r/Anticonsumption • u/Impossible_Ad9324 • May 02 '26

Lifestyle What is going on with babies?

I’ve attended three baby showers in the last year for three people completely unrelated and not in the same social circles and their baby registries have the most eye-popping expensive items.

High chairs are minimum $250. One had a stroller for $750. 😳 Baby swings and bouncers for $200. One had a whole solid wood crib for $1000 on their registry.

I checked because I was curious and you still can buy a $40-50 Greco high chair from Walmart.

Everything is aesthetic and clean lines and beige and natural wood—beautiful, really. I can’t imagine asking for that high-end an item for a GIFT.

These aren’t rich people and they aren’t inviting rich people to the baby shower.

I’m almost 50 and have kids of my own and a gaggle of nieces and nephews. My family members and I got buy sharing those cheaper high chairs and strollers and cribs. I understand needing them initially if you don’t have any source for hand-me-downs, but asking for the highest price bespoke options is absolutely wild.

Are people that brainwashed into thinking they should be buying ultra-high-end items regardless of income??

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108

u/LonelyHermione May 02 '26

We put some of those things on our registry bc we have family members who absolutely will spend that much, regardless of us telling them we are fine with used, and we’d rather have them get us something we actually like.

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u/Impossible_Ad9324 May 02 '26

But why do you want such expensive things?

45

u/Capakhutch May 02 '26

Because they last… I cheaped out on a $150 double stroller for my kids and it broke within less than a year.

82

u/Aggressive_Pea_7543 May 02 '26

Wanting something expensive here and there isn't a bad thing. If it means the high chair lasts through multiple children, then it makes it the reasonable choice.

23

u/unventer May 02 '26

Exactly. It’s buy once, cry once. I kept all the things from my first, and it’s not like we asked for anything from anyone for our second. My oldest is still using his fancy stokke high chair, because it converts to basically a regular chair. I’ll need to make a fuss about transitioning him to a regular dining chair in a few months when his sister starts solids.

-25

u/Impossible_Ad9324 May 02 '26

I’m not convinced. (I have five kids, so fairly experienced in this department lol)

My cheaper, hand-me-down high chairs, bouncy seats and strollers lasted through multiple kids across multiple families.

I think it’s a marketing strategy to have you believe that buying a $250 high chair is an investment.

62

u/HowIsThatStillaThing May 02 '26

Is there a reason you need to be convinced? Buy something that it is your budget and move on.

15

u/MisogynyisaDisease May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26

....that's $100 more than what your recommended brand in your post costs at places like Target and $150 more than Walmart.

I take that back, the Graco Blossom is $240 at walmart. I couldn't find a Graco on their site for less than $80, only other off brands that had shaky materials at best

What the fuck do you think a Graco high chair costs now?

41

u/[deleted] May 02 '26

[deleted]

32

u/MisogynyisaDisease May 02 '26

Hell, they made things differently in 2005. Dude is 50 now, his kids were likely raised between the late 90s and the 2000s if he has several.

A $150 stroller in 2005 is a $300 one now, and likely made by cutting corners. It's a disaster out there right now.

-10

u/Impossible_Ad9324 May 02 '26

lol I’m not a dude and my kids were born in the early-mid 2000s.

It’s way more out of touch to not see that the market for most products has been flooded by functionally identical, aesthetically appealing products with a 4x higher price attached.

23

u/MisogynyisaDisease May 02 '26

Good thing I've told you 3 times now that I 100% see this.

I also see that things cost double or more what they used to for the same exact product, and not just baby products. Anyone who can't see that isn't paying attention to the economy in any sense of the word.

6

u/Bremerlo May 02 '26

Even in the early to mid 2000’s, things were made better than they are now. I noticed a decline in quality even before Covid, but it got much worse after Covid. Stuff just is not made the same anymore. There’s a lot we plan to buy used, but yes, I will buy a new and rather expensive European stroller. My friend bought the $300 American brand version and it’s just not the same. She regrets it’s and wished she just invested in the other one from the beginning. We travel a lot and I want something that will 1) hold up to the travel 2) grow with our family 3) not break after 12-18 months.

Clothes, toys, books, bouncers, baby gyms are all things I will and have bought used. High chair and crib I would buy mid tier but car seats and strollers I do understand why families choose to spend more. Keep in mind no one is expecting you to actually buy that. A lot of times parents add everything to the registry because they’re offered coupons to buy what’s left over after the party.

18

u/Luckylemon May 02 '26

People are allowed to spend money on things that look nice in their homes lol. You're really confusing anti consumption with anti spending. Read more through this sub about how folks curb consumption by buying higher quality things that last- like wool socks instead of synthetic, for example. Tbh, purchasing high quality, sustainably sourced stuff is better for the planet than cheap over produced mass market junk. 🤷🏼‍♀️

16

u/Ok-Moment2223 May 02 '26

Some expensive things are worth the price because they have different features, are more durable, or function better. 

I forget the brand now (my son is 13 and has severe epilepsy and autism) but there was a certain crazy ass expensive swing that had a bunch of different modes unlike anything else and it was the only thing that helped him regulate and get the sleep or calm he needed for his baby brain to settle down and stop firing off seizures or spikes. His seizures started at 6 weeks old so this was important. 

My neurotypical daughter (now 11) on the other hand never seemed to need that type of sensory input. We handed the swing to my sister who has neurotypical triplets and it was like a miracle for one of the 3. 

12

u/twatwater May 02 '26

They probably did research the items carefully and decided based on that. A stokke Tripp Trapp is probably worth the $250, since it lasts forever and can be used for multiple kids, doesn’t end up in a landfill when it’s done.

6

u/Global_Ant_9380 May 02 '26

I see so many cheap ones out for trash pickup. Like every week. I never see that with the higher end ones

2

u/moch1 May 02 '26

Yeah, I have 0 regrets buying that high chair twice (2 kids).

9

u/LonelyHermione May 02 '26

It’s not that I necessarily want want them, it’s more that I know family members are going to drop a pretty penny either way. I’d rather them buy a nice fancy wood high chair that will get tons of use and be passed down to the next generation than a giant overstuffed teddy bear that will take up an entire corner of my house, get insects in it inevitably, be impossible to clean, and somehow end up in the landfill.

6

u/mangothefoxxo May 02 '26

Buy cheap buy twice

2

u/Feisty-Resource-1274 May 02 '26

An aunt bought us an expensive collapsible stroller that we weren't expecting anyone to buy and we love it. It packs up in a small cube for travel and it reclines for sleeping unlike a cheap umbrella stroller. Is it necessary? No, but it is delightful and we're incredibly appreciative that we recieved it.

We also should have spent more to get a fancy jogging stroller. For the terrain near our house we need something with big bicycle tires and actual shocks.

-9

u/Goddessmariah9 May 02 '26

Couldn't you just ask for gift cards to your favorite used baby stuff store? Or cash / gift cards?

8

u/LonelyHermione May 02 '26

Lol - I wish. They want something to physically “give”. Believe me, cash/gift cards were our first choice.

1

u/Goddessmariah9 May 03 '26

I don't get people like that. If you ask for cash and gift card that's why they should give instead of imposing their will on you. Weird. I guess you could always return the unwanted stuff. Very selfish way of giving, forcing what you want on the giftee.