Need a gift for the little helpmeet-to-be in your life?

[terranova]

dealaday.co.nz/dailydeal/5270/little_helper_cleaning_basket_trolley_set

The little girl even looks like she could be a Maxwell granddaughter. Maybe it's Evelyn, or Elizabeth.

[IronicallyMaeve]

Naw, check out those defrauding shoulders.

[DGayle]

This is a really a gift for at-home moms who have girls who won't leave the cleaning supplies alone. My older always wants to "help," so I had to get her her own kiddie stuff so she'd leave alone whatever I was using. So I guess I don't see the big deal about toys that are cleaning stuff.

[Coco]

This is a really a gift for at-home moms who have girls who won't leave the cleaning supplies alone. My older always wants to "help," so I had to get her her own kiddie stuff so she'd leave alone whatever I was using. So I guess I don't see the big deal about toys that are cleaning stuff.

That's true but at the same time it's so PINK :lol: i think Ikea sells more neutral ones. That set kind of shouts, cleaning is a girl thing. :angry-banghead:

[trailmix2014]

Yeah, all the pink stuff drives me up the wall. My almost 5 year old son loves stuff like this, but he doesn't care for pink all that much. It's hard to find affordable toys for him that aren't pink.

Plus the "girls" aisle at the store looks like pepto bismol threw up in it. Ick..

I'm a pink hater myself, so it just drives me crazy.

[FreeHannie!]

This is a really a gift for at-home moms who have girls who won't leave the cleaning supplies alone. My older always wants to "help," so I had to get her her own kiddie stuff so she'd leave alone whatever I was using. So I guess I don't see the big deal about toys that are cleaning stuff.

Same. I'd have absolutely no problem with this if it was a gender neutral toy, because toddlers like to mimic what adults are doing, but the fact it is clearly marketed as a girls toy because 'cleaning is for girls' really irks me.

Both boys and girls need to be encouraged to learn to clean and that it's not automatically 'the wimmins job'.

[Anny Nym]

This is a really a gift for at-home moms who have girls who won't leave the cleaning supplies alone. My older always wants to "help," so I had to get her her own kiddie stuff so she'd leave alone whatever I was using. So I guess I don't see the big deal about toys that are cleaning stuff.

Dito here! :lol:

I don´t have a problem with getting CHILDREN toy cleaning supplies, toy woodshop toys, toy farm tools. I think that´s, along with toy shop fronts and toy kitchens, a global staple in most children´s rooms.

Even the trolley has a practical reason: You can stuff all the mini brooms and mops together and roll it discreetly into one corner of the room instead of stepping on it constantly :mrgreen:

BUT FOR GAWD´S SAKE, HAS IT TO BE A SICKLY-PINK PLASTIC-BOMBER FROM A CHINESE SWEATSHOP ("for children - from children!") ?

Really, that thing in the picture is just awful!

There are so nice, high quality alternatives, locally made ones, from wood and fabric.

You even can made your own one and choose the colours

(like a mop is super easy: a stick and the microfiber-fabric)

/crunchymomrantoff

(Sorry, couldn´t resist, I just really REALLY hate pink plastic toys!)

[FiddleDD]

Okay, I have to share an amusing story:

My mom had all these lofty plans of being an enlightened parent, her son was going to play with dolls and her daughter was going to play with cars. And my sister's biggest wish was for a 'sweep' (broom) of her own. :lol: My mom was HORRIFIED. She tried so hard to explain to my sister why she didn't want to buy her one and my sister just looked at her like she was insane. I think she eventually gave in, but my sister still talks about it. :D

[polecat]

My kids (boys) loved playing "clean up" as toddlers to the point that I'd give them little jobs so that they could help without making bigger messes, lol. My only issue with this toy is that it's so obnoxiously colored and looks like it's all cheap plastic.

[Rescinded and Mended]

My son went through a phase when he was a toddler where he loved vacuuming. Fortunately, Dirt Devil came out with a small (working!) miniature vacuum that was a plug-in.

We used to let him go to town on the hallways, it was so cute. :D I wish he still loved to vacuum. :lol:

[nomoxian]

It would be cheaper to go to the dollar store and buy a kid a broom, dust pan, some sponges and rags, and a bottle with some vinegar and water in it. You could gift it to them with a plastic bucket along with some candies and chocolates. And it could be any colour the kid likes! Except purple. For some reason I could never find purple mop/broom handles or cleaning buckets.

[Hane]

My son went through a phase when he was a toddler where he loved vacuuming. Fortunately, Dirt Devil came out with a small (working!) miniature vacuum that was a plug-in.

We used to let him go to town on the hallways, it was so cute. :D I wish he still loved to vacuum. :lol:

My nephew went through a similar phase, and wanted a toy vacuum cleaner for Christmas some years back. I was lucky to find a working replica of a Black and Decker standing vac, that came with a matching hand vac.

