File this one under Why Didn't I Think of That. (I know why: too lazy). A Houston mother of twin boys launched an online toy rental service last fall which might solve the duel problem of (1) shopping for toys with your kids and (2) being buried in crap.
Her service works like Netflix -- you pay a monthly subscription fee, pick out a set number of toys that you get to keep for a specified amount of time. You return the toys in the postage-paid box. New toys are shipped out as soon as others are returned.
Baby Plays stocks all the stuff you see in stores -- VTech, Playskool, LeapFrog -- and also more unusual stuff from Europe. She searches toy catalogs, picks easy to clean toys with few or replaceable parts. And she checks for lead before sending new products out. She also watches carefully for damage and safety hazards.
Four toys a month costs $28.99. For six toys a month, it's $35.99. Families who sign a yearlong contract can get six toys a month for $31.99.
What do you think? I'll pay extra if there's a part of the service that quenches grandparents' rabid thirst for buying one of each item in the toy aisles of Target.
Photo: AP
