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What's the WORST toy/game you ever bought for your kids?


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Another Moon Sand hater here.

 

And Polly Pockets. Maybe we got them too young, but those teensy rubber pieces were everywhere and eventually all vacuumed up. Never again, and I will never curse my friends by getting them either.

 

My dd has received several electronic locking diaries that never worked either. You know the kind that as a magic wand you wave or some kind of secret word you speak into a microphone. Total crap.

 

Last year for Christmas she also got some kind of spa-maker kit. You know, the kind that comes with the little packets to make lotion or lip gloss. Crappola.

 

I personally hate the Easy Bake oven too because I never want to buy the packets!!!! I'd rather we make real cookies for the whole family!!:D

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I literally LOL'd at this.

 

My boys have LOVED it. Me, not so much. That stinkin' fan is NOT powerful enough, the trunk is too long, it gets too crinkled up, and the thing eats batteries like crazy.

 

We've gone through two of them, and thankfully no one is asking for another. Yet, at least. Here's hoping they don't... :D

 

Same things happened here! :) We've also gone through two (thankfully they were both gifts -- I didn't buy them myself).

 

That game's just not the best quality, is it? Why do the kids like it???

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That little car you sit on that is propelled by moving the handles back and forth.

 

Waste. of. money.

 

Really? That's one of the things all three kids are asking for... but they've never used one in real life. I guess it just looks really good in the catalog. Did you kids not use it much?

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Hi-Ho Cherry-o game. I hate that thing!

 

We can't ever actually *play* that game, 'cause I can't ever find all the cherries and cups. The kids love the pieces so much that they constantly use them in their toy kitchen... but WHO knows *where* all those little pieces end up?! Sigh!

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I can't believe there is such a dislike for moon sand! :001_huh: We love our moon sand here. The kids have to play with it in a cake pan or on a cookie sheet, so messes have never been a problem. The texture and it's ability to be so soft, yet stick together so well is amazing to us. We have four smallish tubs and I bring it to our co-op for the preschool kids. We put it on trays. They love it and cleaning it up is not a big deal.

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Drowsy was my favorite doll when I was about 5. I think my mom still has it. I wonder if the newer versions are the same - it was a very sweet doll!

 

I didn't even know they still made them ... or perhaps make them again?

 

I'll never get rid of Drowsy ... just like I won't get rid of the green and yellow striped cat I got when I was 4. Drowsy and Stripey will always be with me. ... then again, I didn't have many toys as a child.

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Just thought of another one:

 

Honey Bee Tree. Such a cute idea -- you insert these long-stemmed leaves into a tree (through two holes opposite each other) to create a cross-hatched pattern, holding all of the bees up high in the tree. One-by-one the children pull a leaf out, until the bees start falling through the leaves. Whoever has the fewest bees at the end of the game wins.

 

But it takes about 15 minutes to set the thing up, and 1 minute to play. Sure, it teaches patience, but what 3 - 5 year old (to whom this game appeals) will sit for 15 minutes while you set it up? And my kids just didn't have the dexterity to insert the leaves through the opposite holes...

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Anything with glitter in it, because it ends up all over the house. The other thing was the slushy machine my sister bought for us a few years back, where you pour in a 12 oz. can of pop, and wait and wait and wait, and then end up with a few thimbles worth of runny almost slushy stuff. That thing made its way to Goodwill in a hurry.

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Really? That's one of the things all three kids are asking for... but they've never used one in real life. I guess it just looks really good in the catalog. Did you kids not use it much?

 

Well, it works really well on a nice flat finished gym floor. Which we don't have. On the driveway or sidewalk there was just too much friction and they couldn't get it going. Big waste.

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Have you gotten rid of it?

 

Well, kiddo has learned to leave it be for long stretches...I forget about it, and then, suddenly one quiet afternoon YMCA (Why don't you go to the ).

