Does DC have a toy that you *loathe*?

[kath68]

DC has one toy that I would chuck into the nearest dumpster if he didn't like it so much.

It's the dang learning drum from Leap Frog. I can't even blame an unthinking relative -- I bought it myself. Never again. It taunts me multiple times a day: "Hit the drum! it's fun!" Ohhh, believe me, I would really like to haul off and hit that drum.

It really has made me not want to get any more battery-operated toys. The voices drive me insane (and I thought I was only supposed to be hearing voices AFTER I went insane...hmmm, maybe that's a clue to my current mental state).

What toy of DC's gets on your nerves?

ETA: I didn't mean this as an indictment of all Leap Frog/battery toys. I really did like the Leap Frog Learning Table. There's also a fake phone of Charlie's that I like. But the drum, a stupid ball-thing (that sings and rolls itself ("catch me if you can!")) and a Sesame Street fire truck ("Raise up the ladder!") all drive me nuts. I let the batteries die on the drum, hid the ball, and tossed the fire truck. DS had a fit when the drum didn't work, so (stupid me) I put new batteries in it.

ETAA: I have a gripe with the M&D band in a box (we have predominantly puzzles, cars, trains, blocks/legos and books here, despite how my post makes it sound), too: Why put paper on the tambourine when you know children have a propensity to whack on it with the stick-like other instruments as if it were a drum? DS broke through the tambourine paper within minutes of opening the present. The tambourine still works fine as a tambourine, but not as a drum.

[barbarhow]

Yup-It's way up on the top of the bookshelf-out of sight out of mind. Computer game type gameboy thing. Hate it!
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03, a Red Sox fan
and Anna 5/12/05, my little Yankee fan!

[LD92599]

I brought the items I couldn't stand to his daycare. This way 1) he still got to play and 2) it was put to good use and not thrown away.

Laura
mom to William

LKibala @ optonline.net
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[dr mom]

This is the most loathesome of toys:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/31668.jpg

It sings "Old MacDonald - that's ME, hyuck hyuck hyuck - had a tractor, E I E I O" in a thick hillbilly accent that I find annoying at best, offensive at worst. The animals make noises if they are placed very carefully into their seats, but it's difficult for DS to get them positioned correctly, and then he's frustrated because they won't make a sound.

It was a gift from my MIL, and unfortunately DS fell in love with it before I realized what it sounded like and exchanged it for something less grating.

[Saartje]

You've just reaffirmed my intent to never, ever buy a toy that requires batteries. (This rule probably won't apply to Gameboy-ish things, but only when he's MUCH older.)

I do have a book I wish I dared get rid of. _Good Night, Piggy-Wiggy_. He loves it, unfortunately. It's not a bad book, but reading it drives me nuts, in part because each of the pages pulls out in a different direction, which makes it hard to read with Ish in my lap. And whenever we get to the page with the racecars, he won't let me turn any more pages. He just wants to sit and stare at those cars.

[nov04]

I absolutely hate the FP sesame street Shake, Giggle & Rollâ„¢ Ball

"The wildest ball ever! This specially designed ball is motion-activated and spins in every direction. You never know what direction it will spin in next! Fun music, silly character phrases, wacky sounds and giggles play as the ball zips on its way. Requires 3 "AA" batteries."

"guaranteed to make you giggle"

The "fun music" and phrases are just random noise because the motor is too loud and clunky. I'm never replacing the batteries. Our very nice relatives gave it to us, so I can't make it disappear. I'm sure they had no idea what it sounded like. The only thing its guarenteed to do is make me crazy.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a202/joswin2/ssfpball.jpg

[brittone2]

DS got that drum last year for Christmas (when he was about 10 months old). It was when we were really starting to get into wooden toys, and that thing made me insanely crazy. A few weeks later I packed up all of the annoying plastic in the house and freecycled it. Never had to hear it again ;)

We just passed one in Target the other night and DH and I both started in on the annoying "play the drum everyone, play the drum!!" song while rolling our eyes. Blech. That thing was awful...I'm with you 100% ;)

[g-mama]

We *had* that same drum and I got rid of it. I hated it, too! Then we received two different Leap Frog stuffed toys that sing the alphabet song as Christmas gifts and I am ready to throw those in the trash, too. They drive me crazy!


