Kosher toys | Imamother

hisorerus

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 1:21 am

I'd like to buy an exersaucer, but I want one without non-kosher animals- and preferably without music. As I was fruitlessly searching, I realized that it's hard to find ANY toys that meet those criteria.

Can anyone help?

youngmom

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 1:25 am

while you're at it with the exersaucer, I wouldn't mind the music just no non-kosher animals. any suggestions?

girliesmommy

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 9:55 am

Mine is 2 years old, but it's the basic exersaucer by evenflo- it doesn't have any music or non-kosher toys. I got it in Walmart when I was in Montreal. I'm sure they have it other places too, although they've probably changed it since then. I found that all the fancier models had non kosher animals. Music wasn't an issue, but it doesn't have it anyways, just a squeaky toy.
I'll see if I can find a link to it (it's purple and green).

LikeMeDoes

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 10:13 am

I recently bought the Evenflo Ultra Excersaucer. It's purple and red with a royalty theme. I actually bought it in NY and had someone bring it for me (I don't live in the US). The store said it was all kosher (a frum store) and I was quite disappointed to discover it wasn't. I'll tell you what's not kosher on it and then you can decide.
There is a hanging frog which easily be removed and replaced with a kosher toy, a roll of stickers which you can stick kosher stickers on, and 2 other pieces with horses on, one of which we changedand the other we just didn't put on.
There are 2 toys which have music, one of which has an on/off button and the other lights up and plays for literally 3 secs.
As an aside, I heard that Babys R Us sell replacements that you can put in instead but I have no idea how much they cost.
G'luck and hope this helps

amother

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 12:01 pm

im sorry,maybe I don't understand,but what is the big deal if there are a few animals that are not kosher,like a horse,or a frog especially on a baby's toy!!!!!!!!!?I mean,my baby has an exausaucer with animal sounds,he loves listening to the noises the animals make.when you play the nosies I just twll him this is a cat,it says meow,but kittys arent kosher.why cut your child off from learning and expiriencing things that not only amuse but educae him.

nicole81

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 12:12 pm

I bought this for a friend: http://tinyurl.com/cflvu
it doesn't have any non kosher animals on it (I'm not sure about the book on it, but you can replace the pages inside with other pictures, but it has music.

LikeMeDoes

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 12:18 pm

There is a sicha from the Lubavitcher Rebbe that explains that since everything that is around children affects them, we should surround them with only kosher from when they are born. Now, obviously we aren't going to cut them off from the world, we can still take them to farms or zoos but in our home we are careful to surround them with only good and positive (kosher) things.
If you are interested in the exact wording of the Rebbe, I could probably find the sicha and translate the relevant paragraph(s).

raizy

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 1:01 pm

I dont get it what is wrong with horses ducks. cats and dogs. come on . this thread is getting absurd... non kosher animals what will the young generation think of next...

so if u dont let non kosher animals then I suppose u never go to a zoo.!!

amother

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 2:31 pm

this is exactly what I mean!thanks for agreeing with me raizy.sometimes I think things are taking out of context and out of proportions.

1stimer

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 2:46 pm

Why does it bother you if they want to keep non kosher animals out? You don't have to agree but let it be!

BlumaG

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 4:11 pm

for people who were brought up with it its not so absurd
I remeber having bears in hte house n when I was 6 or 7 we got rid of them all bc the rebbe casme out with the sicha etc
we try our hardest now not to have non kosher animals with clothes n toys n books but it is difficult
today we went for proffesional pics and they wanted my daughter to hold a teddy bear I said no we dont do bears n she must have thought I was nuts Smile

raizy

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 10:24 pm

for all of u who doesnt do non kosher animals do u also believe in no t.v in the house. or u get to pick and choice what u want to keep and what u dont want to keep.

TzenaRena

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 10:36 pm

raizy wrote:

for all of u who doesnt do non kosher animals do u also believe in no t.v in the house. or u get to pick and choice what u want to keep and what u dont want to keep.

Whoever is going out of their way to make sure their children only are surrounded with kosher playthings, and things of kedusha definitely doesn't keep a tv. The idea is actually quite similar. Why the sarcasm?

BTW ducks are kosher Very Happy

amother

Tue, Dec 13 2005, 11:08 pm

e&d, I think I know which sicha you are referring to. in seminary, one of my teachers told us about it and I realized it was said the night after I was born. since I heard that it means so much more to me and now I try to be very careful about it with my baby. if you'd like, e&d, I can help you find the source.

raizy

Wed, Dec 14 2005, 7:03 pm

no sarcasm sarah yehudis I just wondered if these pple drive themselve crazy over one aspect but forget the rest...

micki

Wed, Dec 14 2005, 10:53 pm

hey raizy don't be disrespectful.
we also don't have any non kosher animals on the clothing or toys. however we go to zoos and we have books and they know all the animals out there.
we just understand that if the Lub rebbe siad to do this, there must be a reason even if WE don't understand fully the extent of damage done to a baby by being surrounded by non kosher animals.
thats not up to us to decide- so please don't mock it.
and if I choose to do this and not do something else too then don't mock that either because somethings are easier to do and some not. some affect my baby and some affect me.

its easier for me to keep the "lo sasei" mitzvas than the "asai" ones.
for you something else may work. I won't mock or judge you.

in answer to the original question, look on ebay for an exersaucer that is an older version- mine is the evenflo supersaucer and there is only colorful objects, no animals.
its primary red with yello and blue. even the seat has shapes, no animals!

