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

[peachskittles]

I've been staring at this thread and for the life of me, I can't thing of a bad toy I have bought for my kids...It might be because I overthink each and every purchase way too much...If I even have the slightest thought it would flop, I just don't buy it...My sons really dislike my logic at times...I know grandma flopped by buying my beaver two year old foam blocks last year...I envisioned the mess and dropped them off promptly to Goodwill...

 

I seen people didn't like Furby...I LOVED my Furby...Ok so I was probably too old for it, but it was so cool...I'm going to go out on a limb and assume they don't make them anymore...My two year old would love a Furby (or maybe it's mommy would like another Furby LOL)...Then again, he is the odd child that likes the Fur Real friends toys (he has the puppy and loves it to death)...

[cougarmom4]

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.

 

Really? Oh, man...I was thinking of buying this. Tell me more...

[radiobrain]

Well, The Global Puzzle was a hit here. So if you are going to get it, you will have 1 thumbs up and 1 thumbs down. It does have some really tiny pieces though.... just use a large enough space and have a rule about putting it away so you don't lose some weird little country. :D

[FriedClams]

The plastic Target brand marble run. Trash.

 

My sister bought us "Cuboro" - $250 and my kids are totally not into it at all. Maybe it's something they need to grow into - we'll see. It has marbles and - well - we all know how that works.

 

Ice cream ball. Trash.

[Susu]

Agreeing with hating the moon sand. My kids seemed to take more joy in getting it on the floor than anything else!

 

I can't think of too many other flops since I tend to stick with the tried and true. For years my kids loved Playmobile. My daughter (age 9) still loves her American girl dolls. They love Wii and Nintindo DS. My son (age 11 almost 12) loves legos... especially the Star wars legos.

 

Susu

[MicheleinMN]

I'll give you another thumbs up for the global puzzle, but it was done on a separate table and put away when finished, and I helped a lot, but I really like puzzles, so I guess it was probably more for me than the kids anyway. :D

 

And I talked dd out of the easy bake cupcake maker when I helped her figure out how many regular cupcakes we could make for the same price. (And I did buy cupcake ingredients and make regular cupcakes with her.)

 

Not exactly a toy or game, but anytime I try to buy cutesy slippers for the kids, the slippers become just a waste of space.

 

Not big on remote control anything here either. They never work, need batteries, and are obnoxious.

[kewb]

Now I feel guilty for loving our moon sand.

 

Biggest flops:

Imaginext Castle. The pieces were so supposed to lock together. Not so much. Every time you tried to move the dang thing it would fall apart.

 

Kerplunk. The one I had as a kid was quality. The cheap plastic version you can buy today falls apart easily and the sticks are almost impossible to get in the holes.

[zaichiki]

Well, The Global Puzzle was a hit here. So if you are going to get it, you will have 1 thumbs up and 1 thumbs down. It does have some really tiny pieces though.... just use a large enough space and have a rule about putting it away so you don't lose some weird little country. :D

 

My kids also really like geography puzzles which have pieces shaped like states/countries.

 

Different strokes for different folks?

[brehon]

Not my purchases ...<snip>... anything with noises, voices, and/or flashing lights. <snip> It just made me jittery all day long

 

Karen

 

Oh, yes. I detest loud noises in general (really funny considering my profession) and uncontrollable loud noises on electronic toys most of all.

[GESTEP]

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

 

 

Oh, I love both of these games!!!!

[gardening momma]

Originally Posted by Leanna

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

 

Maybe you and your dd17 didn't like them because they're preK/K games? We have Candyland and my dc like it--but they're preK and K. :001_smile: I had both Candyland and Chutes and Ladders as a kid--liked them both. Can't say I played them in high school, though. :tongue_smilie:

[AnnetteB]

That's it, you're outta here. We're voting you off the island. :001_tt2:

 

I bet you like Moon Sand, too, don't you?