~Kristen

Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03
Marco 12-05

[lisaE]

I am ashamed to admit that a couple of his BOOKS drive me nuts. I don't know why, I love books myself, and always thought that I would love any book I could read to him, but every time he brings me one of these I want to pitch it out the window.

BTW, they are those dang "Happy Baby" books- Happy Baby colors, words, and ABC's. They are just picture books really! I don't know why they bug me so much!

[mudder17]

Oh, yes, my neighbor's son has this and boy it's super annoying!!!


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
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http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[mudder17]

This thread makes me vow never to get more toys requiring batteries!!! I think we have two, one is the Leapfrog Learning Table, which Kaya plays with occasionally, and the Leapfrog Refrigerator Alphabet Magnets. A lot of Kaya's friends have these toys and while it's annoying to listen to them play with them when they get together for playdates, it's wonderful knowing that I don't have any of these toys! ;)

There are toy telephones, vehicles, LP sets (a lot of these drive me crazy, especially the construction rock one), puzzles, FP sets, tool sets, and so on and so on...why do the makers have to make the sounds so annoying sounding? Anyway, I'm just glad we don't have many of them and that most people know I don't want Kaya to have any of them! :)

ETA: Sorry if this sounded like a rant; I'm not really that annoyed because these things are not in my house, but I do really think that makers of toys should keep the sanity of parents in mind!

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
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http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[TaChapm]

For Jackson's firt birthday some of our friends gave him a Shelcore Toys Cement Mixer. Right away it was his favorite toy. He played with it non stop and wore the batteries out on it in 2 days. We tried to not replace them but he would hold it and cry. I would put it out of site during the day and he would SCREAM wanting it. It was insaine. That thing was so loud! He still has it but dosen't play with it very much anymore. If you hate someone buy their child that toy.

Tara
Mommy to Jackson 11-10-02
Tyler William 6-9-05

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http://lilypie.com/baby1/060609/3/0/1/-6/.png

[jesseandgrace]

Hmmm, come to think of it I have hated all of our leapfrog toys! The only thing I have actually hidden is a book called something like The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, it was just sick, sick, sick. I don't mind batteries as much as toys that we have to build, like Lego stuff for five year olds, then they play with it, it busts apart, and they insist on rebuiding it over, and over, and over, but they don't want to or can't do it themselves aaaaaahhhhhh.

[ellies mom]

My husband bought that giggle ball for DD last year, I hated the thing. One day I almost threw it through the TV. It disappeared.

While I think loathe is a strong word, there is one toy DD has that gets pretty annoying. And unfortunately, there is no one to blame but ourselves. DD is obsessed with robots. I looked but couldn't find any stuffed ones before Christmas so we broke down and got her this one, and even put the batteries in it. It has a dance mode that DD just loves. If you listen closely it is playing "You spin me right round". Anyhow, it turns out I might have been able to get away with out the batteries if I had thought about it a little more. Thankfully, DD understands that it is a baby robot, and therefore needs lots of sleep. She calls it Marmon the sad robot (Marvin from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). So really I'm torn on the thing. She loves it so much, she sometimes takes it to bed, so I let it live and even turn it on for her, but really it is just about everything I hate in a toy (plastic, loud, mindless).
http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/65/35/69/11/0065356911034_215X215.jpg

[holliam]

Nope! My parents and in-laws have given her just a few things that we did not like so we simply don't use them.

Otherwise, we really love her toys. But, we're sticking to no battery/electric/plastic toys, and it makes it so much more enjoyable! She plays with instruments more than anything, and those make nice sounds. :)

Holli

[Saartje]

>why do the
>makers have to make the sounds so annoying sounding?

