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

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Dd3 absolutely loves playing with tat. Anything small, fiddly, plastic and pink, DD loves. She’s asked for LOL surprise dolls, Mini Little Live Pets, Barbie tat etc for Christmas.

AIBU to buy DD these kinds of gifts (which is what she enjoys and has asked for), over ‘better’ and more educational toys? Or should I be trying to steer her towards these better toys as she is only 3?

She does have a Barbie house as well as a generic wooden one… the Barbie one is definitely the favourite! Along with the camper, ambulance etc.

at 3, I imagine she'll be happy opening and then playing with any small cutesy item.

Personally I went for Duplo and then lego, which my daughter got years of fun out of. She would make dream houses and gardens for her lego people and animals. It's creative, educational and fun. Plus I'm less worried about plastic pollution as it's simply boxed up now for the next generation. You can get pink sets

My dd loved pink, in the days of the pink stink campaigns. I got questioned by Mums at school as to why dd had everything pink. It's a colour, she likes it. She's 22 now - has a great job but she still really likes pink - it's not my choice - we all like different things. I bought plenty of worthy educational toys too - most were never played with.😂

Exactly. It’s imaginative and creative, and she’s learning to plan and organise. There’s as much exploration and problem-solving in what your DD does with her ‘tat’ as there is in what the more sanctimonious Mumsnetters’ children are told to do with their handcrafted organic wooden jigsaw puzzles.

Hanging out with older kids makes sense as an explanation for her preferences, of course she wants the toys she sees them with. Some people will still be convinced she’s watching YouTube all day every day no matter what you say.

With my pfb everything had to be educational and worthwhile and sustainable, gawd I was an insufferable arse! Its Christmas, she is little, buy her what she wants.

My mum always used to insist on educational toys, even in the 70s. She sucked the joy out of any gift that she did not see as morally or educationally beneficial. I am now 55 and still resent it. Little kids should be allowed to play with some toys that they want as long as the parents can afford it and they are not actually harmful to them.

I would get her what she wants. I can remember when i was 4. I really wanted a doll. I got the famous 5 books instead. I was so disappointed as i couldn't read well enough to get any use out of them. When i was older i did ask for books as i loved reading. I got plastic tat instead. I have long since come to the conclusion that my family are crap gift buyers. Every year i tell them not to get me gift sets due to my skin allergies. Every year i get a ted baker gift set.

Little girls do love tiny, diminutive items don't they! I think that's why doll houses and latterly Sylvanians are such a hit.

My daughter is 14 and still loves herself a bit of tat! Every fiddle toy in the world and don't get me started on LOL dolls! She also reads Animal Farm, paints and is doing GCSEs so I don't think she was too damaged by her tat-fetish! I always bought what she liked, Barbie shoes being a big one for years!

Well quite honestly the conspicuous consumption is appalling.

What happened to those potato dolls with cloves for eyes? And no I don't mean Mr Potato Head; I mean the ones that shrivel then go rotten. It's a great lesson in mortality.

Yes, I would.

Make her happy :)

OMG me too!!! I was desperate for a Mr Frosty and never got one. It still stings….

My mother refused to buy me Barbies (although she’d let me keep any that I got as gifts). Now, as an adult, I collect them and other fashion dolls. Doll collecting has a lot of adults buying toys they weren’t allowed to have as children, whether it was because they were poor or their families disapproved.

Go on and get her a couple of Barbies or whatever. You don’t want to make forbidden fruits out of harmless things when there are so many actual dangers in the world you’ll have to keep her away from as she grows older.

Someone else could argue that it’s appalling to use potatoes as toys when there are people starving in the world.

That's almost my point actually. Whatever we do there is an angle someone can take as to why we shouldn't.

I do realise landfill is an issue, and if I am one hundred percent honest before my dc were old enough to know what they wanted I bought them wooden toys that I still think of as "heirlooms" ( so wooden Brio train sets, wooden farm animals etc) so I'm not a lover of plastic tat. But I think where childhoods are concerned, up to a point we need to set aside our politics and let then have a bit of joy in the things that they wish for.

This site has so many judgemental types that I’m starting to lose my radar for satire. 😱

It’s Christmas, so yes get it for her. It’s a couple of lol dolls, it’s not going to break the bank and she will love them. I think with Christmas as long as they aren’t asking for a pony or a labradoodle then try and get them something they asked for and are excited for.
Years back my dd was 4 all she wanted was a game called Pig goes pop. The stupidist game ever made. I reluctantly bought it and she loved it so much. We often reminisce the ‘pig goes pop’ Christmas! I’m so glad I got it for her now.

Don't worry. The naughty part of me hoped someone would take it in earnest!

I would. As far as presents are concerned, the educational and useful stuff is for birthdays and the Christmas presents are for sheer joy and fun, so if that’s what she’s got her heart set on then I absolutely would!

YES YES YES to all this, especially the second paragraph, childhood is way too short to give a shit about buying educational stuff for a three year old’s Christmas

Did you mean to quote me?

Also, if you are in need of ideas, dd has the Barbie plane and Ambulance and loves creating adventures for the Barbies to go on - they go all around the world. Sometimes she even practices her French using them as they've just started it at school! She also loves the mini backpacks with notebooks in so she can pack for their travels.

I loved Barbies when I was a child. I also loved pink and still do.

I ended up with a PhD, great career which I love, so it didn't exactly hold me back. The competitive parenting on this thread is tedious - get your daughter what she wants for Christmas.

I have been reading the Little House on the Prairie series with DC.

Laura has a doll made out of sweetcorn. No joke - Sweetcorn Susan. My children's minds were blown.