my brothers, to my cousin's and back to me, all because Mum paid that bit extra for good quality.

thorsoak

If you were being expected to buy the expensive item, I could understand your concern. But you're not. So don't fret about it - not your money, not your problem!

mumslave

yes i think its totally ridiculous the amount folks spend on babies...but then I am rather poor lol and probably just jealous that I cant spend the same on my mini army. If i did have the money, I would probably lavish them with various items that they would use for all of two seconds. As it is this is a family of hand me downs and bargins from ebay, booties or charity shops. Doesnt seem to bother the wee folk at all

username456

Becles

I've had similar from another angle. My SIL had a daughter three months after my daughter was born.

SIL works and her mother looks after my niece. They go shopping and whatever my niece wants, the grandmother buys. If something gets broken, it's instantly replaced. Here my daughter is told no, and it's tough luck if anything gets broken.

I noticed when they were visiting that my niece doesn't have as much care and respect for the toys as my daughter does. We were playing with a box of play food and crockery and my daughter will take pieces out one by one and arrange them on a tablecloth on the floor, whereas my niece just tips the whole box out and chucks the stuff around. I wondered if that was to do with getting whatever she wants and not being taught how to look after toys.

It also makes it incredibly hard for the rest of us to buy things for Christmas as she's got everything and we haven't got a clue what to get for her. If I ask my brother or SIL what she wants, they just say "errr dunno"!

shellsuit

Some people tend to think because something costs and arm and a leg, that that is the best you can buy, which is not always the case.

It's personal preference really, we're not all the same are we.

tiamai_d

The IKEA highchair will last about 4 months before the lo starts to climb out of it (there is a pic on the parenting thread to prove it!) whereas the tripp trapp will last about 10 years!

I bought cheap prams for the boys because I knew that in a few months time I'd be switching to a pushchair.

Depends on your tastes and priorities really.

dsab

I guess everybody has different priorities.

We are expecting our first in a few weeks, and there are a few things on which we always said we wouldn't skimp on.

We paid almost £600 for a Travel System that we really liked, and we "imported" a Nursery from Germany, as we couldn't find what we wanted here. On the other hand there were a lot of things we got for free from friends (Rocking chair, highchair, clothes, Baby Monitors etc.) or bought cheap on ebay.

I think you need to find a good middle ground.

[Deleted User]

I love my overly expensive baby monitor. Those fancy features do often come in handy (gotta love remote-control activation of nursery rhymes)

I've found that buying the 'good' stuff pays off in the end. It is important to differentiate between 'built well' expensive and 'brand name' expensive. My wife and I always try to go for the 'best', not the most expensive.

More to the point - why do you care what your MIL spends her money on?