Disaster Gifts For Kids - The 6 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing Kids' Toys

The following rules should be followed for choosingthe batteries. The also had the added bonus of
gifts for kids that are not your own. To those ofgoing off whenever a car drove by or a plane
you with kids these ideas will appear obvious. Butwent overhead or someone sneezed near them.
just think, there are people in the world withoutThe friends who gifted them to us are now
small children, people who do not dedicate aforever known as the "Annoying Drum Stick
section of their brains to scanning the ground forGivers". You do not want to be those people. If
choking hazards as they walk through a room.you buy any electronic devices that make noise,
These people may need help, and we here at themake sure they have an off switch and volume
Toy Report feel it is our duty to help educatecontrol.
them.Avoid Small Parts
Avoid Magnet ToysKids love to play with tiny toys sized for tiny
Magnet Toys are fun for kids of all ages, but arefingers. We know many 6 year old girls that
one of the most dangerous swallowing hazardsLOVE Polly Pockets, and many 5 year old boys
out there. Swallow one magnet and they will likelythat love Lego Sets (And vice versa). But their 1
pass right through so to speak. Swallow twoyear old sibling is going to eat them and we all
magnets and they can attach from differentknow nothing good can come of it. The same
sections in the intestines and cause major liferules apply to a 4 year old, but for different
threatening problems. You do NOT want to bereasons. They may not eat the toys, but they
the Aunt that caused little Jimmy to need majorare not old enough to understand picking up after
stomach surgery.themselves yet. You'll doom their parents to
Avoid Pop Culture Charactersendless cleanup time. Leave the choice up to the
This may seem less obvious to many, but unlessparents if they want to clean up 50 tiny parts
you know that a child already loves a kids popafter the kids go to bed and get them something
culture icon, do not buy them Dora, Diego,larger.
Spiderman, Barbie, Pokemon, or similar items as aAvoid Obvious Danger
birthday gift. They can spark a pop culture frenzyAvoid Pogo Sticks, avoid Baseball bats, avoid
that some parents may prefer to avoid. It's akinRoller Skates, avoid BB Guns, avoid Alien Slime
to smoking cigarettes, far easier to never startand Silly Putty (which ruins hair and carpets), avoid
than it is to stop once you are addicted. MommyRubber Band Shooters, etc. Most of these come
and Daddy may never be able to get through thefrom experience, trust us. You don't want to be
supermarket again without tantrums forremembered as the Aunt who broke Bobby's
whatever Dora branded junk food is on thearm, shot Billy's eye out, or ruined Katie's long
shelves.curly hair on Christmas morning.
Avoid Noisy Electronics That Can Not Be PoweredAvoid the High End of an Age Range
OFFStay with the capabilities and interests of the
Last year our twins were given a pair ofchild's age. Don't give a baby toy to an toddler, or
electronic drum sticks for a birthday present. Thea toddler toy to a six year old. For example, the
first problem was that there was one pair ofWooden Chomp and Clack Alligator Push Toy is
sticks given to two boys who happen to sharethe single most perfect gift for any 1 year old.
the same birthday through no fault of their own,The age range says 1 to 4, but it's likely less than
but that's covered in another article. They had lotsexciting to a 4 year old.
of different buttons that played different drumIn the end, a small amount of forethought into
noises when someone whacked the sticks onchoosing a kids gift can make all the difference in
something. They also had the astounding qualitythe world. Do not just grab the first thing you see
of not having any method to power them off.on the toy store shelf and you will ensure a
They were on 100% of the time and could onlyhappy child and parent on that special occasion.
be disabled by removing two screws to get at