Why buying toys is stupid

Last week Grammy took Grace to Target-always an adventure. One of their impulse buys was a set of Zoopals plates. These are paper plates in the shape of a face with cartoon-like renderings of animals printed on them. These animals (koala, bald eagle, gorilla, puppy that looks like Dizzy) have become Grace's new best friends and she strongly prefers to play with these plates over the hundreds of other toys in her room. She sleeps with the plates and wakes up early to play with them before we have to start the day. We have probably spent hundreds of dollars purchasing the best toys for her and she prefers paper plates. There's a parenting lesson in here somewhere.

I just visited the Zoopals website and was relieved and disturbed at the same time that there are apparently Zoopals collectors. There is even a list of retired plates. So my child is not alone in her obsession-a small comfort.