Things other people buy your kids that you really wish they wouldn’t...

[TallTilly]

Yes yes I know it’s so ungrateful but I’m going to vent anyway. I really do appreciate that people want to spoil my girls but sometimes....😬😬

Top of my list is bubbles. I fucking hate bubbles. Stain the washing. Kids are obsessed with them and yet too young to do them by themselves and just spill the mixture so I need to stand there blowing bubbles with a soaking wet hand. Yet my mum seems to buy them bubbles every time she enters a shop. Rage. I sneak them into the bin.

In laws are terrible for buying large and lavish (usually expensive) gifts which stress me out as to where to put them. Our house is tiny and in desperately trying to rid it of clutter. We do not need an easel/pop tent/ball pit/bean bag etc etc.

Anyone else?

DS1 had one of those keyboards and karaoke microphones, he absolutely loved it! He spent many happy hours screaming the Scooby Doo theme tune into it (sorry neighbours).

Energy drinks! For a 3 year old DH's childless best mate was watching Ds1 for 1 hour and it didn't occur to him that blue sugary chemical shite was not a good choice!

I dislike any gifts that require adult set up or supervision.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Loving the well attired child in white shirt and chinos usually a sartorial choice for adults not kids
Def NOT for nursery though.all that glitter,glue and paint

TallTilly
It is ! Confession ...I am a grandmother and only just discovered it !

Clothes and soft toys. I don't usually like clothes that people buy for ds. And probably because I was never fussed on them as I child, I've never really bothered with soft toys with ds, so he has no interest in them.

Mine had a keyboard with mic that belted out ol macdonald it was excruciating

Noisy fucking books. Books are supposed to be quiet time. Not so with those fucking press the button books.

Also they are always shit stories. Often tv derivatives.

ALSO they are the only fucking books DD then wants to read, meaning her extensive collection of halfway enjoyable and most importantly NON FUCKING CACOPHANOUS books is ignored or moaned about.

Also, stupidly complicated jigsaws which I then have to do.

Also, horrible clothes. Although this one is v subjective I do understand.

Make-up and those dress-up high heels for DD(5). Hate it. Noisy toys that don't have a volume button, and anything with an exaggerated American accent.

Utterly useless tat that breaks in two seconds - DM keeps buying for some unholy reason rubber things that you chuck and they light up on impact. But they break in 2 seconds. But she keeps buying them. Waste of money, destined for landfill, gah!

Mine were all given ballet dresses and shoes at Christmas this last year. They are girls that have horses and have zero Intrest in ballet and never have had but my mother thought they should be doing it anyway as they’d look pretty.

N0ne I’m with you on anything American ,it’s one thing I do not allow in my home ever.

A Minions fart gun. My cousin gave to one of my DC about 4 Christmases ago and they STILL find it hilarious.

I used to complain about Lego, lots of people gave it and DS has trouble with fine motor skills so used to get very frustrated. On balance though at least it made him try and so probably improved his fine motor skills a bit.

We can't move in the house and nothing looks intentional. Have tried everything to stem the flow but still it continues. The only way to stop it would be to lock the DC out as they are being used as mules to courier the stuff in.

Either put it back in their car as they leave or take it straight to the charity shop (or bin)

It's your house. They don't mind upsetting you, so why should you care if you upset them?

Go on, it's a Bank Holiday - start clearing out!

Lots of cheap stuff that breaks or doesn’t work. Just a waste of money, bad for the environment and upsetting for the kids.
One better quality thing would be so much better.

Sue sounds like the total opposite of my grandad who got ds2 a nail varnish set for his birthday (he loves nail varnish, thinks it's his finger family) as 'there's no reason a boy can't be colourful'

When our DC were smaller, my sister and I had this joke going for years where we'd buy one anothers children the most awful things we could think of.

It all began when I unthinkingly bought her 3 year old this keyboard...a Mickey Mouse one...it made the most awful noises and sounds.

She said "I'll get you back" and when DD's birthday came around, she bought her a harmonica and a glitter-filled craft set.

Then it was game on. The kids never knew a thing about it but we'd open these presents....things like ....a tesco bag sized parcel of highly coloured sweets and Jenga....and just die laughing. The kids loved those gifts!

Fiddly toys that are a bit too old for DS...because I have to be the horriblr mummy putting it away in the cupboard till he's old enough not to smash/loose it.

It's sweet PILs and my parents think he's so 'advanced' and sensible but why can't they just buy things that are chunky and 2 yr old proof that I don't need to supervise quite so heavily.

My grandparents are of the ilk that kids would prefer 100 small plastic objects instead of one quality thing.

So I visit once a week. It has escalated from an occasional present to a magazine every week (£5) a bag of sweets (£1.50) and now some sort of clothing, but the clothing is a 3.99 set from Lidl. Thing is, they aren't well off at all and my daughters wardrobe is now bursting with clothes. And without being disrespectful to them, they are 80's and not buying the style of clothes she wears. So I'm in a pickle. I mention it to them and they stop for a few weeks, then start up again.

This is a wonderful thread. Anyone else making notes for irritating relatives dc?

If it was a couple of years ago then I'd suspect BBB was my sil. Just the sort of pretentious thing she'd bother about.

Help. I’m sure it was so top of your sons list lol

What made me laugh most was if she’d given them when they were small girls they’d probably have loved them as they all loved dressing up then

We love bubbles, play doh and slime! I hate plastic tat that’s guaranteed to break within days. And cuddly toys that they say ‘ahh’ over for 30 seconds then have no interest in.
I like craft materials etc... useful stuff that doesn’t take up much space and gets used up.

Huge plastic cooker, slime, keyboard, toy saxophone, kinetic sand, craft sets with beads, glitter, stringy paper.

10 poor quality things instead of 1 good quality thing. They break or never work properly and I have to deal with frustrated toddler. Some of them are just dangerous! We have had things blow up, easily accessible button batteries, small parts come off toys for under 3s, dolls with missing appendages, crayons that are barely visible, chalk that doesn't work, stickers that don't stick, fake playdoh that crumbles, pull alongs that just fall over, water pistols that dribble instead of squirting, jigsaws made of thin card that are impossible for a toddler to put together, non washable (!) felt tips that are so rough they just rip the paper and finally bubbles that do not make bubbles... Just tears

Regarding the plastic crap on magazines... Have a small box or basket where they live and when toddler adds new ones they have to choose equal number to throw away. Sad about landfill though.