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The Big Bad Toy Obsession: 5 toys that are definitely NOT worth the money
March 24, 2007 – 5:31 pmMy name is Jenny and I am a sick woman. You see, I can’t stop buying toys.
Wander through the fluorescent lit corridors of a store like Target or Fred Meyer and you’re as likely to find me in the toy aisle as the kitchen section. I have a hard time driving by the locally delightful Top Ten Toys without stopping in for a visit. And I’m on the list of at least ten different toy magazines, probably because I’ve actually been known to order from them. eToys and ToysRUs.com? I’m a member.
In this time of trying not to spend money, I find that toy shopping is one of the hardest things for me to cut back on.
What is it exactly that drives this strange obsession with the shiny, the tiny, the noisy… why am I so drawn to buying things that aren’t even for me and which will inevitably clutter up my house?
It’s the siren-song of parental peace and quiet. The allure of finding that ONE toy which will keep CJ occupied for hours, enabling me to sip my coffee and play on my computer in peace, blissfully guilt-free because he is playing with something educational that will cause synapses to grow and form in his brain. Every toy has the potential. The obsession is with the hunt… the never-ending search. Is this the one?
“Wow!” I find myself thinking, “this wooden train set is really cool! I would like to play with this!” And then begins the rampant justification… Sure it’s $150 for the starter set, with individual trains priced at over $20 each, and add-on tracks over $45… but this is SURE to mean hours of entertainment for our dear son. Plus it’s wooden, which means it’s like a heritage toy that surely will be in the family forever… passed down from grandchild to grandchild in an endless chain of happily playing children.
So I take the plunge, blindly hand over my debit card, and rush home eager to let the playing begin. CJ is always cooperatively excited at first. We rip open the packaging… set up the new toy. Five minutes later I’m in the kitchen and CJ is behind me… “Mom? I’m BORED.” Sigh. A swing and a MISS.
Which brings me to THE LIST. I’m willing to bet that every parent has one of these lists… the top 5 toys that you spent too much on only for your child to discard and never play with again. They were too expensive to give away, and you hold out secret hope that ONE DAY little CJ will realize how much fun that toy really is. So they sit, collecting dust and generally getting in the way.
Here’s my list.
1) Thomas wooden train set.
I think all in all we have spent over $300 on the collection - we keep buying add-ons thinking that this one will be the one to transform the set from rather boring to HOURS OF FUN. And yet it still sits, lonely in a bin in the back of the closet.
2) Workbench with assorted tools.
This was one of those BIG Christmas presents that we were positive would be a hit. Christmas eve we set it up with a big red bow wrapped around it. What little boy doesn’t like to play with tools? Riiight. Even at its newest, the workbench was no match for all that fun RIBBON and wrapping paper. And so it sits, rather ugly, in our dining room.
3) Rescue Hero control center with assorted figurines.
Boys love rescue heroes. I know this, because there are rescue heroes at preschool, and they are ALWAYS being played with. So I knew I had a sure winner when I wrapped up the Rescue Hero control center with two rescue hero guys this Christmas. All I can say is… CJ’s cousin LOVES them. So do all the boys who come over for playdates. CJ? Not so much.
4) Finger paints.
What kid doesn’t like fingerpainting? My kid, turns out. He doesn’t like to get his hands messy. But wait, that’s not true… he’s always getting his hands messy. Let me rephrase: he doesn’t like to get his hands messy when that’s the POINT of the activity. How did I not see this one coming?
5) vTech vSmile video game system.
This is my latest debacle. $59 for the system, with individual games priced over $20 each. But CJ LOVES to push buttons. And it’s educational. Yeah, you can guess how this one ends.
What about you? What’s on your list?
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By Jennifer on Mar 24, 2007 | Reply
Hmmm, what’s on my list? Anything that’s an actual toy! My kid loves magazines, lingerie, tupperware, golf balls, bouncing on the couch, cell phones, computer keys…
Great post!