TzenaRena

Thu, Dec 15 2005, 11:52 am

E&D wrote:

The sicha is in Likkutei Sichos vol. 25, pg. 309

alef. Here is the place to mention something which was heard from Rabbosenu N'seienu, and also brought in seforim:

And with prior explanation - Various booklets, magazines and the like are accompanied with illustrations or pictures (in order to attract more readers or more children), and amongst the illustrations are also, for various reasons, those of animals, beasts and birds etc.

It is an especially appropriate thing that one should use only illustrations and pictures of animals and beasts that are tehoros, birds and fish that are tehorim. A Yid, and especially a Jewish child has to be accustomed to only devorim tehorim

And even though according to the minhag hamedinah there are certain matters which they connect davka with a ...mouse(!), and another which they connect with a different non-kosher creature etc. ( and this is not the place to discuss this at length) and there became a habit to use such illustrations, and unfortunately - also a habit in publications and magazines which in all other respects are al taharas hakodesh, but for some strange reason which is entirely incomprehensible, no one has paid attention to this (at least till now), that one needs to make an effort that for a Jew, especially a child, it should only transpire for him that he looks at devorim tehorim - kosher objects-

And that which there is a habit and custom of the world, we don't (even) have to have mesiras nefesh to eliminate this custom, it can be done easily, and easier than easily...

bais. Similarly, and with MORE emphasis, there must be in regard to chinuch of Jewish children:

according to minhag yisroel, when a Jewish child is born, one hangs up on the wall of his room, or one surrounds him with inyanim of kedusha, shir hamaalos, etc. . similarly one whould make sure that there should not be any pictures of things that are not tahor.

when one needs to give him a toy of a creature, for whichever reason, since he is a child- one must choose a toy in the shape of a kosher animal, a kosher bird, or kosher fish, and the like.

so too, when the child gets older and one needs to educate him in the form of the letters, since he is a child of the age which at the time one teaches him what is an alef, one shows him a shape of someone who is carrying two pails - one above and one below ed. a water-carrier) - as there used to be the picture in children's books - of a river in which fish are swimming, but there in the picture is standing a cat and the like - one would "throw-out" the cat from the picture, and bring in instead a kosher animal, bird or fish..

And so too with all other pictures, especially those which are connected to chinuch and the age of chinuch - because "when he will grow old, he will not depart from it" (mishlei 22:6)

TzenaRena

Thu, Dec 15 2005, 1:00 pm

I trans. the rest of the sicha , but it got deleted somehow. Here are the points.

The Rebbe brings a source in Nigleh for not looking at dvarim tmeim, from Shulchan Aruch, there is a din (ramah Yoreh Deah end of Ch. 198). shaarei Dorah end of hil. Niddah (Ch. 23) Rokeach and Kol Bo Hil. Niddah. See Shach Yoreh Deah there.)

that women should be careful when they emerge from the tevilah not to encounter first a davar tamei. and if such things did encounter her (as a dog or donkey etcl - Shach, ibid) if she is Yiras Shomayim she will return and toivel. Righteous women did return and toivel even when they had already left the mikvah building and then encountered something tameh in the street.]

the Rebbe then says that the reason for the emphasis now in the time of ikveso d'meshicha more than before to only see pure and holy objects is because we are getting ready for le'osid lavo, when it will be fulfilled "Ruach haTumah aavir min haaretz", "I will eradicate the spirit of Uncleanliness from the world", in the times of Moshiach and we are "tasting" this now -" toiame'ha chaim zochu" conducting ourselves in this vein in ikveso d'meshicho.

Some sources the Rebbe brings in the footnotes:sefer Kav HaYashar Ch. 2. That even though a person can see strange creatures brought from afar, as the chazal have established a bracho of m'shaneh habriyos, still one should not look upon them except in a temporary, infrequent way, which is why we can go to the zoo.

Also CHIDA -sefer Midbar K'deimos (erech tziur)

Kuntres ho'Avodah perek bais

Rokeach - hilchos Shevuos Ch. 196: we cover the child so he doesn't see a dog on the day that we begin to teach him the holy lettters

sheshycoco

Thu, Dec 15 2005, 4:11 pm

Raizy we're all like that, no mother is perfect. I think if someone doesn't want treifa animals in their house, we should respect that, and they're makin themselves crazy finding things without, not their children.

youngmom

Thu, Dec 15 2005, 4:25 pm

[quote]Posted: Tue, Dec 13 2005, 9:24 pm Post subject: re: Kosher toys

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for all of u who doesnt do non kosher animals do u also believe in no t.v in the house

well, I can answer for myself. we "don't do" non kosher animals and definitely do not have a tv!!!!!!!!! (I think this is so with most lubavitchers.)[/quote]