Why not share your toys? If you and your friends all want the latest toys, or even the new release computer games, why not buy them together and share, or just buy only one each and then swop when you have finished playing with them. Not only will you help by buying less products but you can save your pocket money too!
Why not start a toy trading club at school? There could be lots of unwanted toys stuck in the bottom of your cupboard you could swop! You could set up a system where kids can tell you about their unwanted toys and then other kids can trade their own toys with them.
Or why not use a toy library instead? This is just like a book library, but you can borrow toys instead. Check out www.natll.org.uk to see if there is a library near you.
Get creative! Instead of buying toys, have you thought about making them instead. You can probably find lots of unwanted materials around the house which you could make into something great to play with, having fun along the way. Check out www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/bluepeter for some good ideas.
Use your imagination! You don't need to be spending your money on the latest gadgets to have fun with your friends. Build yourself a secret den, start up a new club and most importantly play outside whenever you can! Get on the local field and get all the kids joining in on sports activities. Why not organise a football or rounders tournament or just some good old fashioned races?
And what about the toys you are bored with? Why not pass them on to charities or other children who will still have hours of fun with them. Or if they really are past it, then make sure you dispose of them in a responsible way, recycling where possible.
Batteries
It goes without saying that lots of toys these days need batteries too. Batteries are full of harmful chemicals and most of them end up in landfill sites, leaking into the soil, causing pollution and endangering wildlife.
We should all be using rechargeable batteries up now. Although they use energy when we recharge them, they can be used again and again and have a much longer life span, meaning less batteries being wasted. |
