It is perfectly normal to use a pram, clothes or toys that your child has already outgrown for his or her little brother or sister. But there are some things that are not suitable for reuse at all.
Children grow up incredibly quickly, growing out of clothes, toys and cradles. But these baby items are so cute and evoke such fond memories that getting rid of them is sometimes very difficult. And if the family is planning, or is already growing up a younger child, it’s a great excuse to give your favorite items a second life, and, sometimes, not a bad way to save on something new. But when passing something from an older to a younger child, you should understand that not everything is suitable for such an inheritance.
Footwear
It’s about the shoes that have been used for a long time and already worn under a particular child’s foot. At any age, wearing someone else’s shoes, trainers or sandals is not good for the feet, but a young child should definitely be wearing new shoes. What’s more, a new pair should not have to wait until they’re deformed. Of course, this does not apply to padded booties, which your baby just sits in the pram.
If your baby puts a stain on your clothes, it’s not always a reason to get rid of it right away, but it’s not a good idea to keep it and pass it on to your youngest. Other people’s dirty clothes, even 3-year-olds can cause a feeling that he is loved less than the older.
Cute jumpers and jerseys made from natural wool are something you want to keep. But it’s important to realize that wool will sooner or later attract moths, which are nearly impossible to cope with. These voracious insects are particularly fond of woolens that have already been used. And if in a fully sealed package to keep a wool jumper for a few months is quite realistic, then 3-4 years it is definitely not stored.
Rubber products have a strictly defined shelf life. And that’s as long as they are stored in their packaging. Those that have been used once lose their properties over time and begin to stick together and crumble, which is not at all necessary for any child. Although baby bottles are produced from quite safe and high quality plastic, it also has an expiry date and a limited number of uses, after which microcracks appear and it becomes dangerous to children’s health.
A car without a wheel, a doll with a broken arm or a face painted with a felt-tip pen, puzzles with missing pieces – all of these should not be kept and passed on to the youngest after the eldest. Well, unless they want it badly enough – because kids always want very much what their older sibling had.
What your baby sleeps on is critical to their health. Therefore, an old mattress that can’t help but become warped in various places, has been used as a trampoline more than once and gets wet repeatedly at night is totally unsuitable for a child. A mattress is such an item that you should always buy a new one for each child. Moreover, it is worth replacing it at least once a year.
Light-coloured fabrics have an unpleasant tendency to yellow over time. Even clothes that have not been used, but have only been stored, have unsightly yellow stains and streaks. Take them out almost impossible, because leaving white clothes “to grow out” for the younger does not make sense. It is better to give them to someone else as soon as the child grows out of them.
Plastic utensils are much the same as bottles – even if they are made of high-quality and safe plastic, such utensils have an expiry date, especially when actively used. True, manufacturers claim that plastic drinkware shelf life begins when you first use it. But it’s still best to buy new ones for your baby.
This applies to those wardrobe items chosen by schoolchildren and even teenagers. There’s a 98% chance that when a younger child grows up to the same age, something completely different will be in fashion and they won’t wear what they think is outdated.
These versatile and much-loved creative materials have an expiry date, beyond which they may not be safe to use. Moreover, over time, both plasticine and, in particular, finger paints lose their main properties, the joy of creation.