20+ years ago, my other nephew had a Little Tykes toy kitchen that was in realistic colors. He was about two at the time, and wasn't talking much yet. It was hysterical to watch him pretending to make coffee while talking on the toy wall phone, babbling and gesticulating with his hands, just like his father! (We're all Italian.)

[feministxtian]

My grandson has a "cleaning" set. He LOVES to do that sort of thing so we let him help. I got all the pieces at the dollar store so that if he broke it, it was no big deal.

But the pink would make me want to barf (and I actually like pink)

[Lissa1481]

I love pink, but I'd never buy that plastic pile of junk. A real one is cheaper.

[Trynn]

I like pink, but I'm getting pretty tired of every "girls'" toy being pink. It's very... Boring when things are almost all one color

[anniebgood]

I never got a cleaning kit, but one memorable Christmas I got a Beauty Shop with a doll and all the curlers and brushes and you could cut the hair with the scissors. I was about 10. Wonder if my mom wanted me to be a beautician. I can't do a thing with hair. Hence, I wear it short and curly. I wish they had given me what they gave my brother, an airplane dash board and a flying helmet. :shock:

[FloraKitty35]

Naw, check out those defrauding shoulders.

Don't forget the defrauding knees.

[ViolaSebastian]

Okay, I have to share an amusing story:

My mom had all these lofty plans of being an enlightened parent, her son was going to play with dolls and her daughter was going to play with cars. And my sister's biggest wish was for a 'sweep' (broom) of her own. :lol: My mom was HORRIFIED. She tried so hard to explain to my sister why she didn't want to buy her one and my sister just looked at her like she was insane. I think she eventually gave in, but my sister still talks about it. :D

My mother was the same way--except it manifested itself in not allowing me to have a kitchen set or baby dolls, lest I ingest the message that those things were all I was good for. I BEGGED her for one of those Fisher-Price kitchen sets--but nope. I tease her now that she's the reason why I can't cook and have no children. :lol:

[usmcmom]

I never got a cleaning kit, but one memorable Christmas I got a Beauty Shop with a doll and all the curlers and brushes and you could cut the hair with the scissors. I was about 10. Wonder if my mom wanted me to be a beautician. I can't do a thing with hair. Hence, I wear it short and curly. I wish they had given me what they gave my brother, an airplane dash board and a flying helmet. :shock:

Working on my reading comprehension...I first read that as "flying helpmeet," which, come to think of it; would make a really neat series of books for the fundie kids - "Adventures of the Flying Helpmeet."

I got nothing on the toys. I need coffee.

[nokidsmom]

My mother was the same way--except it manifested itself in not allowing me to have a kitchen set or baby dolls, lest I ingest the message that those things were all I was good for. I BEGGED her for one of those Fisher-Price kitchen sets--but nope. I tease her now that she's the reason why I can't cook and have no children. :lol:

I had dolls and kitchen sets but the one thing I really, really wanted? An Easy Bake Oven!!!

[twin2]

I had dolls and kitchen sets but the one thing I really, really wanted? An Easy Bake Oven!!!

OMG the Easy Bake Oven was awesome!! Cooked anything you wanted with a 100 watt light bulb! My Mom still has my old orange one. The new ones are now where near as cool.

[nokidsmom]

OMG the Easy Bake Oven was awesome!! Cooked anything you wanted with a 100 watt light bulb! My Mom still has my old orange one. The new ones are now where near as cool.

I never got one in spite of repeated requests for birthdays, Christmas, etc. My sisters had no luck either though when my youngest sister got married, she finally got one as a fun shower gift.

[twin2]

I never got one in spite of repeated requests for birthdays, Christmas, etc. My sisters had no luck either though when my youngest sister got married, she finally got one as a fun shower gift.

That was me the the Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. I wanted one of those sooooo bad. Asked for one every year, never got it. Then when I was in grad school. my Mom was at Big Lots and saw one for 5 bucks so she bought it for me for Christmas. Still have it. Took 20 years but I finally got it!

[keen23]

Target has a gender neutral version of the set.

[Coco]

That was me the the Snoopy Sno-Cone machine. I wanted one of those sooooo bad. Asked for one every year, never got it. Then when I was in grad school. my Mom was at Big Lots and saw one for 5 bucks so she bought it for me for Christmas. Still have it. Took 20 years but I finally got it!

The older Easy Bakes were cool, they looked like a tiny stove :) The newest purple ones are kind of ugly imo. I got an older mint green one new in the box (for less than a new one - whoohoo lol) for my dd for Christmas this year because my sisters and i never had one growing up either. :lol: There are whole recipe "shows" by kids on youtube now, it's hilarious.