How do you measure a value of a toy?

I look around the living room to see toys strewn around and always wonder to myself why I keep buying these things? Could it be because I want my toddler son to throw them around with such a vengeance that it’s has me wondering if somehow that toy had managed to do something to him? That’s a thought …… While walking I step on one of these toys and in mid stumble it hits me as to how one of them could have possibly done something to him as it had me.

This has gone all wrong. When I purchased these toys I had visions of my son enjoying and playing with them. I had imagined I would bring the toy in and say tahh dahh! He would run over laughing and smiling and it would be love at first sight. I would have never had excepted they would be used for balls and target practice. I keep buying them because I have hope in these toys. I put faith in them. To do what you ask? To divert the attention of my son from turning my tv on and off, from banging on my computer key board, I am looking for a toy with the power to keep him from turning the computer off while I’m mid stroke. I’m looking for the wow factor, something that will truly engage and stimulate him. I’m expecting hardy laughs and giggles.  I want the kind of laughs that make a mothers heart melt my money. This quest has gotten very expensive and I have not had much success. Most of the toys seemed so promising at first.  He would chuckle a little then eventually banish them to the pile of discarded and abandoned toys.  When you look at toys on the store shelves they stare back at you and scream for their shinny packaging that has kids playing with and loving the toy.  They seem to be screaming at you “take me home I can do the job”.  Why do the boxes never show any of the kids crying? It’s happened to me a few times. I, many of times have been let down by these toys. I’ve learned that sometimes it’s not the amount that you spend. The toys costing $1 to $5 dollars would at times really tickle my flaky toddler.

 I spoke with a friend that is still paying off her Christmas debt. During that conversation she also mentioned that she just wanted everyone to have a good Christmas totally overspent.  At the moment she didn’t even know where those Christmas debt toys were. She thought most of them had been thrown away.  After talking it had me thinking I’m going to try a three present rule for Christmas (Yeah right). I realized most parents are all the same we waste tons of money on toys for our kids and we are all looking for the same wow factor. I’m technically trying to buy happiness for my son. What makes a toy valuable to me is how happy it makes him for us to play with it. I will continue to have trial in error in my search for the toy with the wow factor. But every smile or laugh I get is well worth the bad toy choices.

 My son at 10 months

 My son at 13 months

 My son now 21 months during a playtime.