Gifts NOT to Buy a Toddler for Christmas

It is a joy to shop for presents for toddlers. If there is a toddler on your gift list this season, here are some things that you may not want to buy, in consideration of the toddler's parents.

Heavy toys like big die cast cars

Toddlers, especially boys, like to throw things. Although my son loves playing with big metal die cast cars, I do not want him to own a collection of them until he is old enough to know that televisions and windows can be broken and that other children do not like having big metal things thrown at their heads.

Clothes that will not fit for a year

Last Christmas, when my son was 5 months old, he received a very cute cowboy outfit. It has long, warm pants and a cute long-sleeve shirt- perfect for winter! One problem... the outfit was size 24 months. When he is 24 months, it will be summer. True, some babies wear clothes much bigger than their actual month age, but my son tends to be on track with his age.

My point is not "don't buy clothes." If you are going to buy clothes, just take the time to ask the parent what size the child wears. Although it is tempting to buy clothes bigger so that they will last longer, it is usually better to buy the current size, especially since clothes may not be seasonally appropriate in a few months.

Anything with expensive accessories, unless you buy them too

It is rude to buy a cool toddler video game system that will only be fun for about a week unless you buy all of the accompanying cartridges. This goes for bigger kids, too. Just keep in mind that any toy that will leave a parent feeling like they need to go out and buy a bunch of accessories is not a good toy. Think about batteries, too. Although you may not think that it is necessary to include the two AA batteries with that toy, it really is a good idea. If everyone in the extended family buys the child toys that require batteries, parents could easily find themselves spending $20 or more just on batteries.

Toys that make ridiculously annoying noises