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By nicole on Mar 24, 2007 | Reply
My daughter’s favorites are “party bags,” those little plastic bags given out to guests at birthday parties. She fills them with rocks and small plastic things she finds around the house. So much for all the cash we spent shipping a huge dollhouse to Alaska and buying all the Ryan’s Room furniture for it.
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By spiiderweb™ on Mar 24, 2007 | Reply
Really only one makes my list. I should have learned when I got bored within minutes, but I bought for my sons too.
Lionel trains
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By Izzy on Mar 25, 2007 | Reply
We have the tool bench thing or something very similar. It was a gift to my son from his grandma and it got played with for about a week. Now? he pushes it around and climbs on it to reach things he shouldn’t be reaching for. It’s a total pain in my arse…
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By Crunchy Carpets on Mar 27, 2007 | Reply
God, this house is groaning with toys…the fave’s still tend to be hotwheels cars, transformers and dinosaurs.
And play doh for both.
Caity like her ‘My little Tony’s.’
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By The Queen of Shake-Shake on Mar 27, 2007 | Reply
I use to be a Thomas the Train whore too. Alas, my boys grew out of it. But they did play with it exclusively for quite a while.
Now, we’re on to anything and everything having to do with sharks.
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By thordora on Mar 27, 2007 | Reply
I vote for “anything that’s an actual toy” as well.
Currently, mine are fighting over an empty bottle in the bath. Screw the bath toys.
Anything they like IN the store is bound to be hated. Within seconds of removing the tags.
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By Erica on Mar 27, 2007 | Reply
Congratulations. This post has been nominated for a Hot Stuff Award at GNMParents.
Voting closes Friday.
Good Luck
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By Eden on Mar 31, 2007 | Reply
Leap Pad. I like the Leap Pad but the pages of the books rip so easily and they cost $15 each.
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By Lauren on May 9, 2007 | Reply
Leap frog Musical Learning Table is at the top of my list of “why did I buy that?” The batteries died 2 weeks after we bought it. We returned it to the store, and the darn thing was so popular they nevr did get the replacement in within a reasonable amount of time. So we took our refund and bought a tiger/xylophpne/piano- NO STINKIN BATTERIES REQUIRED, and slightly more educational (at least it has an “octave” of sorts). Our daughter plays with it more than she ever played with the table when it worked!
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By Magpie on Aug 4, 2007 | Reply
One of my favourite toys as a kid was building blocks. Not the wooden ones, or the Duplo or LEGO (or generic brand versions, we mixed them all together) but ones my mom made by shoving one milk carton inside another. Would keep me entertained for hours.
I admit to liking some actual toys (like the wooden train set) but, and I don’t think I can blame it all on my mom being a civil engineer, the best toys are the ones that weren’t originally intended as such.
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By Anonymous on Oct 7, 2007 | Reply
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By Colleen on Mar 17, 2008 | Reply
This is so true, I think I have all of the toys listed, and yet they never get played with. The one thing that my 2 year old boy has never got tired of playing with are his hot wheels, they are cheap and can be very entertaining.
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By mommastantrum on May 4, 2008 | Reply
Thomas is the only thing that he actually plays with. Well anything that is a train he will hump, lick, hold and then leave in little piles on the floor so that I can again pierce the skin the and sever nerves in the bottom of my feet.
Anything else, here at least, is a total and utter waste of money.
Which sucks for me, because I HATE trains. Hate them with a passion.
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By Spiffy Baby on Aug 15, 2008 | Reply
Hmm…my son convinced me the other day to buy him a garbage truck, which is a very loud and noisy, but cool toy. Needless to say, my wife gave me a look I would never forget, but my son is happy…for couple of days. So my advice to you daddies - dont take your kids with you to Kmart :-)
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By Mathew on Jan 22, 2009 | Reply
Absolutely agree with you on the Thomas the Train stuff. I refuse to buy any of it - grandparents do that for me :) Anyways, the wooden train sets are absurdly expensive - I just bring my boys to Barnes and Noble and let them play with the one they have set up in the kids books section !
Mathews last blog post..7 Reasons You Have Failed At Network Marketing or MLM
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