It’s that time of year again. People are picking gifts for your children and you are picking gifts for theirs. My children have been the recipients of some very noisy, obnoxious and hideous toys and clothes. I have felt compelled to share my opinion on gift buying, so that you can share it with those well meaning Grandparents and relatives before they go out shopping. Hopefully, it will prevent some after Christmas returns or hurt feelings.
• Ask the child’s parent what the child would like.
• Consider helping out the family by purchasing clothes or other essential items like diapers, formula or food for infants and toddlers. The toddler is not going to remember what you bought them but if you get the child these items, I am sure that the parents will remember your thoughtfulness.
• Be sure that the toys you are purchasing are age appropriate. Check the label as to what age the toy was meant for, that is what the labels are there for. Using a toy or game that is not age appropriate can cause a great deal of frustration for your child. Some suggestions for toys for children younger than a year are: soft squeeze toys, large stuffed animals and push-pull toys. Children age three to five might like receiving: simple puzzles, card games, and books. Children in elementary school are ready for bicycles, board games, books, puzzles and sports equipment.
• If purchasing a bike or riding toy, make sure that it is fitted to the size of the child. Nothing can be more upsetting to a child then to have a bike that they can’t ride because it is too big. I know that my son received a bike that was too big for him and after falling off of it several times, he had to put it away until he grew into it. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notes that most of the injuries in children resulted from falls from riding toys – not dangerous or defective products. I guess my son was lucky that he didn’t get a broken bone or a serious injury.
• Make sure that the toys or stuffed animals you are purchasing for young children do not have small parts that can break off as this can pose a choking threat.
• Make sure there are no toxic or dangerous materials used to make the toys. I think we can all still remember the recalled toys from China that were painted with lead-based paints.
• Make sure that the toy does not make an annoying sound. If you can’t stand the sound of the toy in the store for more than a minute, there is a reasonable chance that the parents of the child will not let them use it very often. My son received a very loud pull toy when he was a toddler and since my children were the oldest grandchildren on both sides, I got the inspired idea of passing all of those obnoxious toys that they had bought for my children down to their children. This practice really cut down on the number of obnoxious gifts that we received from them.
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