Plastic Food? Hmmmmm

So, my dad and his girlfriend came up to visit this weekend.  They knew that I'd been thinking of getting Jack a play kitchen as he is always "play cooking" and loves his friends' kitchens.  My dad's girlfriend, Jean, found a small play kitchen at Good Will.  Score one for recycling!

So, my first response was, let me run out and get some play food for it before you bring it, yada, yada.

Of course, I forgot, and they gave it to him while we were outside playing.  It suddenly dawned on me, while I was watching him "cook," that I've been ignoring the fact that:

1-  The last thing this world needs is more plastic toys baking in the sun to later be thrown away or recycled.

2-  Giving my son fake food robs him of the chance to use his imagination.  The old measuring cups I'd given him last year for his sand box are now his pots.  The left over pebbles from the patio are the "beans, peas, and carrots."  The mound of dirt we got from the neighbors to fill in mole holes has become the "fried rice."  We even went as far as to pick the green onions sprouting all over the yard to add.

Why is it that, even as conscious of the environment and money as I am, I still felt he NEEDED plastic play food?  I didn't have it when I was little.

Well, life lesson, once again, taught to me by my 2 year old son!