Rent, don't Buy

There’s a new trend sweeping across the Atlantic and onto our shores driven by the desire to give our children the best, but the knowledge that the best carries with it a significant price tag.  People are moving away from purchasing and opting to rent – they’ve even coined a phrase for it, ‘Transumerism’.  It’s not just cars, houses and DVDs that are rented out, but power tools, the latest ‘must have’ fashion accessories and almost everything to do with children:  clothes, cots, pushchairs, toys and books.

To rent rather than buy for babies and children makes perfect sense, especially for those items that have a short period of ‘usefulness’ such as toys and books.  Libraries and Toy Libraries aren’t a new idea, it’s just they are now available online.  Anyone that has had a baby knows how quickly they develop; that ‘contrast’ book that first amused them is quickly superseded by the ‘touch and feel’ book which is then itself tossed aside in favour of the ‘flap’ book.  Fascination with the rattle diminishes as interest in the drum grows; and that beautiful wooden walking aid you bought your precious little one for his birthday was only used for a few weeks because the budding Mo Farah toddled down the whole length of the kitchen at the age of 13 months.

Before you know it that promise you made yourself that your house would not become a shrine to discarded toys and books has gone by the wayside and a toy mountain that resembles Kilimanjaro is increasing in height each day whilst the book shelf is overflowing (again).  Then the guilt pangs hit you – not only is it a waste of money (there is no real ‘value’ in second hand toys) and quite simply a hassle to get rid of everything, but there is also the detrimental effect on the environment to consider.  The government has recognised that renting is a logical solution to the growing issue of waste and its Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap) has called for 20% of all household spending (about £180bn/annum) to move from buying to renting by 2020.
There are other advantages to renting.  You can opt for a ‘try before you buy’ service and renting also makes sense when you are going on holiday and space in your car is limited.  Companies that rent out items for babies and children ensure they are safe and clean, something you can never be sure about if you are buying second hand items.  Toys, for example go through a quality control process to ensure they are not broken or dangerous and are generally steam cleaned after being cleaned with disinfectant.  You can get better brands for your budget, keep up with the latest trends and get everything delivered to your door which is a more attractive prospect than spending your weekends dealing with tantrums in the toy shop because your 18 month old child wants everything it can see.  And don’t fool yourself about how ‘little’ you spend on items like toys and books, the UK toy industry is worth an annual £3bn……………and its growing.

So next time you consider buying, think about the alternative of renting.  Having your toys and books whisked away every 2 months and replaced with a whole new lot is an economical, fuss free, environmentally friendly and all round sensible solution.  Try it!