Thoughts on allowing young kids to play with vintage ponies?

[Shaiyeh]

I would say absolutely not, like some people said, mostly because of the plastic not having the best ingredients to begin with, and it being old and leaking things. Yummy yummy phtalates...
But also because there's a finite number of ponies in good condition, and the number will only dwindle as time passes.
I'd go for the basic fun ponies, and if you need more characters than available from the BF collection released so far, why not customize them to his favourite characters?

[Esbayne]

(although we have since stopped, as he has picked up some of the less desirable 80's slang/attitude language they say in those  )

I can't think of a single thing said in the 80s MLP that could possibly be bad for little kids to hear.

I have to admit I was also really curious what specifically that meant!


Agreeing with everyone else though that Basic Fun or G3 would be a great way to go! (And as Taf said Basic Fun could use the support right now lol.) but also for reasons such as the chemicals in ponies, and the limited number of originals that others have stated that would be a shame to get ruined, as not all kids are as gentle with their toys.

[Shaz]

I would say absolutely not, like some people said, mostly because of the plastic not having the best x to begin with, and it being old and leaking things. Yummy yummy phtalates...
But also because there's a finite number of ponies in good condition, and the number will only dwindle as time passes.
I'd go for the basic fun ponies, and if you need more characters than available from the BF collection released so far, why not customize them to his favourite characters?

If you're concerned about chemicals in old ponies, customs might not be a good solution, since I doubt if the various paints and varnishes used in customs are exactly free of chemicals. Customs are also often more unstable than mass-produced ponies.

And I'm also curious to know what was unsuitable in the 80s cartoon. Most of the weird stuff only seems weird after you grow up (e.g. Heartthrob lusting after a human prince  ). But your child, your rules obviously; you know best. I'm just curious.

[Shaiyeh]

I would say absolutely not, like some people said, mostly because of the plastic not having the best x to begin with, and it being old and leaking things. Yummy yummy phtalates...
But also because there's a finite number of ponies in good condition, and the number will only dwindle as time passes.
I'd go for the basic fun ponies, and if you need more characters than available from the BF collection released so far, why not customize them to his favourite characters?

If you're concerned about chemicals in old ponies, customs might not be a good solution, since I doubt if the various paints and varnishes used in customs are exactly free of chemicals. Customs are also often more unstable than mass-produced ponies.

Of course, there's lots of paints not suitable for children, I was thinking along the lines of non toxic craft acrylics I mean, the basic fun ponies have paint and glitter on them, too. I definitely don't want to suggest customs with FBRs, or painted with nail varnish or anything like that (which you shouldn't use on pony plastic to begin with^^'). I was thinking more along the lines of a simple symbol repaint.

[Aurora]

My 6-year-old used to love the pony room, but he doesn't anymore. There were rules, and there is a reason it is the only room in the house with an actual LOCK on it, but as he has gotten older, he likes his own things, not the ponies. So I am a little jealous that your kid still loves ponies.

I used to let him play with the old ones, but not when he was little enough to put them in his mouth. It sounds like this child is definitely past that stage, so the phalates shouldn't be as much of an issue. His favorites were the G4 blind bags, though- small enough to have adventures and hide, no pesky hair to get in the way!

[glitterball]

When my kid was a bit younger, she loved to help with spa days for my G1s, of course, I would only let her handle inexpensive ones.

Then Basic Fun came along and YAY she had the fun of opening packaging, getting stickers and having her own Parlour, too!

And I had the reassurance that the plastic was new, clean, more safe and I did not need to be too precious about how she handled the ponies.

They were her very own "G1" ponies and she still loves them, along with the FIM G4s -even though she is addicted to Minecraft and Animal Crossing at the moment! 
 

[Snapdragon]

My primary concern would be with a kiddo potentially ingesting some kind of plasticizer that's on the surface of the plastic (maybe not pony into mouth, but pony into hands into mouth without washing first), but you are a very conscientious collector, which is awesome!

I'd say, if you feel uncomfortable with the state of the ponies, then you have your answer right there. You're the one who has to live with their state! I'd say hunt for some (nicer) bait ponies, ones that aren't absolutely gone to tatters, and if he likes those then as time passes (aka he ages out of the destructo stage), he can move up to the nicer ponies. I will admit, I was pretty rough on my ponies as a kid too, so I can't blame him too much! Some of my most beloved toys, even now, are the ones I loved so hard they almost went to pieces. The Velveteen Rabbit comes to mind, the whole 'when you are truly loved, you don't mind your fur wearing off' and so on.

