Annoying Toys

[pageta]

For Christmas, ds received some Fisher Price toys that are plastic and have batteries. I told SIL "no batteries, please" but she had already purchased these items. BIL/SIL do not have their own kids (which means they haven't a clue when it comes to kids, though they mean well). My thing with toys is that a child needs to look at them and say, What can I do with this toy? not What does this toy do? These toys all fit under the latter category. One is a ball that has buttons you push and it says things. We already have a 69 cent rubber ball ds can bounce, throw, drop, float, sit on, etc. Another toy is this "storybook" that says the first line of a poem (not the entire poem, just the first line) every time you turn the page. Then there is also an alphabet magnet that says the letters when you press them (A-B-C).

I am a SAHM and I do not want to listen to these toys. DH thinks we can keep them, but he works so he doesn't have to listen to them. Everyone tells me you have to get used to noise when I tell them why I don't like these toys. Well, there are two kinds of noise - noise my ds makes and noise that toys make. Buy ds a drum set - go right ahead, I don't mind. The noise will be made by him and I will listen to it all day. The noise by these toys, on the other hand, will get on my last nerve. I don't want to throw things and break them in front of ds, but with these toys, I just might (not really, but you know what I mean).

So here's the question: Would it be wrong for me to sell these toys on Ebay or trade them in at a local second-hand childrens store and get ds different toys that I don't mind? BIL/SIL live an hour away but only visit our house three or four times every year. If they come over, I can tell them either A) I rotate his toys and I don't have them out right now (DH/BIL's mom used to do that) or B) we don't keep toys that aren't played with so we traded them in for other toys. Option B is more truthful than A, but I don't know whether ds likes the toys because I will not allow him to play with them because they annoy me so much. I don't think he'd play with them very long anyway. He's hard enough to entertain without toys that shorten his attention span, and I don't need any more things to trip over. Really, they may not even ask about them when they come over so it may not be an issue. I refuse to have a set of toys we get out for each person that comes over (i.e. the toys that person gave ds) - that's too much trouble.

DH thinks we can keep them since ds might like them. But he is not around to listen to them. We are also moving soon, and I don't want to have to pack them.

I really want to get rid of these toys. Do I dare?

[Avima]

Get rid of 'em girl! We are also annoyed by these toys and haven't hesitated to trade them or sell them at garage sales. Either way, your child gets something better (and quieter) in return. As parents we have every right to choose what toys we keep in our homes. Chances are, next time they visit they won't even notice, and if they do just say it broke (as most cheap plastic battery operated toys tend to do) or tell them that your babe wasn't interested in it. Don't feel guilty in the least bit.


Luvvin mom to my browneyed girl Avienda (5/2/02)

[Momma's Arms]

I agree! Bring them to the local consignment shop and swap them for something you'd rather have. You are the mom. This is your house. It is perfectly okay to dictate what your children are allowed to have. Just be reasonable about it. If grandma is a regular visitor and got a well intentioned gift that happens to use batteries, you might want to keep it to avoid hurt feelings. I think each case is unique and should be judged that way.

Our home is overflowing with stuffed animals. Not knowing this, our out of state grandma sent yet another teddy bear. Well, dd loves it because she loves grandma and at 7 definately understands gift giving. So, the teddy stays- for now. In 2 or 3 months when teddy is stuffed a corner covered with all the other teddies, he will be boxed and forgotten. When dd was 3, I insisted no large toys. She was given a huge lego/ schoolhouse type desk and a train set that took up half the living room. The train set was boxed after about a month and I sent the desk back to the Grandparent's house with them. It's a solution that we still use. If Grandma (our prime culprit) insists on buying junk for my girl, that junk can live at her house. The same goes for her Dad. I decide what dd can have at my home and they can do the same at theirs within reason. The only time I draw the line is when it comes to materials that I do not find appropriate for children i.e. witch craft stuff, really scary shows, etc.

I think you will find that if you do allow a few of the plastic noisemaking toys, your son will not play with them nearly as often as he will the ones that you prefer. Buy a child an expensive electronic item and they will play with the box longer than the toy. I"ve seen it over and over as my ex and his parents have showered my daughter with these type of toys.

Best of luck to you!