 

 

 

:lol::lol::lol:[/QUOT

I have no experience with Moon Sand and now consider myself warned. What can I do to get back on the island? Will it help or hinder my cause to say that I threw away all of our Lite Brite pegs and papers?

[Kari C in SC]

I agree about the train tables. We bought one at a garage sale. Never used. It just takes up space. I bought moon sand for my kids. I think they will love it. They love playdough. I will have to try the cardboard box idea.

 

I am afraid to say this, but my dd HATED playmobile! I bought her several sets because everyone loved them here. She asked if she could sell them about a month after Christmas. She has never asked to do that before.

Edited October 26, 2009 by Kari C in SC

[BikeBookBread]

The plastic Target brand marble run. Trash.

 

My sister bought us "Cuboro" - $250 and my kids are totally not into it at all. Maybe it's something they need to grow into - we'll see. It has marbles and - well - we all know how that works.

 

Thanks for this info. I'm looking to buy a marble run for LLL for her b-day, which is right after Christmas. Still up in the air about which one, but now I have two types eliminated, at least!

 

I saw another type at Rainbow Resource...anyone know about this one? Q-Ba-Maze. It looks like it could be a major HIT or major MISS, nothing in between. Not really a marble run; you build the structure, then drop the marbles into it, and see if you created dead-ends (I guess...)

Edited October 26, 2009 by BikeBookBread

[specialmama]

The biggest flops here have been: child's sewing machine, child's circular weaving machine/loom and a child's pottery wheel. All of them were awful and either didn't work at all or kept falling apart.

[Jacquelyn in NC]

The Lucky Ducks game is horrible. There's no OFF switch (unless you remove the batteries), so my cats would set it off in the middle of the night by sitting on the box or just brushing up against it. There's nothing worse than waking up to "quack-QUACK-quack-quack, quack-QUACK-quack-quack." Blech.

[GESTEP]

The Lucky Ducks game is horrible. There's no OFF switch (unless you remove the batteries), so my cats would set it off in the middle of the night by sitting on the box or just brushing up against it. There's nothing worse than waking up to "quack-QUACK-quack-quack, quack-QUACK-quack-quack." Blech.

 

 

Ours is in the Goodwill pile (they will finally part with it now that they are 8 and 9) and the ducks keep quacking every time someone even brushes against the box. I need to get to Goodwill soon!!

[GESTEP]

When our youngest dd was around 3 she received a Baby Alive for Christmas. It wet on her and she thought it was real. She would never play with it again so we returned it. In fact, she would never play with any baby doll after that, only animals. I did not find out the reason until several years later why she never liked that doll.

[astrid]

Moon Sand. Bleck! My dd will never believe anything a commercial says because of the moon sand experience. Maybe that's a lesson that came cheap after all!

 

OMG that is funny--- it's my dd as well! There was The Year of the Blendy Pens and that stuff that was like moon sand, but little beads in a yucky gel...can't remember the name....

 

Now when Molly sees an infomercial or some kind of FABULOUS gizmo advertised on TV, she says, "NEVER believe any kind of commercial on TV. The stuff is never as good as you think it's going to be!" GREAT lesson! It's a big joke in our house!

 

astrid

[KidsHappen]

Really? Oh, man...I was thinking of buying this. Tell me more...

 

Well, the concept is great but the pieces don't interlock so if you even bump the table slightly the pieces all move apart, think global earthquake. :tongue_smilie: As others have mentioned some of the countries are very small. I have a sandwich bag that holds puzzle pieces that have become seperated from their puzzles. There are a few countries in there. :001_smile: If you really want to get this puzzle, I would recommend one of those felted puzzle holders (large piece of board covered with felt, or flannel or some such fabric) so that the pieces don't move all around, a glass of wine and no fidgety kids. ;)

[jazzyfizzle]

Any thoughts on the the Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board?

 

 

 

ETA- Or the Crayola Color Wonder Magic Light Brush?

Edited October 27, 2009 by jazzyfizzle

[K&Rs Mom]

Any thoughts on the the Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board?

