Age Approriate Toys Any One????

Boy that stinks. Two options, as I see it. Number one- let him play with the toys and tell the dad and grandma that they should either buy him toys appropriate for his age (they need to look at the little label that just about every toy has stating a recommended age) so he can play with them, or if they don't, that you are going to let him play with them anyway, and if they break, they break, and they will have to deal with it. Number two- take take the toy away, and put it in the basement until he is old enough to play with it without breaking it. They won't like that he isn't getting to play with the toy they bought. Do this enough, and maybe they will start putting more thought into the appropriateness of the gifts they buy for him. I've already had to do this with my daughter's gifts. She got things appropriate for 2 years and up on her first birthday. I left the things that were okay for her to play with out, and the other things I just put in the basement until she is old enough. Sounds like you need to decide which avenue to take, and then have a heart to heart with them.

M.,
You could go to a site like walmart.com and pick out the toys you want your child to have before a birthday or Christmas. Hand her a printed copy of the list and say something like, "I went ahead and printed out a list of toys for you that I think my son will really enjoy." You could also just tell her to go to the site and look up his wish list if she has internet access. I did this for Christmas for my children and it worked great. It is kind of like doing a bridal registry, only its for your kids. It is great! Best wishes

J. F.

Put your foot down, no matter what! Tell them that if they insist on buying these toys for your son, then you'll let him play with them(unless they are a hazard, of course). Tell them they are not allowed to yell at your son about not breaking a toy that THEY purchased for him. If he needs so much guidance about how to play with it without breaking it, then it isn't for his age group. They make toys for kids his age a little sturdier for a reason! I would not allow them to discipline my son on such petty things at all. He is your child and you should be the one doing the discipline. SO, basically, let him have it and let him break the dang thing and they will not spend so much money on such an innapropriate toy next time!

M.,
Don't bother trying to control what other people do. As soon as your son goes to bed, put the dinosaur away until he is older. Explain to your husband again that 2-year-olds do not need to learn how to play a guitar correctly. Make sure to have toys that are age appropriate and try to direct him to those. He sounds like a normal child, and thank you for protecting him. Next time they start nagging him about being careful, just tell them that there are toys made for little kids that are not breakable.
Best wishes,
K.

I think it would help if the dad was on the righ page with you. My husband and I have the same problem with his mother and she is SLOWLY getting better, but we just take the toys back. She doesn't stay around much to see him playning with it or NOT... I will say -- Mery this is not appropriate or safe for Enrique. When it says ages 3 and up -- it is usually because it has too many small pieces he could chocke on. This year I tried to be very direct as to what he needed. We don't like things that make noise, we want him to be creative.... When it comes to others buying for him, sometimes we just say thanks and take it back or give it away or if it someone we can talk with we explain, this is how we want to raise our son -- we don't want him to have a ton of toys and the toys he does have we want them to be like...... Just stick to your beliefs and goals in parenting, be grateful, but clear on how you want to raise you child.

I would tell her that if you buy him a toy dont yell at him when he goes to play with it, and if he breaks it so what its his toy. If she say i payed good money for it say well then i guess you can get him something more apporite next time. my mom does the same thing Ive learned they will never change, so the best way is to be upfront and stand your ground. they seem more like toys for dad anyway
P. s

Hello, I don't understand why they buy these inappropriate toys when there are so many that he can enjoy without the worry of breaking. I think you should have a talk with Gramma, next time give her ideas on what your son needs and wants. Give her a list of the right kind of toys for his age. Good luck.

Dear M.
you are your childs avdicate for his health and his voice untill he can express his wishes,and being that means protecting him from let say do gooders who sometimes with out thinking can harm them,exsample anything you buy for a child now carrys a from & to age approprite specificates on the label.the only thing you need to do is state the obviouse it is not age aproprite for him thats why they put them lables on the items he could snap something off the item and put it in his mouth and choke to death. and that has nothing to do with insaulting them its just a fact.not to mention they are harming him buy hollering at him for somthing he does not have a clue aboutthere gonna give the poor baby a complex.people these days crack me up in there thinking like a 2-year old knows whats right or wrong .someone needs to remind them how long it took them to learn what they are insisting our children today should come out of the womb all ready knowing.
well good luck i hope this helps

M., I suggest you pick a time when you and "Granny" are
alone together and she appears to be in a good mood. Be
polite and bubbly and tell her you have put the guitar out
of reach for now because you want your child to be able to
enjoy it when he is old enough to understand how to properly
handle it. You think it is a great gift and you want to keep
it that way. Continue to do this with every toy that you feel is inapproperate for his age. I see this constantly and it
drives me crazy. A relative had given his five year old alot
of gifts that were too mature for him, a real gun, a cell phone, telescope, and a digital camera. The boy was unhappy
and his father was upset because he felt his son didn't appreciate anything. I sat down alone with the five year old and ask him what his favorite Christmas gift was, his reply was his two year old brother's Blues Clues movie.

I really agree with Caryn L. The idea about hiding the gift until your son is old enough is a very good idea. I have a two year old boy myself and when things like that happen at my house, I just subtly take the toy away, he looks for it, gets a little upset, but then gets over it. I did this with my now three year old daughter and when I did bring some of the toys out, she thought they were brand new. Worked wonderfully. You do also need to be honest about it with your husband and mother-in-law. Maybe try to explain it from your point of view.

My son has gotten toys that are too old for him too. When he opens them, I just say, "oh, he'll love to play with this this summer, thank you" or something like that. The problem is that your fiance needs to be on the same page as you...you need to help him to understand that the age suggestions on a toy are there for a reason and that it's wrong to expect for your son to play appropriately with toys that are too old for him. Compare it to something that he can relate with...like his bosses at work expecting him to run a machine that he has no background in and no training on how to run and then yelling at him when he does it wrong.

The bottom line is that I would nip this situation in the bud. If this is a type of scenario that happens often, your son could end up with issues in response to criticism and self esteem.

Maybe you could make a suggestion to Grandma and friends who buy toys for your son that he really likes toys from a particular store. There is a place in New Albany called The Learning Express. Its a great little store that has A ton of great unique toys and they are all sorted by age when you go in there. You can tell Grandma "he loves to play with toys that are in the 2 year old section" of any store, or this one.
THen the money they invest in your child wont be a waste, or have to be put on hold for 5 years! Good luck.

I make a lsit of appropriate toys and tell them "every time we go to the store he spends 15 minutes with this toy." or "when we are at the library, this is the only thing he plays with." Something like that. Hopefully she will get the point. Good Luck

Hi M. -
I understand completely how you feel. My mother-in-law bought my 4-year-old daugther a Bratz doll for Christmas. My daughter wanted to know where the rest of her outfit was. Thank goodness my husband was the one who said it would go to a charity once we got home. My in-laws constantly buy non-age appropriate gifts. Since my husband is in agreeement with me, we either put them in the closet until a later date or donate them to charity. I have learned in the 16 years that we have been together that my mother-in-law will do what she wants no matter what. Instead of making a big deal out of it, I will make the corrections at a later date. Even if that means we go to the toy store and get a more appropriate gift later. Yo either need to provide a complete list of what you should get or just deal with what you do. I noticed another mother mentioned the store Learning Express. We have one in Northern KY too and it is great. You can create a birthday bin which is gifts you child has picked out and that other people can go in and buy. It worked for us one birthday. Hope this helps.

L.