If you’re a dad and you’re on gift shopping duty, it can be overwhelming to scour an entire mall and figure out the best toys for your child. After all, kids can be picky and can throw a tantrum if you buy them something they don’t like. As a dad, you’re not alone with this predicament.
However, toy shopping and gift giving shouldn’t give you trouble. Sometimes, you just need a nudge in the right direction. In this article, we will help dads like you in buying toys for your kids this year.
The Dad’s Guide: Make Buying Toys a Breeze
If you want to make the most of your shopping and at the same time make your kids extremely happy, follow these tips:
- Gadgets make good gifts/rewards and can also be long-term investments for your kids: Gadgets tend to be expensive because they’re meant to last long. This means they may not be the kind of gifts you can give your children every year, but they can be gifts children can “earn” as rewards. A new laptop or a new tablet can be given under the condition that they do well in school. This is very helpful as a means of motivating your children and fostering the belief that they can get what they want when as long as they work hard for it.
If your child is not fond of gadgets or they’re too young for it, you can search the Internet for great gift ideas for kids that can be used long term.
- Aim for quality: Some of the best toys out there aren’t the most expensive but the most useful. “Useful” can mean a lot of things, such as having a ton of features or has many practical uses. While your children might not be able to appreciate your meticulous choice in terms of toy quality, you can slowly build up the attitude of choosing the best for themselves with your toy choices. Children will slowly be able to see key differences from their toys with the toys that they see outside, which can help set the standards. Be careful though, as setting the bar high may mean making your toy finding journey more challenging in the future.
- Check the features of the toy and what other things it can do: Aside from quality, check what other things the toy can do for your child. The best toys out there are the ones that are very entertaining, and sometimes entertainment comes with a lot of features. Check if your action figure has kung-fuu grip and movable joints or if it comes with different weapons and accessories. Check if the doll has multiple clothes that your child can change. Check if the cooking set has unique tools that can motivate your child to want to get into cooking.
- Buy toys that suit the interest of your child, not yours: One of the most common mistakes dads make is buying their children toys that they enjoyed during their childhood. This can be tricky, as not a lot of kids express interest in toys of the past. Unless they actually told you they want one of those toys, avoid buying nostalgia toys as these may not pique their excitement at all.
- Ask your child: One of the things dads often forget is that they can really just ask their children what toys they like. Toys are made to be played with, and as such getting them a toy that they can’t enjoy can ruin the point of the gift (plus, not exactly good for the wallet). It may help to clarify with your children the kind of toys they like or what their interests are. This allows you to choose properly the toys that they will definitely like, use, and enjoy.
The Bottom Line: It’s All About Planning in Advance
When you’re a dad in need of shopping assistance, it’s not always a good idea to get tips from fellow dads and coworkers as they may have their own tastes and approaches to buying gifts for their own kids. Your kids may have different tastes and preferences, too. Remember that these kids are your kids, so if there’s anyone who knows what the best gift to buy for them, it’s you!
