joannqn Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 How do you keep from spending a fortune from constantly replacing the darts? I'm especially interested in hearing from those who allow the guns outside. DS4 has shot a few over the fence, and we have one stuck to the skylight at the top of the stairs. A good chunk of them are already missing, and we haven't had the guns more than a couple of weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 We don't allow them outside, but our cat chews the tips off of any that aren't packed away (like the ones that are lost under or behind furniture,) so we lose a lot that way. I don't supply replacements. Dc each use a bit of their Christmas/birthday gift cards to buy "Nerf war" supplies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 The kids spend their own money on them. It's amazing how careful and purposeful they are when it's their money and not ours. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I don't supply replacements. That is something one must use one's own money for. Which gives incentive to search a little harder when they go astray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 We started with a boat load. My mom bought the guns with an extra big pack of darts. We don't let them outside because we have a small backyard with high walls. There are dogs in all of the surrounding yards who eat darts like candy. I usually pull out all the couches once a month and find a heap of darts there. I've also found them in my pans, behind books on the shelves, behind the toilet (gasp!) and in the washing machine. We really don't have a problem with losing them as much as the foam part breaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I may be a little over the top but after replacing too many, my boys count how many they start with and that is how many they have to come home with. Now they have to replace them with their own allowance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 My son makes his own. When he wakes up, I'll ask him for details. I think he ordered the foam from an aquarium supply place, and the peel off felt discs from another place. I know they have a weight in them...maybe a metal washer? I'm a big help, aren't I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 The kids spend their own money on them. It's amazing how careful and purposeful they are when it's their money and not ours. :D This exactly! Indy is far more careful to make sure they come back in the house now that he has to pay to replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 The kids spend their own money on them. It's amazing how careful and purposeful they are when it's their money and not ours. :D :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 they pay for them, or somehow get their father lured into a nerf war. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 We used to lend them out at the park since we have extra guns. We pretty soon learned that other kids don't care if they lose the bullets. So no more lending them out. My kids are pretty careful with the bullets because they know how expensive they are. If they need more bullets they have to buy them with their own money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 Unfortunately, my kids don't get allowances. Hmmm...I'll have to think through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Hm. Maybe you don't have enough other boys in the neighborhood? I find as many in my yard as ds loses. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 The kids spend their own money on them. It's amazing how careful and purposeful they are when it's their money and not ours. :D Yep, yep, yep! I gave them a basket to keep the darts in. They don't use it much, but if I find them around the house, I toss them in the basket. Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 10 push ups for every dart DH or I find laying around. Sharpie markings on darts so the kids know whose are whose. I don't replace darts. Kids have to buy their own. (An aside, I discovered that I have to let my kids make foolish choices with their money so that the memory of their regrets will temper future financial decisions. One son still talks about the plastic robot he bought at a flea market that broke the next day. Best $1 investment ever.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I have 4 boys. They started with a large number. Its inevitable that some are destroyed. If they complain that they can't find any I suggest they go look for some. I can usually find 3 darts within 5 minutes. If they want more they have to earn the money to replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 After session, all else halts until he finds them all. We are "down" about a quarter, but he still has enough. He's very attached to not running out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 (An aside, I discovered that I have to let my kids make foolish choices with their money so that the memory of their regrets will temper future financial decisions. One son still talks about the plastic robot he bought at a flea market that broke the next day. Best $1 investment ever.) I agree! We also let our kids make foolish decisions with their money. Boy, do they learn those lessons well! Unfortunately our "plastic robot" was a $40 r.c. helicopter. It broke the 2nd or 3rd time he used it. Fixed it with some tape and glue and it broke again! He sometimes talks about writing to the company to complain about their product quality and to try to get his money back. (I think I should have encouraged that more when the thought first occurred to him. It's way too late now. I think we threw the thing out.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I wanted to add that our other motivation is the 18 month old who puts everything in her mouth. Choking (mother freaks out about this possibility on a daily basis) or chewed darts make for good motivation to find them all after the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 The last time I went to Target I was telling the girls that I wanted to buy a huge stock of them.. :lol: I bought one packet when I saw the price. Somehow I didn't remember them being that expensive. I like what you all are doing, I think I'll announce that I'm not buying them anymore. I can't wait to hear about making homemade ones.. I hope it's the kind of thing where an afternoon of work produces a million of them. It's funny because I just repurposed an old dresser missing some drawers into a dress up area. I had to dedicate a whole shelf to "weapons". It's petticoats, jewelry, silks, purses, swords, nerf guns, an old wooden dagger, star war swords, and so on. They crack me up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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