Decreasing consumerism, one purchase at a time

Children's things have a short useful life and a long material one. A tricycle is outgrown in two summers; the plastic it is made from outlives everyone who touched it. That gap is the whole argument for buying less, and buying better.

Three questions before anything enters the house

1. Can it be borrowed? Cradles, changing mats, carriers and bath seats circulate easily between neighbours and friends. Most are used for months, not years.
2. Can it be bought secondhand? Wooden and metal items survive several children without complaint. Marktplaats, local swap groups and outgrown-toy shelves cover most of the list.
3. Will it still be useful in two years? If not, someone else's attic can hold it instead of yours.

When you do buy new

Choose the version that can be repaired, handed on, or resold. Simple mechanics beat electronics. Wood and metal beat thin plastic. A three-wheeler with replaceable parts — something like this one — will pass through several families before it is finished.

Decreasing consumerism is not austerity. It is refusing to pay twice: once at the till, and again when the thing becomes waste.