Gifts NOT to Buy a Toddler for Christmas

It is a joy to shop for presents for toddlers. If there is a toddler on your gift list this season, here are some things that you may not want to buy, in consideration of the toddler's parents.

Heavy toys like big die cast cars

Toddlers, especially boys, like to throw things. Although my son loves playing with big metal die cast cars, I do not want him to own a collection of them until he is old enough to know that televisions and windows can be broken and that other children do not like having big metal things thrown at their heads.

Clothes that will not fit for a year

Last Christmas, when my son was 5 months old, he received a very cute cowboy outfit. It has long, warm pants and a cute long-sleeve shirt- perfect for winter! One problem... the outfit was size 24 months. When he is 24 months, it will be summer. True, some babies wear clothes much bigger than their actual month age, but my son tends to be on track with his age.

My point is not "don't buy clothes." If you are going to buy clothes, just take the time to ask the parent what size the child wears. Although it is tempting to buy clothes bigger so that they will last longer, it is usually better to buy the current size, especially since clothes may not be seasonally appropriate in a few months.

Anything with expensive accessories, unless you buy them too

It is rude to buy a cool toddler video game system that will only be fun for about a week unless you buy all of the accompanying cartridges. This goes for bigger kids, too. Just keep in mind that any toy that will leave a parent feeling like they need to go out and buy a bunch of accessories is not a good toy. Think about batteries, too. Although you may not think that it is necessary to include the two AA batteries with that toy, it really is a good idea. If everyone in the extended family buys the child toys that require batteries, parents could easily find themselves spending $20 or more just on batteries.

Toys that make ridiculously annoying noises

Even we parents are guilty of doing this, but it always ends up being a regretted decision. Musical toys are fine. Animal noises are also fine. It's those loud "bams" and "booms" that can get really exhausting. Toddlers love to press buttons, and when pressing that button rewards them with a loud "whoosh," they will press it over and over and over again.

For my son's birthday, he was given a Winnie the Pooh train. He loves that train. I do not. There is one button that he presses constantly. It says, "Excuse me little bee, will you buzz a little buzz for me?" It rarely gets to the last part. I hear "excuse me, excuse me, excuse me," until my head is throbbing.

Anything that tells your opinion about my parenting

If there is something that you do not like about the way someone parents their child, do not try to fix it through a Christmas gift. That is just rude, and probably will not fix the issue anyhow. This is especially true if you have previously complained about the issue.

If you do not like the fact that your grandson never wears shoes, do not buy him a bunch of pairs of shoes. Just because he has them does not mean than mom and dad will put them on.

I also do not recommend buying a potty chair; unless the parents specifically tell you that they are potty training, potty toys/books/etc are not appropriate. You may think that the child is old enough for potty training, but it is the parents' place to make that decision.

Anything too big for my house

If you know what size house the family lives in, take that into consideration when purchasing a gift. Strangely enough, I have one friend who specifically tries to buy my son gifts that will drive me crazy. Well, if I do not have room for the toy, it will probably not end up in his room. Toys that do not fit in his room go to Grandma's house. Sorry.

This should go without saying, but this also means no slides, playgrounds, etc. for families who live in apartments. No yard means no yard toys.

Anything that will take more than 2 minutes to assemble

My husband and I hate assembling gifts. To make matters worse, the assembly instructions are usually in size 4 font. If it seems like a gift will take a long time to assemble, it is probably not a good idea to buy it. Or, if you really want to buy it, consider doing a wonderful service to the parents and putting it together for them. They will love you forever.

Good Gifts

It seems unfair to give a list of bad gifts without any accompanying good gifts, so here are some GOOD gift ideas for toddlers:

Books

Bath toys

Stacking/sorting toys

Toys R Us gift cards