 

 

 

ETA- Or the Crayola Color Wonder Magic Light Brush?

 

Is this different than the Glow Station? My 7yo received that last Christmas from grandma, and it's nothing I'd ever buy. It's a fun idea, but doesn't really work very well and they lose interest after about 5 minutes.

[Cranberry]

Any thoughts on the the Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board?

 

 

 

ETA- Or the Crayola Color Wonder Magic Light Brush?

 

 

if the glow board is the one with black paper and the clear markers...I'd say waste of money. Grandma got it for kiddos and it was exciting for about 10 minutes. And I'm certainly not going to keep spending the $ on paper refills.

[Haiku]

Anything from Magic Cabin.

 

The pictures look really beautiful and attractive. The actual toys are either 1) way smaller than imagined or 2) so delicate that they decompose if an actual child actually plays with them.

 

I felt so sorry for my dd last year. She saved her allowance for months for some little fairy doll. It was ridiculously expensive, the shipping was half again the cost of the doll, they sent her the wrong one, and it fell apart after about 3 days.

 

It took me about five years to accept that their products suck, but now I won't buy from them on principle.

 

On the other hand, we have loved Moon Sand.

 

I got dd a dinosaur that came with plastic wands. You hid the dino and then searched for it with the wands, which lit up more and more as you got closer. My dd LOVES animals and was in an "animal rescuer" (a la Go Diego Go) phase, so I was sure she'd love it! She played with it once. :(

 

ETA: The new Hungry Hungry Hippos game is complete crap.

 

Tara

Edited October 27, 2009 by TaraTheLiberator

[Haiku]

 

Ice cream ball. Trash.

 

My ds wants one of these. Pointing out to him that we don't eat ice cream because we are vegan and, above and beyond that, my dd is allergic to milk and soy, has had no effect on his desire. He saw it on Fetch.

 

Tara

[kewb]

The Lucky Ducks game is horrible. There's no OFF switch (unless you remove the batteries), so my cats would set it off in the middle of the night by sitting on the box or just brushing up against it. There's nothing worse than waking up to "quack-QUACK-quack-quack, quack-QUACK-quack-quack." Blech.

 

Remove one battery. Game still works but no quacking.

[PinkInTheBlue]

Marble run thing, yuck. Never could figure out that thing. We tried and tried because I liked the idea. It was a gift.

 

Remote control things. Any of them. Cheap, expensive...anything. Always break or eat batteries or just plain don't do what they advertise...duh! LOL

 

Moon Shoes were horrible! Dangerous and no fun!

 

Bionicles were useless and short lived.

 

Action figures (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc) have very, very little usage even though they were always "gotta haves".

 

Those wheel things you pulled a zipper thing through and it took off like mad. They were interesting for an afternoon but so many times would shoot off toward a car or window or lone person, that they were one of those things that I "lost" as soon as possible anyway.

 

Lincoln logs haven't gone over with any of the boys. No matter the age.

 

TOTALLY agree about Rose Art. Cheap and still a complete waste of whatever money you spend on it. Awful!

 

Don't agree with Hi-Ho-Cherri-O. One of my favorite games as a child in the late 70s. My big boys enjoyed Shoots-n-Ladders and CandyLand as small children. It's about time to invest in those again for Easton.

 

Also, we bought the trains and table for our 3yr old when he was 18mths old. He plays with it every day and has played with it every day since then. We have an embarrassing amount of trains in this house! LOL My big boys would have loved one as kids and play with Easton sometimes now. (shhhh...)

 

Legos have been moderately good for the oldest but the 11yr old LOVES them. They always come back out over and over through the years.

[love2read]

Our kids loved moon sand. I think it's something more appropriate for ages 6-12 when kept in a flat, plastic container and we use it inside. I wouldn't give it to a child under 6 or 7. We've had ours for 2 years now and the kids still pull it out every few weeks.

Edited October 29, 2009 by love2read