[Marsupialmom]

I agree get rid of them. But not on E-bay, that could hit her very wrong.

I would personally find a woman's shelter,homeless shelter, or Red Cross that deals with fire victems.

Only self centered people will notice a missing gift like that. You can always play dumb, clam they got broken or/and out grown.

[ShannonCC]

Wondering why this is even a question. :LOL I am the Queen of the Toy Chuckers If I don't like it, it's outta here! My kids are older so if they actually seem to like and play with a present I don't rip it out of their hands or anything. I just wait til they get bored with it. Which is . . . oh . . . . about 2 days I have made it clear in the past that I do not want electronic noisy toys. I have no problem with plastic, no problem with electronic, just not electronic noise since it gives me headaches which seriously impedes my ability to be a calm, loving person. Apparently everyone forgot this year : Or else they think new child new rules? Anyway, I just donate to charity. Vietnam Vets comes right to our door (GoodWill too). They came yesterday and took a whole bunch of stuff including 3 noisy electronic toys that my son was given. I don't feel the need to trade it for other stuff because my kids have too many toys as it is

For the record, the rotating thing works great! It's like a new toy when you pull out (or find under the clutter :LOL) something that's been put away for months

[mamawanabe]

Well, if you consider gifts (even toys) sentimental token, why not just take the batteries out?

[pageta]

I did think of taking the batteries out, but these toys really don't do anything without the batteries. The ball, for example, cannot be rolled, dropped, put in water, bounced (of course), or thrown because it is heavy, breakable, and not smooth. And that's my whole gripe with it. He already has a 69 cent rubber ball that he can do all those things with.

[robugmum]

I would chant in with a "chuck ém and forget about it" but I have the same problem and I really struggle with guilt. Ooops, more later!

[Dakota's Mom]

I'm all for ebay. Why would you give something to a shelter that you would not consider appropriate for your child. Get rid of it on ebay and get something that is appropriate for your child. Of course I have one thing that I'm afraid to put on ebay. The person who gave it to him is a frequent ebayer. I don't know what I'm going to do with it.

Kathi

[SamuraiEarthMama]

When my son was a toddler, those books were coming out, the ones with the noise strip down the right hand side with buttons to push. They drove me NUTS the first time I saw them, I made it clear to my mom that I did NOT want anything like that in the house.... and of course, you know what happened.

She gave him two or three at Christmas one year, and I immediately said, "Oh, good! Grandma's-house toys!" And the toys stayed with Grandma, and when my son was visiting, he could pound on them to his heart's content, and she could see him enjoy them, and I didn't have to hear them.

She did this a few more times (amassing a nice collection of Grandma's-house toys in the process) before she "got" it.

If it was a long-distance relative, I'd definitely write a nice thank-you note, and then donate the toy to the local shelter. If you really need the money, how about a kids' consignment shop?

Katje

[MamaBug]

I say get rid of it. Is it all still in the packages? Why not go to ToyRUs or Wal-mart and return it and get some books or things he would like. I agree that things that come with batteries annoy the heck out of me. When my boys have a bday or such the rule is that nothing gets opened until the guests are gone, this gives ME the chance to put away the things that need to go back, he gets so much he usually does not notice.

You might want to think about registering your ds at amazon or some such place, this way your family can see the things he would like or that you would like him to have. We just started doing this, ppl usually ask and this way they can just look at the list. Another friend of mine takes things from catalogs and pastes them into a book with the 800 number and when someone asks she has things on hand that she knows will not be offensive.

Lastly I agree 100% that any noise my boys make I can handle but a toy blinging on and off all day drives me nuts!:LOL

[ShannonCC]

Originally posted by Dakota's Mom
Why would you give something to a shelter that you would not consider appropriate for your child.

I give things to charity that I don't want for my kids. I guess it would be different if they were things I considered morally wrong or dangerous, but these are things I just don't like. Different parents have different opinions on toys so a toy I wouldn't want for my child another mom would like. A very good friend of mine buys her kids all sorts of things I wouldn't want for my children. And I'm pretty sure she'd never buy her kids most of the stuff mine have I'm confident that 99 44/100th of the moms out there have no problem with them and think they are perfectly fine toys.