Children’s interests change fast. The activity cube that fascinated your nine-month-old is furniture by their first birthday; the dinosaur obsession gives way to diggers. Buying new for every phase is expensive — and it fills cupboards, then landfill.
The borrowing maths
Membership of Derbyshire Toy Libraries costs £10 a year, with toy hire from 50p a week. For less than the price of one mid-range shop-bought toy, your child can try a different quality toy every single week of the year — ride-ons, puzzles, soft play, construction sets, role-play kitchens.
Last year our members borrowed toys 1,240 times, and 838 toys went out to 69 children’s parties through our party packs.
The green bit
Every toy that’s shared is a toy that isn’t manufactured, shipped and binned. By keeping quality toys circulating between hundreds of families — and rehoming donated toys through our monthly auctions — we keep playthings in use for years longer than a single household ever could.
Try it this week
Join online in minutes, browse the catalogue, and collect your first toys from Strutts in Belper. Or come and say hello at a Stay & Play session first — you don’t need to be a member.
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