Toy library scheme 'would help struggling families'

A network of toy libraries across Wales would help the environment and support struggling families, campaigners have said.

Friends of the Earth Cymru, Early Years Wales, and an existing toy library have jointly written an open letter to the Welsh government calling for its support for the scheme.

The campaign has been backed by Wales' children's commissioner and the future generations commissioner for Wales.

"Not all children have the same access to toys which promote movement and play, particularly children from lower income backgrounds," said Maia Banks, who owns the Honeycomb Toy Library in Grangetown, Cardiff.

"Toy libraries are really important to a local community, and help to keep toys out of landfill," she told BBC Radio Wales Drive.

"They also bring families together that could otherwise be isolated, and people have said it's the best group they've come to which is really nice."

Toy libraries allow families to borrow or hire toys for a minimal fee, and are said to help them save money.

The items are checked out and returned in a similar way to the system for books at ordinary libraries.

There are more than 1,000 toy libraries in the UK, but only a handful in Wales.

Recent figures show sales of toys and games were down 3.7% by value last year, compared to the year before, as parents tried to find cheaper alternatives for their children.

"I've had a lot of people borrowing things for birthday parties recently, because parties for kids are really expensive, so I think people have been appreciating that," said Ms Banks.

She explained that she receives grant funding through the National Lottery and the People's Health Trust to buy some toys, but also receives donations.

People can then use the toys at the library, or borrow them for £1.

"The idea is that it's building community through play, so you can come together and meet community members and play together and you build relationships with people," she said.

In a letter to the Welsh government, the group called for more support towards the initiative so that access to such facilities became Wales-wide.

This would "help support a child's right to play", it added.

Bleddyn Lake from Friends of the Earth Cymru, who also signed the open letter, said: "We know that kids can get bored of toys quite quickly and lots of toys nowadays are actually poorly made plastic ones which don't always last very long anyway.

"We feel there is a real opportunity here for the Welsh government to bring together experts and relevant organisations in Wales to work out a plan to develop a new network of toy libraries in Wales thereby helping save families money as well as contributing to the Welsh circular economy."

The Welsh government said it had previously supported similar projects supporting families throughout Wales.