Asking for unwanted toys

[Star8376]

I am a childminder, please just need advise, is it alright to ask parents for their children's unwanted toys? Thanks in advance for your advice.

[moggy]

I am a childminder, please just need advise, is it alright to ask parents for their children's unwanted toys? Thanks in advance for your advice.

I guess you could, seems a bit unprofessional, but certainly eco-friendly!

[redtiger21]

Perhaps to make it sound a little more professional, you could send out a general letter saying you welcome any donations of things like kitchen roll tubes, empty jars and old greetings cards for crafts and junk modelling, then perhaps add that you always welcome donations of unwanted spare toys and clothing for your setting?

[blue bear]

May be do a newsletter add in a plan for activities and visits and mention how you will be adding to resources by going. To boot sales/charity shops and all donations are great fully received too sort of thing?
Go onto Facebook free bay sites and ask for any donations of toys? There is alsort donated on the sites here.

[bunyip]

I am a childminder, please just need advise, is it alright to ask parents for their children's unwanted toys? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Yes.

I'm very "unprofessional".

Given the demand for my services, I guess people like it that way.

[Simona]

Be careful what you wish for!

When we asked parents for any unwanted toys for our Stay and Play group...we were inundated with gifts.
Not sure if that has happened to other cms but I have always had my cared for children donating their unwanted toys to my setting

Generosity can come in many forms...if the toys are good I see no reason not to have them rather than see them given to charity shops.
One of the donations turned up to be worth hundreds of pounds!

[Star8376]

thanks so much for your prompt replies. it was really helpful.

[Mouse]

I've never asked, but I have had parents donate things to us. I've been given toys, dressing up clothes, craft stuff, packs of paper, fruit & veg from allotments etc.

The only things I ever ask for are things like kitchen roll tubes, empty boxes and empty jars. Personally I wouldn't ask for toys as I feel I should be providing those. If any are offered I accept them gratefully, but I wouldn't ask for them.

The only problem I have had with accepting donations is when the child who has brought it along still thinks of it as their toy and is reluctant to share it. One little girl passed on a fancy dress costume. It was way too small for her, but she wouldn't let anyone else wear it as it was 'hers' and she kept wanting to take it back home!

[FloraDora]

The other Issue is that you would probably get all sorts.
I think carefully about resourcing and buy specifically for a learning outcome, child's needs - the toys you might be offered may not be of use to your setting and your individuals.
Like others, craft activity things that people collect are useful.

[Simona]

The other Issue is that you would probably get all sorts.
I think carefully about resourcing and buy specifically for a learning outcome, child's needs - the toys you might be offered may not be of use to your setting and your individuals.
Like others, craft activity things that people collect are useful.

Totally agree with that Flora Dora
It is ...however...possible to explain to those who donate that many resources will not be useful, or we may not have the storage room and ...in that case...would the donor agree they get taken to a charity shop instead ?

or explain what we welcome as donations...I always welcomed puzzles to add to the dozen I already had.
I would hope that will not offend anyone and we can look at what is useful and what is not.

I was totally taken aback once when I was presented with a huge box of Brio...WOW!

[tess1981]

Yes.

I'm very "unprofessional".

Given the demand for my services, I guess people like it that way.

I'm very unprofessional too lol
When parents tell me they are going home to do a rid out of toys etc I tell them not to forget about me that I get through toys at an alarming rate
I have also given parents things for their children such as hats gloves and scarves my daughter has grown out of or something my son has grown out of.. but I do know my parents and know they are approacable lol

[bunyip]

I'm very unprofessional too lol
When parents tell me they are going home to do a rid out of toys etc I tell them not to forget about me that I get through toys at an alarming rate
I have also given parents things for their children such as hats gloves and scarves my daughter has grown out of or something my son has grown out of.. but I do know my parents and know they are approacable lol

Excellent.

So much better than professionally land-filling perfectly serviceable resources.

It can't be all that unprofessional, as our local resource centre and play forum for childcarers/educators uses a lot of 'pre-loved' stuff as well as 'slight seconds' and factory rejects.

[loocyloo]

I'm very unprofessional too lol
When parents tell me they are going home to do a rid out of toys etc I tell them not to forget about me that I get through toys at an alarming rate
I have also given parents things for their children such as hats gloves and scarves my daughter has grown out of or something my son has grown out of.. but I do know my parents and know they are approacable lol

my childrens clothes/football kit stuff etc generally all gets passed on to minded children ( or their older siblings ) and in return, I often get the grown out of hats/glove/waterproofs etc. I was chatting to a mum the other day and saying that somehow, I had loads of spare tshirts, but didn't seem to have any bottoms or jumpers, and the next day she turned up with a bag full and said charity shop/pass on anything I couldn't use. I only kept a few pairs of track pants, and a couple of jumpers, but was really useful and kind. I also have mindees passing on clothes to other mindees ... there is one coat that is now on its 3rd child and still going strong!