I heard a special on this on NPR a little while ago (around Christmas). They were talking to a toy designer/manufacturer, and he said it was because the ambient noise level in stores where you buy them is much louder than in homes, and if they gear the sound of the toys to what they'll sound like in a home, they don't sell because they come off as too quiet in stores.

That still doesn't explain why the noises have to be obnoxious as well as loud, though.

[Piglet]

Not a single Leap frog toy in our house - YAY! I was so bothered by the horrible high-pitched voice coming out of the one we tried out at the store that I vowed never to buy them. DS1 has been reading since he was 3 1/2 because he likes books, not because he has "teaching" toys. I do not put batteries into toys that do not have volume switches. We have a few Neurosmith toys that have batteries and a Pixter that I take for DS1 to play at the grocery store. We also have a toy for DS2 with batteries that we have had since DS1, but I can't even think of the name. Obviously it doesn't bother me since we have had it for so long. I do have a few toys that I can't stand. DS1 was given a set of these little (and I do mean little) toys that have interchangeable arms. The set came with 5 toys with 10 arms (so 15 little parts that DS2 can eat at any given moment). The arms get lost all the time and DS1 gets frustrated because the specific arms have to go with the specific character or it is all wrong! Uggghhh - what a cruel joke! Oh and I HATE the book The Giving Tree. I will not read it and the picture of Shel Silverstein on the back gives me nightmares.

[boys2enough]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008WMHE/gogamerzsuper-20/ref%3Dnosim/002-5872200-0137634

Hands down!!

Read the reviews. They are hilarious. I have packed it up and left the bag in our closet. AND sometimes it would just start talking in the middle of the night!!!!

Does anybody want it? I will ship it to you (if you pay for shipping!) LOL.


Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://smilies.vidahost.com/kao/otn/pcomputer.gif

[holliam]

I also heard a report on NPR about how the noise levels of many of these toys are so loud that they can actually cause hearing loss in children. I tracked down the actual research online when I first heard it, but I believe it was in one of the speech/hearing journals.

Holli

[brittone2]

When I worked in EI the speech therapists provided a handout each year (I believe from one of their journals) about the year's most dangerous toys in terms of noise level. They showed the "safe" decibel levels for kids and how high some of the decibel levels are on many of the popular toys. It is probably exactly what Holli mentioned.

[mudder17]

ROTFL while reading those reviews! Thanks for a laugh! And no, I don't want it! :)


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_emerald_18m.gif

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png
Kaya's a cousin! 10/1/05, 5lb13oz

[octmom]

We have that too (a gift) and I hate it. It has been hidden for a long, long time. ;)

Jerilyn
DS, Sean 10/03
expecting #2! EDD April 1, 2006, but anticipating a C/S in March: IT'S A GIRL!!! :)

"Baby makes days shorter, nights longer, home happier, and love stronger."

[octmom]

We have the LF drum and I hate it too. Always ended up somewhere out of sight and now DS doesn't care about it. Whew!

I don't mind some of the other Leap Frog toys we have.

Jerilyn
DS, Sean 10/03
expecting #2! EDD April 1, 2006, but anticipating a C/S in March: IT'S A GIRL!!! :)

"Baby makes days shorter, nights longer, home happier, and love stronger."

[octmom]

I can't stand Baby Einstein's Big Book of Letters and DS seems to really like that one. Ugh!

Jerilyn
DS, Sean 10/03
expecting #2! EDD April 1, 2006, but anticipating a C/S in March: IT'S A GIRL!!! :)

"Baby makes days shorter, nights longer, home happier, and love stronger."

[Rachels]

I HATE the noisy toys!!! I'm trying to do a serious purge, and I read all our relatives the riot act before the holidays about sending any more loud things here. My MIL then sent a musical turtle. Eyeroll. We're planning to move, and these things will somehow not make the trip.

