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Does your child ask for specific toys?  

post #1 of 29
6/28/07 at 3:56pm
Thread Starter 
This is a spin-off of a thread in TAO. I'm just curious how often kids ask for specific toys or games whether on their birthday or not, since my kids have never asked for a particular toy or game (outside of say being right there in the store and wanting it). My kids do watch a little tv too, though I tivo it and put specific shows on for them, so they don't see a ton of ads, but some do eek in there at the end sometimes.

But I also don't ever ask them what they want either, so I wonder if that affects it. I put together wish lists for them at birthdays and xmas to help relatives (wishlist demanding relatives) know what to get the kids myself without asking them, I just pick out things I know she doesn't have and would enjoy and I think are worthwhile.

I wonder if its their age and I'm going to get it eventually or if a lot of folks don't have kids who ask for them to buy things? She does ask me to get out the toys we already have, but I've never had her ask me to go buy her something.
post #2 of 29
6/28/07 at 4:41pm
That young, no my children didn't ask for toys. At 8, though, my oldest will. I got both boys the Money Savvy Pigs for Christmas to help them budget their money and save up for what they want. It turned the "I wants" into "I only need $X more to get that!"
post #3 of 29
6/28/07 at 4:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LilyGrace View Post
That young, no my children didn't ask for toys. At 8, though, my oldest will. I got both boys the Money Savvy Pigs for Christmas to help them budget their money and save up for what they want. It turned the "I wants" into "I only need $X more to get that!"
Very cool, I hadn't seen those before!
post #4 of 29
6/28/07 at 4:53pm
They must not watch much TV! My niece, age 5, (with me most weekdays) is always asking me for specific toys that she saw on TV commercials. She watches A TON of TV.
post #5 of 29
6/28/07 at 5:28pm
My oldest was asking for things by the time he was 3, but only because he was so into Thomas the Train. And, I admit, we probably fed into that a little. At 8, he still asks for specific things, which, at this age is really a good thing. It makes gift giving easier. He doesn't play with too much other than Legos, so he's easy to buy for. But, he will see specific lego kits that he wants. Outside of b-days and Christmas, he saves his money for his wants.

My youngest (3) hasn't yet asked for anything specific, but he's not really a toy playing kid yet. He prefers real things, like all of my stuff - lol.
post #6 of 29
6/28/07 at 5:49pm
My ds is 4.5 and has always been very specific about what toys he wants. He doesn't watch alot of commercial tv, but he sees toys at his cousin's or friend's house and wants those. Often if I go into Target or Kohl's, along with my errand, he gets to look at the toys, and is pretty good about not bugging me to buy anything. But he will ask me to put certain things on his birthday or Christmas list that he sees in the store.
The child has a memory like you wouldn't believe!
post #7 of 29
6/28/07 at 8:41pm
My 6-years-old-in-2-weeks daughter does not watch much TV (and no TV with commercials) but she knows what she wants from playdates and trips to the mall or reading magazines/catalogs. She might be more general, like "I want a My Little Pony" rather than "I want Minty the My Little Pony" but she definitely knows what she wants. She's grateful for all that she has and thankful to receive any new toy, but for example, had a specific wish for her birthday.
post #8 of 29
6/28/07 at 9:08pm
My 4.5 yr. old has been asking for stuff for about a year (it started last summer with "I want a two wheeler!" x1073). We don't watch much TV (maybe an hour or two a week of adult TV in winter, none in summer). He doesn't push for me to buy things, he just says "I want _____ for Xmas/my birthday."
post #9 of 29
6/28/07 at 9:37pm
My son didn't start asking for specific toys until his 4th Christmas, when he was nearly 5 years old. And he wanted a robot that he'd seen in the Sharper Image catalog - over $1000!!!! Daddy bought him a scaled down, $9.99 version from Walmart and he thought we'd hung the moon.

But other than that, he really doesn't ask for stuff. He says "ooooh, I WANT THAT" when we look through catalogs for fun, but when it comes around to gifting times he doesn't remember and we don't prompt him. We like to give books, art supplies, Legos, stuff like that. And he loves to recieve them.
post #10 of 29
6/28/07 at 9:55pm
8, 6, and 3 can usually think of one thing at Xmas but are useless for birthdays. They don't watch kid TV and are not really into "stuff" or have friends who are.

