Seriously, toy companies have got to be in some sort of collusion with battery companies. Toy corporations seem to be getting some sort of major incentive to create toys that take tons of batteries and suck them dry as quickly as possible. It would explain a lot.
I shudder at the number of batteries we go through in this house. Everything seems to need them and they die so ridiculously fast, I feel like I change batteries almost daily.
Word to toy companies: In an effort to become economically frugal, not to mention ecologically aware, you should be making toys that come standard with rechargeable batteries. The amount of waste all these batteries make is scary and irresponsible.
That said, I have found a solution of sorts, since most toys don’t seem to be equipped with rechargeables: Sanyo eneloop rechargeable batteries. They’re a bit spendy (around $12 for 4 AAs, for instance), but in the long run they save a bundle. Their beauty is that they retain a charge of up to 85% after a year of storage and they’re ready to use straight out of the package. They can also be charged 1,000 times or more. They’re great for digital cameras and other battery-sucking electronics because they stay at a high voltage level until just before they empty.
My favorite part about the eneloop is that I can switch batteries, immediately charge the eneloops, and then store them without worrying that they might be dead the next time I need batteries. They are a fantastic invention. They’re much easier on the environment and they have a long-term low cost. For more information, visit www.eneloop.info/home.html.
One caveat I’ve found, and this may be just because of where I live, is that I haven’t been able to find them in stores. I order mine from Amazon.com, which generally offers them at a reasonable price.
Do you go through a lot of batteries in your house? Have you made any changes in this area?
I usually use rechargeable batteries — but I’ve noticed that the little electronic keyboard the kids have says *not* to use them; I don’t know why. Anyway, for pretty much the rest of their toys, I use the rechargeable, but I should probably check out the ones you’ve talked about, because the ones I have don’t seem to hold a charge for very long at all. We don’t have just a whole lot of battery-operated toys, but sometimes it seems like I can put newly recharged batteries in one day, and the next day the sing-song toy is already sounding a little sick. Of course, some of that problem may be due to the batteries sitting around for weeks after charging.