 

It seems quiet hardy. Very shiny. Has survived trips down the stairs (I got kiddo interested in that in the hopes it would die.)

 

Someday, when he brings home a scary gf, I'll long for the days of this stupid bus.

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Heh. Reminds me of the cars that well-meaning relatives have given ds10 over the years at Christmas, the ones that you push a button or spin the wheels and off they go across the floor?

 

He's blind. Toys that run away are not exactly on his love list. ;)

 

Oh good grief, what an awful thing for your son!

 

But can I admit, I can see myself making such an insensitive decision as to give a gift like that to your son. I'm not perfect. I could see myself thinking 'well, *my ds loves them, maybe my nephew will, too' or something like that.

 

I had a boyfriend when I was 18. He had retinitis pigmentosa; a condition where your perifiral (sp?) vision slowly closes in on you until eventually you go blind.

 

He didn't see me handing him something once. I jokingly said 'What are you, blind?'

 

:001_huh:

 

Ugh. As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I felt like the biggest heel on the earth.

 

He just said 'well, as a matter of fact, I kinda am'.

 

It's okay, we've never viewed anyone as being 'insensitive' for it or anything ~ and sometimes we find creative ways that he can use those runaway toys -- I glued a small dog leash to one car before, so it could only zip off a certain distance when he held the handle. :D

 

Did he (your ex bf) laugh at it after? Most VI people have a pretty good sense of humour when it comes to that sort of thing. And their families - I once had a lady start apologizing profusely when she tripped over ds10's cane, and mixed into her apology, she said "I'm always tripping over things!" ..I grinned at her and replied "No worries, so is he." She went bright red for a second and then realized that we were teasing and started laughing herself. :tongue_smilie:

 

{lest that come across crass or something, it truly isn't - yes, there are serious issues in his life...but the best way to deal with serious issues is to keep your funnybone in good working order. ;) }

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Well, it works really well on a nice flat finished gym floor. Which we don't have. On the driveway or sidewalk there was just too much friction and they couldn't get it going. Big waste.

 

My girls just tried our neighbors' out on our (brand new, really smooth) sidewalk and they LOVED them! Then again, they had a rolling start down a seriously graded driveway :lol:

 

But good info...

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I bought my son a train table and train set. I don't think he ever used it. We still have the train table, I use it to do my puzzles on.

I bought a used train table for Duplo and Mega blocks. Works great. We actually do have a "train" set, which is a Thomas Duplo set, so every now and then the girls use the tracks in addition to the blocks. Those tables are very versatile. I can see them being used for a lot of other toys if it wasn't always covered in blocks.

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This one wasn't bought, it was made...homemade, scented, glitter playdough. Awful stuff. It wasn't me. Dd5 went to a thing for kids at church and they made this. They added koolaid to give it color and scent. The combination of the homemade playdough scent and the koolaid scent was awful! And there was always salt and glitter everywhere when she used it. After a few uses, I pitched it. She hasn't noticed.

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Hmm. Wonder what we have! It was in blocks in the bag, looked like it had been bought that way and repackaged in a bag, then someone decided they didn't want it. Either that, or someone went through a lot of effort to make perfect rectangles of it before donating it..

 

weird.

 

I know we've picked up Floam-like stuff that was much like you describe at the dollar store (always an excellent source for slimey stuff) so maybe it's something someone picked up at a similar store.

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Hmm. Wonder what we have! It was in blocks in the bag, looked like it had been bought that way and repackaged in a bag, then someone decided they didn't want it. Either that, or someone went through a lot of effort to make perfect rectangles of it before donating it..

 

weird.

 

I know we've picked up Floam-like stuff that was much like you describe at the dollar store (always an excellent source for slimey stuff) so maybe it's something someone picked up at a similar store.