[lizduncan72]

I get things passed on to me from our nursery! The teacher there is great and when they were given a new little tikes car she gave us the old one which was still perfectly usable, just a few peeling stickers. Also when a parent handed in piles of toys to nursery I was given a big bag to bring home-only when I got home did I realise that I'd been given all the ones that make a noise!!! Lol

[samb]

I often asked for resources such as bottle lids or cardboard tubes depending on things I have planned. I find I hardly ever get given enough though! I haven't asked for toys as such unless a parent has said something that leads me on to asking so for example a parent told me her dd aged 9 never plays with the toy kitchen and she didn't know what to do with it. I said I'd happily take it off her hands! I've recently been given 3 big bags of things like orchard toys games and Disney puzzles, I've had a little tikes car, a trike, a chalk board and loads of scrap paper from parents. They don't tend to just turn up with items they ask first. I often say I'm more than happy to have a look if they were only going to throw it out anyway? They often say they would take to charity shop if I don't want so I say is a more than happy to take items that I have too many of etc to the charity shop once I have had a look and they are more than happy to not have to bother with a charity shop run too.

[Simona]

Good to hear that most parents would ask if we are happy to accept their unwanted toys.
I mentioned the brio I was given without listing the bikes and scooters and toy laptops and Lego...all very welcome!

I recently visited a Trussel Trust charity shop...if any parent wants to get rid on their toys point them in the TT direction if you do not need them...many toys are given to the homeless when they get re-housed and any resources for children are greatly appreciated.

Good cause and avoids toys ending up in recycling bins!

[hectors house]

Parents often give me old outgrown trikes for the garden - had a parent of a child who left 3 years ago turn up last week with a big bag of megablocks vehicles and puzzles which were gratefully received - I did offer her some money but she refused.

[bunyip]

Good to hear that most parents would ask if we are happy to accept their unwanted toys.
I mentioned the brio I was given without listing the bikes and scooters and toy laptops and Lego...all very welcome!

I recently visited a Trussel Trust charity shop...if any parent wants to get rid on their toys point them in the TT direction if you do not need them...many toys are given to the homeless when they get re-housed and any resources for children are greatly appreciated.

Good cause and avoids toys ending up in recycling bins!

I wholeheartedly agree that unwanted toys should go to charity shops.

With respect, I would not necessarily support Trussel Trust. They do some excellent work, but are too overtly religious for my taste. Sadly, this extends to discriminating against non-Christians when advertising for employees and volunteers.

I know there are some exemptions to the Equality Act where it can be shown that an organisation can prove it is essential that the employee be of one particular faith (in fact I've even been previously employed by a charity that did just that). But they're either discriminating or asserting that you cannot possibly help homeless people without signing up to their particular flavour of deeply-held irrational beliefs.

[Simona]

Uh...that sounds not very nice at all Bunyip
I have not really looked at their politics...all I do is drop food at their food bank regularly and...as I have donated so much to my local charity shops...I thought I'd try something new.

[bunyip]

Sorry, I'm side-tracking off topic (yet again).

The essential problem with most charities is they end up picking up the pieces and doing work the State (if it has to exist) really should be doing for the citizenry. Tbh we can all go round in circles looking for "good" or "less good" or even "godly" charities to support.

Church organisations have a bit of a privileged position when it comes to homelessness and similar issues. They enjoy tax exemptions and can lobby parliament, not to mention also having a few old dodders warming the benches and the bar of the House of Lords.

A secular organisation wishing to help the homeless would not be allowed to lobby parliament to anything like the same degree if it held charitable status. But if it weren't a charity it would have to register as a company and face a big tax bill. "Democracy" eh?

I struggle to find charities which are even approaching anything like wholly 'ethical'. I'm naturally drawn to the various cancer charities, then you suddenly realise there are 100's of them, all duplicating one another's work, paying fat salaries to CEO's and throwing vast amount of money at a handful of far-from-ethical multi-national pharmaceutical companies.

Even the 'relief' organisations can be quite a racket. For details, see: (Antony Lowenstein) Disaster Capitalism: making a killing out of catastrophe published by Verso Books.