Their grandpa gives me money to take each one to pick out a birthday present. (He can't go himself any more.) It takes forever but each child has (so far) picked something that he/she really used. I would not do that myself, but they look at so much and ask prices and try stuff, and are really satisfied by their choices.
post #11 of 29
6/28/07 at 10:41pm
Well, he asks for stuff he sees on TV. He also likes to look at catalogs. I really enjoy the catalog shopping with him. I give him a pen and for days (literally) he'll diligently circle every single thing in the toy catalog. Its very cute. I find that if I ask him about his birthday he isn't able to be very specific most of the time. (Fourth b-day is in 2 weeks). He does want a castle so he's been talking about that - but that is the only thing, even though there are other things that come up at hte store or friend's houses that he'd like.
post #12 of 29
6/28/07 at 11:50pm
DS wanted a real pirate to come to his birthday party, a pyramid from Egypt, a Frog & Toad book, and "lots and lots of flowers".

We got the book, we had a neighbor dress up as a pirate and make an appearance, and I got a wood & cloth toy pyramid & pharaoh set, and lots and lots of flowers.

If you mean specific like brands and such...? No. We're TV free and he doesn't have any clue about any characters or trends at this point.
post #13 of 29
6/28/07 at 11:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by boatbaby View Post
DS wanted a real pirate to come to his birthday party, a pyramid from Egypt, a Frog & Toad book, and "lots and lots of flowers".

We got the book, we had a neighbor dress up as a pirate and make an appearance, and I got a wood & cloth toy pyramid & pharaoh set, and lots and lots of flowers.

If you mean specific like brands and such...? No. We're TV free and he doesn't have any clue about any characters or trends at this point.
I would consider that specific, my daughter doesn't even request anything like that. Though she usually picks out what kind of cake she wants me to make.
post #14 of 29
6/28/07 at 11:59pm
My soon-to-be 9 year old has an interesting list this year. His most important things were:

1. Binnoculars
2. A cake (um.. that's a given i thought!)
3. Eat at iHop (hmm.. I guess it's because he has never gone??)
4. Go to the Harry Potter movie on the opening day
post #15 of 29
6/29/07 at 12:16am
My 5 year old will ask for stuff he sees on playdates or in the toy store but hasn't yet fixated on any one thing. He does pore over the playmobil catalogue though.
post #16 of 29
6/29/07 at 3:28am
My 3.5 y/o son asks for Thomas trains. He watches the DVD's and he has a "Thomas and Friends Yearbook" that came with something we got him once. it's essentially a catalog of everything that you can buy Thomas the tank engine, and it's his favorite book.

He has a little coin bank and he is saving now for one particular train he wants. He gets two quarters a day for filling the neighbors bird feeders while she is away for the summer. But he is completely fixated on the one he wants, and it hasn't changed.
post #17 of 29
6/30/07 at 1:54am
My 3yo dd has been asking for spiderman. She even picks up spiderman products when we're out shopping. No idea where she learned who he is, or why she would want a spiderman.: Guessing she heard it from some other kid?
post #18 of 29
6/30/07 at 2:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LilyGrace View Post
That young, no my children didn't ask for toys. At 8, though, my oldest will. I got both boys the Money Savvy Pigs for Christmas to help them budget their money and save up for what they want. It turned the "I wants" into "I only need $X more to get that!"
Before I keep reading, I just had to say thanks for sharing this! Everyone in our family could use one of these!
post #19 of 29
6/30/07 at 2:09am
We're a TV family. But other than Disney Princesses (thank you very much, Mom. or Spiderman, dd has other interests and doesn't really ask for much. She will ask for just about every item in a commercial, but if the TV isn't on, she seems to forget what she saw. She's also into clocks and dinosaurs right now, so I'm sure she'd be happy with that.
post #20 of 29
6/30/07 at 8:26am
They do ask for specific toys but they are usually toys that they imagined that may or may not exist. Like, for his 6th birthday, my son wanted a remote-control robot. I'm sure that one exists somewhere, but none of us have any idea. We found a remote-control triceratops instead.

They do not watch commercials so they have no idea what's out there unless they see it. And IME, if they see it, they often want it simply b/c they recognize some character on it. We have lots of talks about marketing and assessing the quality of a toy but I don't know how much is sinking in yet.

They don't pester me for toys. If Christmas or a birthday is coming up and I ask, then they will list things (again, which may or may not even exist). And if they see some tacky toy somewhere, they might express interest in it simply because they fall for the marketing hook. But they forget about it pretty quickly.
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