 

Ahhh, maybe it was. It's definitely not the same stuff everyone is ranting about here, nor does it match the pictures I found. Guess I'd better stop calling it Floam! :lol:

 

But dang it, if it was a dollar store knock off, I'm not gonna be able to replace it! The only dollar store here (ha, and they aren't -- it's not a dollarama, it's a "dollar and more" sort of things and some stuff is VERY expensive in there. Expensive JUNK) doesn't have it... though they do indeed have lots of slime. Well, they have less than they did, since the kids have bought a lot of it. :tongue_smilie:

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We have a Plasma Car here - it doesn't work too well on the driveway, but does very well on the deck and the kitchen floor :)

Heather in MD

 

Well, it works really well on a nice flat finished gym floor. Which we don't have. On the driveway or sidewalk there was just too much friction and they couldn't get it going. Big waste.
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Candyland and Chutes and Ladders.....my dd17 and I decided that playing these games for eternity is the punishment in one of the upper levels of Dante's Inferno.

 

Leanna

 

:iagree:

 

And I must add Hi-Ho Cherry-O to this list as well. There is nothing like 30 minutes of taking tiny cherries out of a bucket and placing them on a tree, then taking them off the tree and putting them back in the bucket, then putting some more in the bucket, then putting a couple more back on the tree.......I know that statistically the game has to come to an end, but I'm always afraid that it never will. :glare:

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Ahhh, maybe it was. It's definitely not the same stuff everyone is ranting about here, nor does it match the pictures I found. Guess I'd better stop calling it Floam! :lol:

 

But dang it, if it was a dollar store knock off, I'm not gonna be able to replace it! The only dollar store here (ha, and they aren't -- it's not a dollarama, it's a "dollar and more" sort of things and some stuff is VERY expensive in there. Expensive JUNK) doesn't have it... though they do indeed have lots of slime. Well, they have less than they did, since the kids have bought a lot of it. :tongue_smilie:

 

Was it Play Foam? This is much less gooey than Floam...

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We were given Moon Sand, and while things that make a mess are not my cup of tea, it was ok since I only let them use it outside. I'd put a couple of folded towels on the cement patio for dc to kneel on, and then put out the Moon Sand, the tools and molds that came with the kit, a toy kitchen tray, a plastic placemat or two, and a couple of small plastic wash basins. Dc really liked it, and I'd either sweep up the sand that didn't go back in the containers with a stiff broom or let it sit there and wait for rain to wash it away.

 

This is us. We played with moon sand out on the driveway just this afternoon. My ds6 loves it! (NEVER to be played with inside, though!)

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A bunch of those $35 Airhogs R/C helicopters from walmart. They ALWAYS break...within hours. We bought 6 different ones before we finally gave up and realized they were crap.

 

Robosapien

 

A myraid of those electric car tracks (that never get stored correctly and the pieces are not missing so they can't be used).

 

All things remote controlled - Cars, Wall-E, and so on. They go by the way side as soon as the first set of batteries die.

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A bunch of those $35 Airhogs R/C helicopters from walmart. They ALWAYS break...within hours. We bought 6 different ones before we finally gave up and realized they were crap.

 

Robosapien

 

 

My son has gone through a lot of the Air Hogs toys, too. And some generic helicopter that he bought from a kiosk in the mall. What a waste of money!

 

I know several people who bought the Robosapien when it was the new, hot item. They all got rid of it within months because their children were scared of it, LOL.

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I think someone mentioned these already, but I hate those jigsaw puzzle books... the ones with a different puzzle on each page. You get the puzzle finished, then turn the page and it falls apart again. :confused:

 

I also can't stand the jigsaw puzzles from the dollar stores. The pieces never fit together correctly. :(

 

My girls have had several different Barbie board games and they were all a flop.

 

My DS loved the "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" show, so I bought him the game. None of us liked it.

 

Oh, and you know how they started putting all those game shows on DVD, so that you can play them at home? We've had a few of those and didn't like them either.

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I was wondering, though, what have you bought for your kids that turned out to be a bad idea?

