What kind of toys do you buy for your kids?

I don't have kids yet but I'd definitely pick toys in which the whole family could have fun together. That's why I always browse GeekDad over at Wired.com [http://www.wired.com/geekdad/], good posts over there about family-friendly (and geeky) fun.

My two older children are not really into toys any more, my middle child likes video games. He usually ends up getting them himself with his birthday money but if he does something acceptional we will get him one as a treat, he gets most of his games at Christmas. My younges likes any toy that is train related. Mostly he will gte them at christmas or on his birthday, but every once in a while we will get him one just to treat him.

I usually buy educational toys for my kids as well as gifts for other gifts. I give them choices sometimes....let them choose....but if it is something really inappropriate for a child, then I do not get it for them. My older has been begging for a PSP...but I haven't got one for him yet...till I am ready to supervise and get to know more about it. I'm already worried about his TV addiction and trying to get him off it...so a PSP at the moment is a definite no-no. Books, puzzles...and other things that are good for them....cars...balls..yes, I do get them those.

it's al according what age they are, when mine were old enough to ride a bike i bought quad runners or dirt bikes, when they were younger toy trucks aka tonka the bigger the better they loved em. now since my daughter was a tomboy she ditched the dolls for the trucks.your last question is the hard one you know once they get an idea into their heads its hard to get it out. i always stayed away from anything with small removeable parts, or cheezy stuff made in china because of the lead they still use even today. i found that when i took my grandkids to toys r us in the natural department stuff like growing crystals or mini microscopes they alway found something they liked and learned from. NO DRUMS PA-LEEZE I DID HAVE A GRUDGE WITH A FRIEND'S WIFE ONCE AND BOUGHT HER KID A DRUM SET, JUST SAW HER A FEW WEEKS AGO WONDERING WHY AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE SHE'S WEARING EARMUFFS IN THE SUMMERTIME. ;)

Right now my kid just turned one, so for the time being, I decide which toys to buy. I mainly buy her musical toys (first ever toy I bought her was a violin) because she gets entertained by the sounds they produce (I think she will grow up to be a musician someday!). When she turns two I will buy her those cute little "kitchen appliances" and "utensils" sets. I think the dolls will have to wait until she is three and a half. Right now when I give her Barbies she just throws them away. When she gets old enough for school, I'll buy her educational toys then. Of course once in a while I will let her choose which toy I should buy for her, but the time for playing with her toys of choosing will have to be set by me.

Normally I will buy toys for my little ones, but mostly is on educational toys. I hardly let them choose their own toys. they are still small, would not know what is suitable for themselves.

Hello doryvien, I do the same with my kid. He is still young, but I tell him that whenever he do good in school, do something king there are rewards. And if do something bad or didn't study well, there will be no reward, and some times there will be punishment. I let him choose the toys he wants, usually this would be a super hero toy. I also choose an educational toy for my kid and still he enjoys playing it. Like the toy from Toy kingdom which is Smart cubes. He enjoys it a lot, and can create different figures now. Have fun mylotting!

Hi there my daughter was only 19 months old but i keep on buying new toys for her. At her age she can choose already what she wants just like last week she saw an umbrella and she wants it so i decided to buy it for her. But many times when buying toys for her i choose something that can educate her like building blocks, shapes, alphabets, numbers. She also have her favorite characters like family of winnie the pooh, family of mickey mouse, and other stuffed toys. I am happy to give all that things to her i can say it was a reward for being adorable baby. She was smart at her age, so i keep on giving her educational toys. She even have educational dvd's that she watch everyday. Till here, hope i can make sense happy mylotting

Well, I don't have kids yet. But I have little niece & nephews for whom I buy toys. I buy toys according to age. The shopkeepers generally help me to find out best stuff for them. But sometimes I buy toys of their choice. Whatever they ask me I just buy them. This help me know their choice also.

I have a five year old daughter and even if she loves ben 10 a lot, i still don't buy her ben 10 icons. Instead, i buy her barbie dolls, kitchen and house for her barbie dolls as well. I would also like to enhance her thinking capability by buying her some educational stuffs, like speed stacks, stockable stocks, and other lego products.

Buying toys for kids is a job that every parent like to do. It naturally depend on their age and their liking as parents are the appropriate judges in judging the moods and character of their child. It is preferable to always get them toys that help them to think constructive gives them knowledge. There are lot of such toys available in the market these days. Children do safeguard some of their favourite toys till their are old enough and keep recollecting their childhood days.

well buying toys for kids for what ever reason is not a bad idea in any way,as a matter of facts i will encourage you to keep it up,but i do not completely quite agree with you,for you to have the final say in thier discision,for this reason some time you will amaze at what discision they will end up with when you give them a free hand. Though some times when you give them free hands they will always be kids in thier descision,but by doing so it will help them develop well and you could start shaping thier mind for the future,because in life any thing you do is all about discision,thats is why when they make a bad choice you can let them see reasons why they shoul not make that choice because its such a bad one and the implecation that goes with it,and if the choice is not carrying a heavy implecations you could let them be knowing well that in the end it will backfire so that with the end result you can teach them the practical aspect of live.

well, i do like mostly to buy teddy bears to kids as most of the kids like it.. i will give the toys wen they do any good works r else even when they are interested.. i will mostly present them wen they will be more kindness to others.. i will teach them how to be kind to the other people so that when they do it, with an encouragement i would present any toys so that they will feel happy..

Every once in a while I will reward my child with a goody bag..filled with candy and something they wanted. I save the major purchases for a time like a birthday or Christmas. I do not buy things that are not good for them..Video games and movies are rated for their age and so on. I always remind them to keep good clean positive things in their life and to make good choices. You have to remember that you are the parent..you are guiding them...even if they cry ..sometimes you just need to say no and stick with it. Remind them that you are in charge and you know what's best for them.

I don't have kids yet but I am fond of buying small educational items for my niece and nephews. I like buying puzzles, toy puppets, cubik, color books, unexpensive electronic musical toys, etc. I also like to give them small dress and shoes if I have my bonus, it depends on my budget.

Hi there Doryvien!I think that's great! Children shouldn't be given toys that is related to violence. My son is now six years old, turning seven in December and he has a Hot Wheels Collection. I told him about people who collects different toys and he chose hot wheels to be his collection. I also use them as reward for him. We have study sessions everyday. He's currently studying in a public school since we cannot afford to send him to a private one yet, not until I finish my studies and gets hired. So what I do is I tutor him every night, with lessons following the curriculum of those in private schools. We have a quiz afterward and when he get a perfect score, he will have a sticker that he can now put in a chart that I provided. Once that chart gets filled, he will have a choice of what he wants as a reward to what he will exchange that sticker filled chart. First option is books, then a toy, or money for his coin bank. And that coin bank is the money we are saving for his Sony PSP.

I don't have kids, but if you are talking about kids in general, it can also mean my nephews and nieces. They are all little rascals and I love them all. I would buy for them toys aplenty and sometimes they are so fickle-minded. One moment, they would like what I buy, and after some time, they would chuck the toys away, LOL. I think kids love gender based toys. For instance, girls like dolls and boys like those building games. But both boys and girls love puzzle games anytime, I know that. There are also lots of good, interactive games that are good for kids.

When my son was son I bought toys like dinosaurs for him. He favourite dinosaur is Tyrannosaurus Rex because he said it is king of all dinosaurs. Besides, I also bought educational toys which he can learn, like Lego and Rush Hour. He enjoyed hours on his own. As for family we bought Monopoly and Scrabble and play together as a family. This is how we spent wonderful quality time together.