That and next month there is a newer version of the toy and they just have to have that one because the one they have is so old.

agreed. Sort of like Apple fans and their iPhones?

There is a reason why we don't have broadcast TV. So my kids don't watch the commercials and go postal over all the toys they don't have! The ones they love the most are, interestingly enough, the least interactive. Stuffed animals, wooden toys, instruments, etc. Not the electronic ones. Kids these days are so darn spoiled, I think it would do all of them a lot of good to have about half of their stuff removed so they can have real play with a few quality toys.

Most kids get done with most toys in well under a week, many in under an hour. These toys all come from China, I think this is a brilliant idea. And kids shoes should be next. What parent hasn't blown a fortune on shoes that get worn for a couple of weeks, before the kids grow out of them?! Money not wasted on buying toys which can be rented can go to put better quality food on the dinner table, a win - win.

Yes, we should give China more of our money!! Also, I'd not want these used toys necessarily in my children's hands, what if the other children were sick. There are too many negatives starting with the fact it doesn't support my local business and all the people in the States who are out of work because CHINA is getting all the business.... Just sayin, China gets the money and we get used toys we've got no idea where they've been. NO thank you.

Your parents never told you the toys were borrowed from the neighbors, because you were a spoiled brat. You couldn't deal with toys that weren't new... yeah, that's not spoiled at all.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Horrible idea. Waste of money.

Agreed, it's pretty amazing that this kind of business model actually got off the ground and someone at a major news outlet wrote an article about it.

It's just as bad as the Rental Center commercials with Hulk Hogan and Troy Aikman where they're trying to get people to rent a television that cost about $500 for $35/mo...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where that deal is headed. These kind of programs simply take advantage of ignorance and people who are looking for a quick deal.

This isn't rent to own. The fact is that most kids get the maximum play benefit from toys the first time they use them, excluding game consoles or hobbies. Unless you just want to fill the kid's playroom with stuff that will go unused, this is a huge cost benefit. Maybe buy 1 toy for the holidays the kid gets to keep, and rent the rest. Unless you have raised a spoiled brat, this should be a good deal all the way around.

Thank you Nicole. That's exactly what I was thinking. What a dumb idea. This does not save money. It's only another monthly bill. If parents really wanna save money, they should spend more wisely on less stuff.

Robin, I'm afraid I disagree with you. Granted, my kids are all four and under, but watching kids - even if it is just in a toystore - should give parents a pretty good idea what will and won't be a good investment. My daughter will look and say she wants everything under the sun, but when it comes right down to it, she is a little mother and treats her babies as if they are real. Anything related gets used until it is worn out. And, with a $5 original investment, she has discovered a love for barbies. My 2 year old son loves tractors over anything else. Be it driving a real backhoe or a fist-sized Case tractor, if it has the potential to rumble move dirt or plow a field, it too will be palyed with until I step on it one to many times. My youngest son is only a year old, nd I can already see that he likes to build, stack and generally put one thing into another as well as make the "broooom" sound when pushing around cars. He's getting blocks and wood puzzles.

I would far rather purchase a few new toys that they will use until they wear out than spend that kind of money for something they can't keep and I have to spend time sanitizing and mailing. Plus, now that I can see how long my post is, that time might be better spent writing a novel :)

Actually I don't think we disagree. The items you mention such as Barbie, a collection of trucks, and the like are really more hobbyish. How many times can a child play chutes and ladders or operation? These are classics, but have a short half life as to interest. Not all toys can be rented, not all should. But as a smart shopper and a parent who knows what your kids really want, you should have no trouble figuring out what is for keeps, and what is for today. Dressing Barbies can be long lived, but if your child spends years doing Mr Potato Head, that could be an issue.

Yea and the fact that the money is going where? AND where have these toys been before we get them, is there a LIST for tracking in case someone gets sick .... I mean...eww...

Do you have $120 you can lend me right now? What if you made 1/4 of what you make now. Could you still lend me $120?

Some people can't afford $120, but $25 is easy each month... Think before you type.

I think it sounds like a good idea. Instead of 5 families all buying and using the same toy once, you get one toy being used 5 times instead. Saves space in the landfill and the toyroom. AND it only gives money to China once instead of 5 times.

I want to see the cold hearted people that can look a kid in the eye a couple weeks after Christmas and tell them "you gotta give half of those back"

What kind of lesson is this teaching children? Any parent that can do this doesnt deserve to see the joy on a childs face when they open a toy.

Parents that "rent" toyst are disgusting.

do they rent legos?... I am 50 and you can not RENT legos...they are MINE!

Nicole,

I think you're missing the point. You said:

This makes no sense. So someone pays $25 a month for $120 worth of toys. If she keeps them for 4 months she could have paid $20 more to keep them.