 

Not my purchases, but my mother's .... anything with noises, voices, and/or flashing lights. My mom is a personality type that loves that stuff. It just made me jittery all day long ... those toys "broke" very early and had to be thrown out ... so sad.

 

Karen

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Just thought of another one:

 

Honey Bee Tree. Such a cute idea -- you insert these long-stemmed leaves into a tree (through two holes opposite each other) to create a cross-hatched pattern, holding all of the bees up high in the tree. One-by-one the children pull a leaf out, until the bees start falling through the leaves. Whoever has the fewest bees at the end of the game wins.

 

But it takes about 15 minutes to set the thing up, and 1 minute to play. Sure, it teaches patience, but what 3 - 5 year old (to whom this game appeals) will sit for 15 minutes while you set it up? And my kids just didn't have the dexterity to insert the leaves through the opposite holes...

 

We bought this a few months ago. Turns out I didn't have the dexterity to insert the leaves through the opposite holes.:D

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Toys like "Gnip-Gnop" seemed cool when I was a kid. (It's a self contained game that has three balls on each side, then each kids hits these levers until all the balls are gone on their side). Annoying as an adult!

Hot Lava Mama

 

 

Self-contained my tootsie! My girls, at 3 & 6 had that game taken apart and the balls are GONE. I thought it would be fun for them to just bat the balls around. Yeah. Right. At least they weren't choking hazards ;)

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Ditto the other posts about Moon Sand and VTech. I think they try to design toys to be as annoying and horrible as possible, so well-meaning grandparents get suckered. We have also had very poor luck with dolls by Zapf Creations (Baby Annabell, Chou Chou, etc), Ariel has had 3 or 4 and they all broke after less than 2 hours of gentle play. Amazing Amanda (that she begged for) got played with for about 2 days and now sits in the closet. Thank goodness we only paid $18 for it!

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Anything with glitter in it, because it ends up all over the house. The other thing was the slushy machine my sister bought for us a few years back, where you pour in a 12 oz. can of pop, and wait and wait and wait, and then end up with a few thimbles worth of runny almost slushy stuff. That thing made its way to Goodwill in a hurry.

 

 

It works much better to put the soda in the freezer for 30 minutes. It turns to slush and you can consume the whole thing without cleaning out the machine. :D

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any puzzle made out of thin cardboard, for anyone under 5 or 6. Especially those puzzle books, where each page is a new puzzle. My kids hate them because you just can't fit the pieces together well or get the pages to lay flat. Yet I think every year someone gets one from a well meaning relative or friend.
My kids love the puzzles from those books. We end up taking a photo of the puzzle then putting each puzzle into its own Ziploc bag. They then use the book for whatever they want.
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Easy Bake oven even though every single one of my girls had to try one they were rarely used by the same girl more than once.

 

Any electronic animated stuffed animal. Fur-Reals, Furbies, etc.

 

Any thing with track your have to put together.

 

Almost any arts or craft item sold on tv.

 

That global puzzle that doesn't have interlocking pieces - the one where each piece is shaped like a country. That's is enought to send even the sanest person round the bend.

Edited by KidsHappen
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I personally hate the Easy Bake oven too because I never want to buy the packets!!!! I'd rather we make real cookies for the whole family!!:D

 

You can find recipes online using regular ingredients - some healthier stuff too like oatmeal bars or pizza. My 7yo LOVES her EasyBake! I think dh loves it just as much, because he somehow manages to score half of the baked goods.

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I think someone mentioned these already, but I hate those jigsaw puzzle books... the ones with a different puzzle on each page. You get the puzzle finished, then turn the page and it falls apart again. :confused:

 

My daughter loved those puzzle books. She never had a problem with them. I think she'd finished a puzzle, shut the book and then open the book at the next puzzle. I think. She must have done something like that because we never had a problem with the puzzles falling apart. I loved them because they were so easy to store compared to conventional jigsaw puzzles.

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