They are already here. Christmas is just around the corner and the proof of this is that at home it has been several days since the toy catalogs go around from one child to another, the street lights are already hanging and the TV ads are full of Children with a face of immense happiness announcing incredible toys and incredibly absurd or boring toys.
They ask and we, the parents, do what we can, looking at the portfolio, looking at the utility and looking at the right toys for each child. Or maybe I'm wrong and we don't look at it that much? Since Babies and moreAs parents that we have already made some mistakes in this regard and that we have been involved in this childhood world for a few years now, we want to offer you the twelve most frequent mistakes we make when buying toys from children, in case you want to take them into account.
For this we have taken a list with the errors that the Toy Industry Research Association (AIJU) considers most frequent and we have passed through our personal blender, in order to offer you our vision in this regard.
1. Disregard labeling, specifications and instructions
Always read the small print and the not so small to take into account the possible dangers that the toy can generate. Sometimes there are important safety warnings, sometimes they tell you that it does not carry batteries included (to see where you are going to buy them on January 6), sometimes they say that it contains small parts and that it is not suitable for your child, because of its age. Also, once you open it, it is worth looking at the instructions. I know that we Spaniards are very much about going from them and going directly to do things without looking at the librettos, and I understand it because often they don't say anything about the other world either, but worth confirming, because more than one father manazas can get to misuse the toy or even break it and turn what was a safe toy into an insecure one.
In Babies and more, what to give for Christmas? The most recommended toys for each age2. Disregard the age for whom the toy is recommended
We know that today's children are very smart and you can always play a little up or down with the recommended age of toys, but the choice should be made with common sense because the toys are created to promote the game, and if a child receives a toy that he does not understand, the game suffers, the child becomes frustrated and the toy is relegated to oblivion. It is not necessary to anticipate, they will grow sooner than we think, so it is better to buy the toys that help you at the moment and not the ones that you will use in a few years.
3. Give away sexist toys or transmit values that we do not want
One thing is for a girl to ask for a kitchenette and give it to her because she wants it and another to give it to her when she is asking for something else. One thing is for a child to ask you for a ball and give it to him and another to ask for a kitchenette and refuse, and give him a ball. Let's not be carcas, the game is free and children play to do what their parents and their mothers do, and if we want fathers and mothers to carry out household chores without sexism, then children will have to be allowed to play whatever they want.
Similarly, we must be careful with violent toys, weapons, costumes, etc. I personally do not like replicas of weapons in toy, because they are copies of objects that are used to kill. In the same way, I don't like how the Monster High and company dress, and consequently, dressing the girls with those costumes seems just as "terrible" to me. Yes, they are toys, they provide symbolic play, but I don't know how much to play being sexy, being girls, it's logical.
In Babies and more15 gift ideas for children that are not toys4. Choose toys that do everything
In the ads children hallucinate, their faces say it all, and our children, seeing that happiness on TV want to star in the same thing. But nevertheless, we must be critical and see what they are admiring. Many times they are simple spectators of toys that with a lot of noise, a lot of size and much artifice serve as a spectacle for children. They are toys that do everything, that do not provide the game and that are destined for quick oblivion. Remember, toys are not the end, they are the means to provide hours of play, imagination and fun. If they don't do this, they don't work.
5. Buy huge toys
The supermega Scalextric, the car track that occupies the entire dining room, the endless train circuit, the doll house that only fits in I don't know what closet. The bigger the funnier the first days, but more laziness when stored and you have to take it out. Laziness to parents, we help them to assemble and disassemble it and then, when we get tired and they do it, laziness to them, they have to take it out, assemble and disassemble.
6. Opt for educational toys
Not that they are bad at all, some are very good, but very careful. For a few years there are parents who pretend that their children have a doctorate at 3 years and are limited to buying educational toys that provide learning, but not always fun. If they are not fun, they do not work.
7. Pretend to play alone with them
"I give him toys and he only takes a few minutes," the mother of a 9-month-old baby once told me. "Of course, the toys serve to help us play with them, not for them to play alone," I replied. And, as I said above, toys are the medium that helps them play, but they are not the only means. Doesn't the game exist without a toy? Of course, it exists with and without a toy, and when they are small, The toy is a help for them and us in order to play together. Later, when they are older, they do play more alone or with other children, but as children, the most important thing is not the toy, but we, the parents, who share the game with them.
In Babies and more, what to give to children for Christmas? Follow the four gift rule8. Give away too many toys
That's why you have to be very careful with the family and try to have it all a little tied up and that's why I hate birthday parties with classmates. The child ends up having so many toys, so many that the true meaning of the gifts is perverted and the objective of the toys too. A child has to have enough toys, but never so many that he cannot play with all of them or make many forget before being known. So, in addition, they lose the value of things, there is more probability of disorder at home and more than end up taking care of them little.
9. Let them get carried away by advertising
The TV ads, as I said, present the toy so that it looks like "Port Aventura" in your home, or a Disney park. It makes you want to have them all. If even I want to buy them for me! But we have to help them make the same reasoning that we do and let them see what the real possibilities of the toy are so that they can imagine themselves playing with it. Many times, doing that exercise, they realize it's not as fun as it seems. You can even help them with Youtube, where toys are often analyzed or shown, to see how they really are and what they offer.
10. Buy toys too cheap
And I don't mean offers. If there are, go ahead. I mean imitations, copies or toys that probably have not passed any quality control. They can last a short time, they can not even do what they promise, they can bring pieces in poor condition, they can contain toxic and can be very dangerous.
11. Buy everything the children ask for in the letter
In order not to distort the role of Santa Claus and the Magi, magical people who fulfill some wishes of the children because they want to, and turn them into servants who go to the toy store to buy what they put on the shopping list of each child, what ideal is to buy some of the things that the child asks (all if they are few and it seems good, eye), and perhaps some surprise or toy that we like, but not everything. If they make us a big list, then the mistake would be to try to comply. Not only because of the quantity, but because then we are not properly assessing what he is asking for. We are the parents and we have to read the list critically to talk to them and choose together the toys with which they will have a better time (we will have a better time), also avoiding rapid abandonment for not being a suitable toy.
12. Buy only what they like
I understand that if you buy only what a child likes, you will be sure. But nevertheless, deprive you of other types of games that can help you develop other aspects of your life. If he loves cars and you only give him cars, when will he play constructions, running games, intelligence games, turn-based games, to be dad and mom shopping at the supermarket or cooking or ...?
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In Babies and more | The SAR modifies the definition of "toy", because it is much more than entertaining. What are the best toys for young children? Tips and suggestions when choosing and buying a toy