I also second the idea for the Basic Fun ponies! There's quite a few of them, and there's some fan favorites coming, like Lickety Split and Gusty! No concern about aging plastic, no concern about scarcity for the collector group! But there are also many ponies who are, well, basically dirt common! Firefly springs to mind, if he's ever seen Firefly's Adventure! She also got remade by Basic Fun, along with her co-star Medley!

Happy collecting! It sounds like a great experience for you two to share! Enjoy it, and don't worry too much about rarity! You only live once, you know?

[Carrehz]

well, he's your kid, you know him better than we do. I have to admit I winced at the thought of perfectly good G1s being beaten up, though ; Plus there's the whole plasticizer thing, we don't really know how safe original G1s are. Basic Funs would be safer - and keep the original G1s for people who'd be able to handle them a little more delicately

Personally I'd never give a kid a G1 - but I'm also never going to be in that sort of situation, so it's a moot point.

[LadyAmalthea]

Thank you everyone for your input. I'm kind of regretting ordering the 2 lots off of Ebay that I did for him. I guess I'll wait and see what condition they are in once they get here before deciding whether or not to give them to him or not.

As far as the plasticizer leakage goes, I have so far been lucky enough to not have ever experienced this. Kind of surprisingly, really, since aside from the 4 years I spent in the western US, my childhood herd has lived in humid conditions and stored/played with in basements. But it's something to look out for, and the minute any ponies start showing the signs of it I won't allow him to play with those ones anymore.

I'm telling all family members who ask what to get him to buy him Basic Fun retros...I'm happy to support them as a company, and my mom actually informed me today that they are also available at Meijer stores! Not that I have one of those near me either, but just thought I'd throw it out there for any of you who do. I do have a BF Snuzzle and a Starshine for him that he will be getting, as well as their Pretty Parlor playset.

I feel bad that he sees my collection all the time and isn't allowed to touch. My grandma had this pony, a yellowed, tailless Glory that she purchased for 10 cents at a yard sale, and she kept it up in a shadow box and we would beg her to let us play with it. She would take it down once in a while and we would be so excited. It wasn't even in as good of shape as our ponies, but, you know, forbidden fruit and all. My mom always thought it was cruel of her to tease us with it. My son made a comment one day...'they're toys, Mama, they're meant to be played with.'...and my husband gave me this pointed look like, he has a point. (Ironically, that old Glory is now in my possession and is in the pile of ponies I had marked for my son...how's that for poetic justice!  )

Post Merge: June 14, 2020, 02:25:43 PM

(although we have since stopped, as he has picked up some of the less desirable 80's slang/attitude language they say in those  )

I can't think of a single thing said in the 80s MLP that could possibly be bad for little kids to hear.

Oh, it's not that there is anything bad...it's more of an attitude that he picks up from some of the characters, for example Gusty says a few mean things after she gets smoozed, 'it IS your fault, Shady, IT IS!!!' (substitute family member's name in there) or 'you have GOT to be kidding me!' complete with eye roll. His newest favorite: 'how DARE you!!!' in response to being asked to do something unpleasant, such as a chore, and apparently even said that to his teacher once (although to be fair, that may have come from Rarity in FiM...not sure, but I know he got it from a pony show and not Mister Rogers!)  Basically he has found new ways to talk back to authority figures, even when he doesn't even understand the context of some of these phrases.

I have to keep in mind that I was 8 or 9 when I watched these shows, and at that age I knew better than to use those phrases to talk to my parents, and didn't even think anything of it. He is 4 though, and has had very little cultural exposure yet, so much of the phrasing (or values to be learned from the consequences of those characters acting bratty) goes over his head, but he just sees a catchy phrase that sounds cool and gets a big reaction on screen so he repeats it. I probably just need to sit down and watch it with him again and explain why such-and-such wasn't a very nice thing to say, and why we don't talk like that.

Post Merge: June 14, 2020, 02:27:34 PM

My primary concern would be with a kiddo potentially ingesting some kind of plasticizer that's on the surface of the plastic (maybe not pony into mouth, but pony into hands into mouth without washing first), but you are a very conscientious collector, which is awesome!

I'd say, if you feel uncomfortable with the state of the ponies, then you have your answer right there. You're the one who has to live with their state! I'd say hunt for some (nicer) bait ponies, ones that aren't absolutely gone to tatters, and if he likes those then as time passes (aka he ages out of the destructo stage), he can move up to the nicer ponies. I will admit, I was pretty rough on my ponies as a kid too, so I can't blame him too much! Some of my most beloved toys, even now, are the ones I loved so hard they almost went to pieces. The Velveteen Rabbit comes to mind, the whole 'when you are truly loved, you don't mind your fur wearing off' and so on.