It isn't about keeping them for four months, that's the whole point! My grandson receives a lot of toys that he's either too old to play with anymore, he doesn't like, or he quickly gets bored with; I usually know within the first week (if not the first day) whether it's going to be a keeper or not. I hate when I have shelled out say $40.00 for a game and it turns out to be one that he doesn't like or has already played. I would much rather take that same $40.00 and be able to get a number of games. Even if he likes the games, he's only going to play once and then them put away, so if I've rented them, I don't lose all that money. As a matter of fact, to me this is a perfect way to 'test-drive' new (to him) games; I'll rent it, if he REALLY likes it and wants to keep it, then I'll go buy it, but if he doesn't, I'll just send it back and get him something else. It doesn't make sense to me that so many people cannot see the wisdom in this! You'll go to Blockbuster and rent movies rather than buying them, or you rent games from Gamefly, but you can't see renting toys. You'll go to flea markets and yard sales and buy used items that have been in someone else's house and bring them into yours, but you won't rent toys. Now that's what doesn't make sense to me!

This really is awful. First, why would any parent concerned with their childs health and safety, RENT toys that have been in other kids hands? Who knows what filth and what germs these used toys have been subjected too? I can't believe that our nanny state government even allows this to go on! They have no problem telling us what our kids can and can't eat, no problem putting out recall notices on toys that might pose a risk to small children, etc. etc. Yet they allow used toys that have been in other kids mouths, bathroom tubs and dirt filled basements to be passed around kids all over the country?? I, for one, would NEVER allow my kids to play with something that you don't know where it's been. What about you?

Also, we have no problem spending hundreds of dollars on ourselves for Iphones, Ipads, Ithis and Ithat. Thousands of dollars on ourselves for newer, bigger, better TV's and other electronic toys. Christmas is for kids... have we lost perspective of that? We can't spend a hundred bucks or less on a few NEW toys that encourage our kids motor skills, educational value, interactivity with others, etc? I'm not talking about those $100 TV advertised flash in the pan toys, I'm talking about quality toys that encourage the previously mentioned.

So.. go ahead and get yourself that new Ithing and then rent YOUR CHILDREN a couple of used, filthy beat-up toys. You deserve it, don't you?

Merry Christmas!

So, she created jobs at the cost of how many jobs that are currently in toy manufacturing? This will over time result in a higher loss of jobs in toy manufacturing than gained through the renting process. You're ok with that approach?

absolutely ok with that! the toys are probably made in china and these 11 people I'm guessing are in the US. if it builds up our job base and keeps toys out of landfills, I'm all for it.

Most of the toys are made in China, so China has the unemployment problem.

Actually, what this country needs is people who understand how to properly read and write the English language, unlike you.

Why is it always the Obama haters that are so clueless about "you're" vs "your"? I bet Mr Obama knows the difference between the two without resorting to google to look it up.

LeftLeaningLisa, maybe you need to relax? Sounding pretty troll-ish on this thread. Picking at someone else's word usage because you can't think of anything else to say? Lame. Everybody's entitled to their opinions, and posting derogatory remarks when you don't agree will never make anyone see anything your way.

let's hope they are sanitized before re-renting...

I'm betting they get a sani-wipe treatment, if that. Some toys you can't really sanitize.

This program seems to preach a bad message, imo. Bored with your toys? Don't worry - mommy will get you more! But since we can't afford it, we'll just pretend to be rich by blowing money on toys you won't get to keep. But at least we'll feel like we can afford these things!

It's the same sort of thinking that got people in trouble with the McMansion. They bought into something they didn't have money for and ended up having to give it back. Better idea: Save money, buy the toy. Can't afford it? Tell your kid. They'll learn a lot more that way and maybe have some financial sense instilled in the process.

THX, so OK if you needed to power wash the 8' x 10' deck on your house, once in 10 years, will you go out and buy a power washer for 800 bucks to keep forever when you can rent one for half a day for 40 bucks. You know, it will never start up after sitting for ten years. Or would you suggest that kids be taught to repeat behaviors such as playing with the same boring toy over and over again? Kind of like teaching addiction, isn't it?

That's not even a good comparison. Paying $100 for let's say a complete set of power rangers action figures, as opposed to renting them for $25/month is the better deal. What if your kid wants to play with those toys again a few months down the road? Gonna shell out another $25? You just paid for half their worth to keep them for a total, so far, of 2 months. Kids usually go back to toys that you buy them, even if they seem unappreciated at the moment. My friend's daughter didn't touch a train we bought her for a good 5 months after we got it for her last christmas. Now she plays with it everyday. Renting that and getting rid of it later would have deprived her of the enjoyment she gets now.

Bed bugs can't live in plastic....

Bed bugs can live anywhere for a period of time, and do. They are easier to spot on plastic, but not inside a plastic toy. Sure, they prefer wood and cloth, but they are nasty little vermin that can hitch a ride practically anywhere.

