I think The video MarieOcean sent with Derek Dotson showing all the parts of the Pleo is pretty amazing, If your parents think that Pleo is just a toy, ask them to go to Any store in your town, or look on the internet and make it a contest to find another Toy that costs as much as Pleo and or has all those parts. Pleo is not a lego toy, and legos have instruction manuals that show you how to build different items, there is no such manual for Pleo.
Most toys can get wet, played with in the dirt, dont have built in computers or cameras. Would your parents consider their desktop or laptop a 'Toy" even though there are computers out there in the same price range as a brand new Pleo? I also would say taking a computer apart is a heck of a lot easier than taking apart Pleo. If a computer gets a broken part, you can go to the store or take it to many places where people will work on them or you can fix it yourself , The only auhorized place to take a pleo Rb if it is broken is through Pleoworld or Gimmidigg. If you have an older Pleo and it gets broken, good luck finding someone who could fix it.
I think your parents are a little envious that you have this relationship with your pleo and wishing they had a "toy" like that when they were younger. I know I wish they had gadgets like this when I was growing up, but there also were no computers,VHS, DVD, I Pods, not even legos, or many of the common everyday 'toys". I had Barbie, dolls and simple stuffed animals, tinkertoys, lincoln logs, Fort Apache toy sets, Monopoly and classic board games like that, and lots of books. There was a lot less sitting in front of even the T.V as there was no cable in those days.

Children played outdoors and got more exercise and didn't have X box, gameboy, etc, etc and of course, NO EBAY! If there was such a thing as Pleo back then, you can bet I would have gone crazy as I am now and it would not have been a toy but a high end futuristic Robot, (life form)and my most prized pocession. Not even my parents would have thought once about calling it a "toy".
Being a ex preschool teacher for more than 14 years, I would have loved to have brought Pleo in the classroom so the children could experience the joys Pleo could bring. Pleo didn't exist then, but I guard Pleo now as much as any of my live pets and Pleo is more prone to damage then they are and a lot harder to repair. ( their vet bills are a lot more though) You may not be able to change their mind so if it comes to that, just leave it be and enjoy Pleo for what joy and happiness he brngs to you. Some people still see clouds on a sunny day and allways will want to rain on your parade. Chin up, we are here for you.

RedwoodsMama