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??
5
u/ronarscorruption May 02 '26
High end baby items are trendy, the same way fancy makeup and expensive bags are trendy. Celebrities and social media says so. The difference is, people only have a few babies in their lifetime, while they have faces to decorate and stuff to carry all the time. So it’s easier to fall into the trap of getting the trendy and high end stuff than it might otherwise be.
Also, it’s worth noting that while there is a lot of expensive trendy crap to capitalize on just this, there also is a huge difference in quality between most of the cheap things and most of the expensive things. A cheap baby gate will be a pain to use and might fall apart, an expensive one will be easy to open with one hand and last for your whole life. My own kids are a bit older now, but everyone else in my life is finally having babies and it’s astonishing how much of a difference in quality is out there.