I also second the idea for the Basic Fun ponies! There's quite a few of them, and there's some fan favorites coming, like Lickety Split and Gusty! No concern about aging plastic, no concern about scarcity for the collector group! But there are also many ponies who are, well, basically dirt common! Firefly springs to mind, if he's ever seen Firefly's Adventure! She also got remade by Basic Fun, along with her co-star Medley!

Happy collecting! It sounds like a great experience for you two to share! Enjoy it, and don't worry too much about rarity! You only live once, you know?

Ooh, Lickety Split and Gusty...I'm excited about that! Those are 2 of the characters he wants for sure.

Post Merge: June 14, 2020, 02:31:52 PM

[.] [.] [.]
Linking a few similar threads in case you want 'em

I've never had children near my collection and I probably never will. There's a lot of things that could go wrong, lol. And I'd rather not redo hairstyles

Thank you for these links! I couldn't get the first one to load, but the other 2 did, and it was helpful to read even more perspectives.

I hate redoing hairstyles too...why is it that it always seems like the first pony a child picks up when they sneak into your display area is the one that you spent the most time curling...urgh.

[Snapdragon]

You say he says things like, “toys should be played with,” and even though your husband seems to back him up, this could be a great opportunity to learn! I think something like, “yes, they are toys. However, they are *my* toys, and if someone doesn’t want to share, it’s important we respect that, okay? Some of my toys are for sharing, and some are not.” It’ll be a vital lesson once he gets to Kindergarten!

[Mana Minori]

Depends on the age of the kid and their aggressiveness of play, I think. At the bottom line, toys are allowed to and should be played with. That’s the job of a toy. Buuuut...from a collector’s standpoint....hm. Hmmmmmm. I definitely wouldn’t want mine any where near the grubby little sausage hands of kids.

[orangepeachmango]

I used to let my neice play with my g3-g4s, and any g1s in the "to customize" bin. For some reason their hair alllways got greasy after...such is tiny kid hands I guess. I never let her play with my display ponies, and she never seemed bothered. She liked looking at them all pretty :+) she had a bin of ponies to play with, she didn't need all of them.

[starstrider]

As Shaiyeh said, there are a limited number of G1 ponies remaining, and they will dwindle further as time passes. In the coming decades as the ponies age, their conditions will deteriorate as the plastics naturally break down with time. That leaves fewer in circulation for collectors. G1s are just getting so much older now that I think they deserve to be retired from child's play. Perhaps my motives are selfish for wanting to keep them in good condition so that they can be appreciated by collectors, but I always cringe inside when I see kids playing with G1s.

G3 ponies are easier to come by at good prices and are still common, and the Basic Fun repro ponies are a great option for play as well.

[LadyAmalthea]

You say he says things like, “toys should be played with,” and even though your husband seems to back him up, this could be a great opportunity to learn! I think something like, “yes, they are toys. However, they are *my* toys, and if someone doesn’t want to share, it’s important we respect that, okay? Some of my toys are for sharing, and some are not.” It’ll be a vital lesson once he gets to Kindergarten!

I like this way of saying it! It's hard to explain to a young child the difference between a toy and a collectible, especially in this case when the lines are blurred.

Post Merge: June 15, 2020, 08:20:20 AM

Depends on the kid. Ponies are sturdy so they can still withstand average play. If the kid is respectful of their own toys and the belongings of others, go for it. If they aren't, they can forget it until they learn to be. Maybe grab him some of the Basic Funs and sneak some G3s in there. They're of a similar height and look.

You are right, they are sturdy! I was shocked at how well my childhood ponies have cleaned up after years of poor storage and several children playing with them. We also have a house rule that inside toys do not go outside...a rule that my parents didn't implement, because I know mine were played with in our tree house, and at least in the case of my poor Baby Surprise, a swimming pool and lake!

[dragonfly]

Ponies are ponies, and they're toys! Nevermind if they're vintage. If you've purchased certain ponies for display only, that's one thing, but otherwise I would not have an issue with this.

One time, I donated an entire box of G1s to the daycare where I worked, inc. some HTF euros. Would it be possible for you to keep a box of play-condition ponies around for the kiddos and keep your collection items on the shelf or even out of view (if there's a door you could close)?

But - don't let them play with anything you wouldn't want to get messed up, you can't replace, or you'd be sad/mad if something happened to it.