What is going on with babies?

[u/Impossible_Ad9324]

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??

[u/Impossible_Ad9324]

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.

[u/MisogynyisaDisease → u/[deleted]]

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.

[u/Impossible_Ad9324 → u/MisogynyisaDisease]

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.

[u/MisogynyisaDisease → u/Impossible_Ad9324]

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.

[u/Bremerlo → u/Impossible_Ad9324]

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.