There was a time (not long ago) when I thought that a baby comes into the world with a cruelly long shopping list attached to his/her tiny ankle and an urge to make parents buy more and more cool toys, why not designer clothes, carefully selected foods and very very expensive gear. Well, after watching all these eager parents around me hooked on a mad rollercoaster spending while getting tips from their own experiences and regrets, I learned the hard way that I shouldn’t have fallen into this trap myself. But from mistakes we learn and this is me…
1. Lots of shoes? No no, shoes are for mummies…
Or at least that’s my excuse to pretty much buy shoes to match my adult outfits more often than my partner likes me to! But for the tiny human’s sole you should not invest too much before their first year or of course, before they start walking. I always say that a toddler with 5 pairs of shoes is like me having simultaneously 5 ice creams in my hand and obviously not having time to fully enjoy them all. To be more precise, my story is this: having a 19 months tiny human wearing the same Crocs shoes for more than 6 month now is the living proof that babies only need a good pair of shoes at the time. Light, easy to put on, fun colours (got the glowing in the dark version) and sooo practical, my first choice in shoes is definitely not boring and he is simply obsessed with them. Yes, I pretty much think this is a cool start for a little one’s clumsy first steps and beyond. Yet, us, two millennial new parents to this bundle of boy-joy, had to have a bit of fun too so choosing the cool Star Wars theme was, obviously, the only way to go. Considering the transition to the cold weather plus a foot size growth, we are now about to give them up and move onto muddy boots (how would you like to win a pair for your bundle yourself?)
2. Toys? Don’t go crazy…
Yes, they are little and they need lots of distractions especially during those ‘fun’ tantrums. But spending fortunes on bath toys, toys with remote controls, sophisticated dolls and soft toys, battery operated or musical ones etc is pretty much anther worse and useless investment. Things around the house such as boxes or crockery would work just as nicely even when they hit ‘the terrible twos’. So are chasing pigeons and squirrels in the park! They would already be pretty much engaged in activities on the playgrounds or nurseries, not to mention the restaurants which are becoming more and more baby friendly and offer an increasingly more support for parents nowadays when going out as a family. So why not spend less now and save more for later…
3. Baby food. Waste is money not spent wisely…
It may sound strange adding ‘food’ on the bad investments list, but from my own experience I now understand how much waste we create in order to feed the tiny human. Yet, I know organic, eco and bio are the new favourite trends in food and I agree that we should only feed them our best trying to avoid chemicals and artificial nasties. However instead of checking out the most expensive food stores and being mesmerised by the pretty labels the new green wholesale stores offer, trying to get fresh things from farmer’s markets and local bakeries may help with reducing waste and save you some money in the long run. Also buying all those healthy oats cookies, energy bars and biscuits may become much more expensive than baking it yourself and the recipe is just too easy even for mums on the go. Or, as the cold season is already here, why not making your own vapour rub (click to see my best and easiest 2 ingredients recipe) using some of the kitchen stuff you may already have?
4. Expensive pushchairs? No, not unless you’re one of the Middletons’
This may be a tricky one as most parents’ excuse is that they would like to buy a more expensive one in order to use it for a second or even a third bundle, but spending thousands of pounds on a pram is just madness. But before I got L, one of my experienced mother friends said: ‘just buy a cheap one, you’ll end up with a Maclaren anyway’. I didn’t eventually, but most of my other parent friends going for various brands did as let’s be honest, it’s so light, great for travellers and it pretty much folds like an umbrella. Yet I’m pretty happy with my partner’s kind of pushy choice (because it got lights!), the cute BabyZen which I’ll definitely be using for the second baby (when I get my courage back!). In a nutshell though, don’t go crazy, especially if you’re travelling a lot or regularly using public transport. Unless you’re Kate and get royal help, but I must say I’m not impressed at all with those huge posh buggies taking all space on a crowded bus…
5. Technology and gadgets? Not toddlers’ toys.
Technology can be very dangerous as it may become a regular distraction parents use for their children when they’re busy. God knows how tempted I was sometimes to give up my iPad in exchange of a cuppa and 5 quiet minutes for myself. But getting them hooked on expensive gadgets instead of pushing them to engage in other more suitable activities for their age may prove to be the very first bad decision on a chain of mistakes. Soon they’ll be expecting video games, consoles, smart toy cars etc instead of appreciating and enjoying time in outdoorsy activities. Also going for expensive room lights systems and thermometers can also prove quite useless as many parents are saying they only use them when they buy them, then dumping them on Free Cycle (which I totally support!) or in a hidden drawer. So this is too a bad investment.Instead we should invest more energy and attention in the time management around the family and try to spend our existence trying to make the most of our children’s development stages and worry less about how to match their shoes to the new shirt…
Got any more wisdom to pour? I’m eager to hear you out! If thirsty for more creative fun ways to enjoy motherhood and its perks, follow Allmumstalk Facebook page or you can get lots of colourful ideas from my Instagram #allmumstalk. Cool mums tweet, so throw at me your tips if braver (#allmumstalkhere)! 😉
Why not entering the Crocs competition? I’ve got 5 cool pairs of shoes to give away to 5 cool mums for their bundles.
Motherhood can be beautifully challenging yet tough. But don’t forget, cool mums and bumps, we’re all in this together…
Ally x
#allmumstalk
4 comments
Sometimes I feel like the world’s clumsiest mum ;))
same here!!! did you buy a smaller one eventually?
I think it’s impossible not to go through a few mistakes especially with our first born ;)) thanks for sharing, it feels better to see there’s an entire mum club out there going through the same things 🙂 xx
Can totally relate to all of these! I’ve wasted far too much on toys (and been bought loads too) when all she wants is the remote, my purse or keys etc. I’ve spent loads of fancy food & snacks for her too when half the time everything is thrown on the floor and yes the buggy – we spent a lot (well, we were bought ours) & I do love it, but in hindsight its far too big and a maclaren (!!) would’ve been just fine!! x