Bed bugs Can live in the head of a screw! They live between the pages of books. Any crack or crevice. Electronic toys that they could get inside would be ideal habitat for bed begs, and are the expensive types of toys people would be likely to rent. Toys, no matter what material they are made from, would be especially inviting to bed bugs because they are usually kept in a bedroom where the child sleeps. If you really believe they can't live in plastic, I suggest you do some research.

Miker, would renting an escort for a more enjoyable holiday fall under "filler toys"?

Merry Christmas, Blistery New Year!

I wonder if the escorts would be any cleaner than the toys would be. All in all, this story makes me think we finally have the final clinching argument for ditching gift giving at Christmas altogether.

Lol.....Good idea!!

I believe it has been well-established by a number of sources that Jesus did, in fact, exist. And, while even many christians who celebrate his birth will agree that he was probably actually born in the summer, they are celebrating the birth of an actual person - regardless of your beliefs regarding his significance on earth.

Did your well established sources actually see the man after his so called death. Again no Santa Claus no JC. But if people want to believe in these fantasy characters who am I to criticize because people can believe what they want to.

Thanks john! No Santa! What a load of crap that is!

Wow. You're hilarious! Anybody SEE Abraham Lincoln lately? Anybody SEE any global warming? No? Yet, I'm sure you'd be the first to ridicule someone who denied that global warming is real.

No different than religion, except that we eventually tell our kids that Santa is not real, whereas moronic religious zealots believe and tell people god (or jesus, whatever) is real, their entire lives.

@miker, comparing a scientific plausibility to a folk tale from a book of fiction (yes, I'm talking about the bible). They aren't even slightly similar. Besides, at least there's more proof of global warming than there is proof of jesus christ, or "god".

Uh, Lisa, I beg to differ. Much better atheists and intellectuals than you don't even bother trying to deny that Jesus lived and breathed. It's no more a reasonably debatable issue than that the Earth is round and not flat. Now, what you believe about Jesus is a separate matter and not one that could be addressed in a comment or two.

I will hasten to add that there may be a good reason that fully grown adults - to include many very well educated ones - continue to believe their entire lives that Jesus was exactly who he claimed to be. You may want to read some of their works. You know, since I'm sure you're an advocate of reading and open-mindedness and all. . . I highly recommend starting with Josh McDowell's works.

I have no doubt Jesus lived. Several people wrote books about their experiences with him. It's unlikely they all just made it up. The only difference is this particular historical figure started a cult religion. Doesn't make him fictitious. (Makes the people that followed him gullible, but that's another issue.)

AG: That's sort of the point I was making except for one detail. I'm not willing to say that Jesus "started" a religion - cult or otherwise. I believe for the most part people around him or after him did that. Think "Life of Brian."

And, really, modern christianity was largely co-opted by Constantine (and others) for political purposes which Jesus never even envisioned.

Very true harry. Almost every tradition is based from pagan or other custom. I hope people understand this, and realize the reason they would practice them and believe in them isn't because they are out trying to promote the actual practices. Instead, realize that there is good qualities and life lessons that can be followed and aquired by understanding them. Not necessarily posting up a fire hazzard tree in your living room, and wrapping it with electricity... but spending time with family, being compassionate for the one's less fortunate, and such.

Harry - You, my friend, are incorrect and grossly so. Perhaps you just don't do a lot of reading other than things which support your preconceived notions? I believe you would call that intellectually dishonest. There is perhaps more evidence of various types that Jesus walked on the planet than there is of many things you and all of us accept without question.

As for the Christmas thing, I never said otherwise. In fact, I pointed out above that even many christians will acknowledge that Jesus was probably born in the summer. Christmas is celebrated when it is and how it is for a number of reasons, none of which are mentioned in the Bible - and none of which matter. Not that anyone that I know has ever claimed otherwise, nor do I think Jesus would care one way or the other except insofar as his name gets associated with a lot of things he would not likely condone.

Jesus never said to wear a cross as a symbol of christianity, either, but people have done so for hundreds of years. It's a reminder to them of what they believe. A barber pole doesn't have any divinely ordained significance. Nor does the three-ball symbol on pawn shops. They're symbols that people made up to signify something meaningful TO THEM. Through common usage, the meaning came to be understood almost universally. Like candy canes and christmas trees.

Does it really matter? It's not like christians are running around setting fire to people's homes to celebrate. If you're not into it, go on your way in peace.

I agree, although I'll go you one better. Why not just wrap some empty boxes and stick them under the tree? Looks pretty. Makes for an impressively materialistic spread on Christmas morning. Costs almost nothing. And, kids tend to love playing with the boxes more than many of the toys anyway. Even when they get a little older.