To buy my 3 year old what she wants for Christmas?

My mum apologised for never buying me the Tiny Tears I begged for, then asked if I would like one now. I declined. I was 37 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

My child is 4 and has told me he wants a squishmallow for Christmas. I don't really like them but I'm a bit relieved that he's moved on from making up toys in his head that don't exist, and then insisting that they do exist because 'Santa can make everything' like he did when he was 3. I assume he's heard about them from his friends at nursery.

I am another parent who says 'let's put that on your Christmas list' whenever DS asks for something, so we've been talking about Christmas for months already. I might start actually writing down some of the things at this point.

Buy her what she wants, otherwise you’ll have spent a big chunk of money on stuff that just won’t get used. Ignore the worthies whose children have never seen plastic. They’ll learn.

Yeah same in my house. I remember when Tarquin was three days old he took my teat out of his mouth and said "Mummy, I simply must insist you purchase a complete set of encyclopedia Britannica for my first Christmas. Of course he's seven now and wants a Jacob Rees-Mogg action figure. They grow up so quickly.

I think it does depend to an extent to whether she will love it, or if she just thinks she will. I don't think xmas is the time for an i-told-you-so lesson, and there has been some shite i have refused to buy because it would be disappointing and a total waste.

But generally, I would buy what is asked for, if it will be used.

At 3 I don't even think that I would have asked them. I probably started asking once they could write their own lists to santa.

Loving the toy snobs, “my child only plays with toys made from organic materials and approved by educational psychologists”! 😂

LOL surprise isn’t tat. It’s flippin’ expensive, and also well made. It just looked different to the plastic stuff that was around when I was a kid, but styles change over time.

Buy her what she wants. If you go and buy a load of “better” toys instead she’s not going to instantly prefer those. If anything she’ll be more put off them because they’ll be a disappointment, and the stuff you refused to get her will become the forbidden joy she will want even more.

Buy her what she wants. But it's only September and she's only 3, she'll want something else by December anyway.

If it were me, I'd be buying that sort of stuff second hand because people are always trying to offload stuff their DC have outgrown. Get on vinted and get her all the plastic tat her little heart desires.

Getting kids educational stuff for Christmas would be like DH getting me new filters for the hoover. No thanks.

Buy her what she wants. Can’t imagine anything worse than wanting an LOL doll and being made to have something educational. I had my first Sindy doll at about 4 and it was the best thing ever. I’m nearly 50 and me and my friends can all still remember the stuff we weren’t allowed to have.

Sums it up I think op.

And there's joy in getting what you really want.

A bit of both?
'Tat' can bring joy and encourage imagination at that age, just as much as the more educational stuff can. 👍

Barbie’s have changed quite a bit now, they aren’t all the same size.

This thread really has brought out the posters who have no interest in the actual question, but love to flex their ‘superior parenting’ muscles 🙄

For what it’s worth, I received a smyths toy catalogue in the post earlier this week, I would imagine they aren’t the only shop sending them out around now.
perhaps the OP let her child browse that for a bit, instead of the assumption that she’s glued to YouTube 24/7.

Though at least LOL dolls are sort of cartoon-cute and sufficiently unrealistic that they aren't really a physical role model!

Exactly. I’m playing devils advocate here because its not what I did, but think the objection is more that these types of dolls add to the pressure on girls to look a certain way at a young age. Didn’t particularly occur to me to care when dd had a Barbie phase, but can confirm that pressure to look a certain way is definitely a thing at age 10. Of course it comes from many sources, but as I said some people definitely object to these types of dolls on this basis.

am quite glad LOL dolls never came up!

Although I totally agree that there is no reason Barbie can't be a toy to fire the imagination, I have to concede that I think of all toys Barbie is a bit too sexualised, booby and slim-waisted and probably inspires games of a trip to the hair salon more than finding a fossil in a mud pit or a portal to the land of talking animals. But anything to fire the imagination I guess! I wouldn't ban her if she's what a child wanted.

I think because having a character who seems magical and mysterious and brings what you REALLY want seems so much more exciting for children than some guy who intrudes via the chimney to leave a pack of phonics flashcards and the stuff you didn't want, and parents are prepared to forgot the credit themselves to give their children that sense of wonder.

Also, at least then they only expect the "tat" once a year.

It's enormously exciting when Santa defies your parents and gets what you are normally not allowed.

I think Barbies are fine, as I’ve said we allowed them and just let the phase run its course. I had them myself. I don’t particularly think they’re tat as they do last if cared for, but they are plastic and so is all the packaging so I was responding to those objecting to ‘plastic tat’. Again, as I’ve said I’m no saint when it comes to plastic, it’s impossible to avoid it entirely. But at 3 I think good quality second hand is fine and should be utilised where you can.

I genuinely have never seen Barbies out and about anywhere near me at playgroups or pre-schools. I didn’t suggest that was the case everywhere. However I do know that some parents object to these types of toys in early years, because of the body shapes, made up faces etc so I assume that is why. it didn’t particularly occur to me at the time dd was interested in Barbies as she was only 2 or 3, but I have heard others discussing it more recently.

I don't get why Barbie is being labelled tat either. Barbie can have a great number of adventures. She's been on the go for a heck of a long time (and Sindy before her). She's not going to be out grown before next Christmas.

LOL dolls I'm not so sure about.

To me plastic tat is cheap stuff that breaks after 5min of has limited use, like the lot McDonald's toys.

I just wouldn't buy too many toys. And I know its really hard to rein in what gets purchased between parents, grandparents, Aunties etc. But when you end up with toys that are hardly played with before they are out grown then you need to get rid it's depressing!

The little dolls are great for imaginative play. Teaching behaviours.
I spent hours when DD was little playing with tiny dolls, DD was naturally awkward, she still is, but the playing with the dolls really helped her social skills.
Each doll had a different voice.
Great memories now that she is 16, she'd rather die then wear sparkles and pink nowadays.

I'd buy a mixture of both, my 4 year old is really into superheroes so I buy him all the plastic figures, accessories, cars and headquarters etc that go with it, he also loves play doh/magic sand and his role playing and imagination are fantastic the way he plays with it all, his nursery and now school all tell me he has the best imagination

I let him free play alot but we do make learning games with it all so yesterday we made play doh hair for the figures and practiced cutting, when potty training we made play doh pottys & sinks for his characters and he smashed the training. We count the characters, talk about their colours and their superpowers and how they can use their powers to help people. Now my boy has started school he likes to set his characters up so they are all sitting listening to a teacher whilst he reads to them and make them do maths 😅 so there's lots of ways to make all the 'plastic tat' educational if you want them to learn from their toys

Love “ cycled rat” 🤣

OMG - get off your high horse

“Mummy buys the better stuff”
For her, the Barbie IS the better stuff. She asked for it specifically- since when are dolls tat?! She’s 3! Buy her the toys she wants to play with for fuck sake.

“Where did she learn about them?” -
it’s called a TV. insert rant about screen time and not even owning a tv here

”I would never buy that stuff for my children”
So instead of gifting them something they would enjoy, and play with, you would choose to get them something YOU want them to play with instead. You are denying your child a childhood where they experience the magic of opening something they asked Santa for, just so you can act like you are superior. It’s sad for your kids.

Some of these comments are absolutely ridiculous. Give your small children a proper Christmas. They go to school for an education, not everything needs to be educational. Let them have fun and buy the sodding Barbie’s, for fuck sake.

And the winner of the most judgy, look at me I’m better then you post goes to……