-Rachel
Mama to Abigail Rose
5/18/02
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_amethyst_36m.gif
Nursed for three years!

and Ethan James
10/19/05
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/bf.jpg


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya

[octmom]

Ds received a talking Elmo phone as a gift and I noticed that there was something in the packaging that said the volume would decrease when it was removed from the packaging material for quieter home use vs. demo model sound level. Maybe those horrible wires they fasten toys to packages with actually had a purpose other than preventing shoplifting and driving parents crazy when they try to unwrap a toy with a fussy toddler crying for it?

Jerilyn
DS, Sean 10/03
expecting #2! EDD April 1, 2006, but anticipating a C/S in March: IT'S A GIRL!!! :)

"Baby makes days shorter, nights longer, home happier, and love stronger."

[LBW]

My parents asked me for suggestions for toys for Christmas. I told them DS would love another Tonka truck for outside - you know, the indestructable metal ones? I even told them which ones he didn't have so they wouldn't get a duplicate.

So, when Liam opens up the gift, what is it? A gigantic, hideous, PLASTIC, battery operated Tonka helicopter! It makes a bunch of different sounds...all loud and annoying. Plus, the TWO propellers spin and have almost taken his and the dogs' eyes out on multiple occaisions. I'm seriously considering hiding the darn thing.

They thought that they had improved on my original (boring) suggestion!

[ethansmom]

Too funny! Are you sure you don't want to take a sledge hammer to it like the one reviewer?

[VClute]

I am in TEARS over those reviews! Hilarious!!

Amy in NC
mom to Dixon, born 2/14/05

[Ceepa]

DS has fallen in love with Elmo (DH and I tried to avoid any character attachments, but somehow the red guy crept into our lives LOL!)

Well, my parents and ILs have figured this out (though DH and I tried to avoid that too!) and so what did DS get for Christmas? Electronic Singing Elmo, electronic Potty Train Elmo, Bathtime Elmo and some loud flashing electronic book.

So we are getting inundated with this *stuff* even though we keep making suggestions of nice books and cars for his new wooden roadway. UGH!!!

[KrisM]

Mostly, his toys are fine. He has one book that is awful though. It's in his room, so I'll figure out the title tomorrow. It's just a picture book of babies with animals. But, the photos themselves are so dark it's hard for US to find the animals. Seriously. One page indicated "goats". I really had to look to find a second goat - it just blended into the dark background. Really terrible.

Oh, yeah, the FP LP Noah's Ark. The darn thing is getting hidden soon! The animals are cute and they can stay out. But, the ark itself is a pain to try to open and close and put together. No way can a 1 year old do this.

[laurel]

It hasn't quite hit the loathing stage yet, but I'm sure it's not far off. I'll be looking for the sledgehammer eventually. :)
DD got a LeapFrog toy for Christmas too. She received the Karaoke machine toy. The packaging says for ages 5 and up. She's not even two. It blinks it flashes it sings, ladies and gentlemen it's amazing. Except that the biggest knob on the whole thing, therefore the most appealing knob to her, is the one that scrolls between "records". Not only does it have an irritating voice, but she switches it to the next irritating song before the first one has even started. Every now and then she wants me to FIND her a song on it too, like the Wheels on the Bus. It's such a complicated menu system of button pushing, I'm sure it's going to disappear......

[linsei]

Honestly, the most annoying toys are from SIL. Every toy she has given is plastic, loud and obnoxious. This one wins hands down...

It doesn't have an off button, so everytime you *look* at it, it makes noise. "Let's call a friend... WANNNNAHHH?" I'm not a grammar fanatic, but that phrase in addition to Tigger sounding like he is a lush annoys me to no end. Then Eyore is so pathetically whiney - "I'm probably not invited to the party, let's call Roo (boo-hoo)".

Anyway, you know what they say about paybacks - Guess who received a really messy (oops, I mean creativity inspiring), painting set from Aunt Linda? ;)

Linda

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http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/31707.jpg