What Is The Big Deal About Letting My Kid Play With The Toys At The Toy Store And Then Put Them Back?
Sergio doesn’t know why it bothers his wife so much that he takes his child to the store and let’s him play with the toys and put them back. He sees other dads doing it all the time. What is the point of having toys out at the toy store if the kids aren’t going to play with them?
Jonathan: Today for panic button we have Sergio. Hey, Sergio.
Sergio: Hey, how’s it going?
Jonathan: You have a bit of a problem with your wife, your son and freedom. What? What’s going on with sticky fingers? What’s going on, Sergio?
Sergio: Yeah. Well, I take my son to this toy store and I’m not really intending to buy him anything. But I take him there because they have toys and Legos and stuffed animals, and all this stuff that a two year old would like to play with.
Ayla: Yeah.
Sergio: And I let him just play around with it. My wife finds out and she’s like, how can you possibly let him touch all those toys?
Ayla: I have a question, Sergio. Okay. So are these toys that are left out for kids to purposely play with? Or are they toys at this store that are intended to be purchased? Do you know what I mean?
Sergio: Yeah. I guess they’re intended to be purchased.
Jonathan: Okay. You just let him play with the toys, slobber all over them and then put them back?
Ayla: It’s like his own personal play pit. But you’re not purchasing any of the things there.
Sergio: Right. I don’t think it’s that big a deal because other kids do this too. So when I take him over there he’s usually not the only one. So I didn’t think it was a big deal.
Jonathan: Yeah. So, you see other parents doing this? All parents do this, right?
Sergio: All parents do? Yeah.
Jonathan: Who doesn’t do this? Yeah, I did this.
Ayla: I’m just trying to visualize. Okay, so you bring your son to a toy store, and let’s just say, a toy truck for sale. Your son will go pick up the toy truck, play around with it for a bit, and then you don’t buy it. You just put it back and go on your merry way?
Jonathan: If it’s the store I’m thinking of, it’s kind of a play area. It’s not like a Target, where it’s a linoleum floor and they’re crawling around on that. It’s a place where you would sit down. I mean, why do bookstores even have chairs there if they aren’t intending people to sit down and start reading too.
Ayla: I’m just thinking of other kids and the people who are trying to sell those toys.
Jonathan: So it’s wrong because the store’s out of money.
Ayla: I honestly don’t know how I feel about this because I’ve not brought my son to a toy store to do this, but I know that my husband has before in the past.
Jonathan: It’s a dad thing. Maybe it’s just from you. Women just don’t understand.
Ayla: I actually take him to a place where you go and you play in a playpen.
Jonathan: Like the slides at the mall or whatever.
Ayla: No, like Walmart or Barnes and Noble or other places.
Jonathan: How are you supposed to know if the kid likes the toy if he doesn’t play with it first? Good point. I mean, how many times have you bought something for your kid? You open it and they’re just like that.
Ayla: But isn’t it the right thing to do to at least purchase one toy every time?
Jonathan: Every time?
Ayla: He’s touching a whole bunch of toys. Is there a guilty conscience there?
Jonathan: I wouldn’t feel guilty about it. All right. You’ve never bought anything either.
Sergio: No. Never.
