Parents Of More Than 1 Child...??

Question

Did you find it difficult to buy for your younger Child/ren compared to your older Child/ren??

I have been trying to find something to buy my younger 2 for Christmas, but it's so difficult!!

They have 3 older Brothers, who seem to have been rather spoilt. There is nothing they really need, because their brothers toys were all left in a good state for them.

Answer 1

wow,, im the opposite,, even though i know what u mean that the elder kids have everything already,,, i seem to find new stuff on the market,, i keep buyin stuff they never had

last week i brought ash one of those bikes that have the parent handle to push , its got a shelter up top and a seat belt too, i love it,, i always find new stuff, THAT THEY DONT NEED!!!! lol xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Answer 2

not really, my children are ages 15, 10, 5 and 11/2. Each one has different likes, try to individualize what each child likes, and get things just for them....

Answer 3

I have two boys 6 and 4. I really don't have hard time finding them something because they both like the same thing. Cars spiderman Blue Clues and Diego of course. And they share their stuff to each other. But I am expecting a baby which I am due Thanksgiving weekend. This one I probably would have the problem since it might be a girl..

Answer 4

Then there is no real need to buy them anything new. What I did was when the older kids grew out of their toys I would clean them up and pack them away so when the younger ones were old enough to play with them it was like I was the best mom in the world when I would bring out the boxes from the attic ones and a while. Keep boxes for the toys just break them down so when you need to put the toys away for storage you just put them back in the box they came in.

Answer 5

I have 3 children, girl 10, and two boys 9 and 6. I don't seem to have any problem buying for any of them as they are all individuals, and are all collectors of some sort. I can see how it would seem hard if the older siblings have toys left in good state, but are they really what the younger children are truly interested in, or do they just play with them because they are there? (not a criticism, a true question as my boys have completely different interests).

We also only tend to buy one toy each child, then a few books, some individual items of clothing (we have the hand me down phenomenom here too, so they REALLY appreciate their OWN item of clothing), and a sport item of some sort whether it be new boots or a game.

Good luck with your christmas shopping!

Answer 6

My daughter is so easy to buy for....she is at the 4yo stage so can have little things (like beados) and electronic things (like a camera). I was walking past shelves and grabbing stuff for her no problems, but my son....how many cars, balls and trucks does he need or even want? His birthday is right at the start of December so he gets a double lot. At the moment I find that he is at a stage where he is too big for baby toys and too small for big boys toys. Funny thing is that for our unborn I could have grabbed lots.....I just knew it was a waste, lol. I found with my son I bought stuff that he can play with now and other stuff that he will like in 6 months because of where his birthday actually is......sometimes I get it right, lol. I also keep our toys and stuff in good condition and I can even attest that they all have all their bits and pieces they were bought with, lol. (I am a bit of a fuss pot over keeping stuff nice and tidy and unbroken, lol).

So I am guessing that your youngest will be around 9 months at Chrissymas, My son got a megablocks truck which has little cars in it (suitable from 12 months, but no small parts) and it was bought for him for his first birthday, he is 19 months and he loves it more now than when it was given to him, lol. Books are always a hit here and there is a website I have bought the kids stuff from before, I put it below, it might give you some ideas.

Answer 7

YES! My eldest was the first grandchild/ nephew on both sides for the first 2 years of his life, so we had one very spoilt little boy with toys that took over the house! THEN his brother was the 2nd grandchild, so that didn't improve things. Now, family mostly just give us money to buy things for them, because even they have no idea what to get them, as they have just about everything!

Its soo hard, especially with all same s*x kids, as you would know. There are only so many trucks and so forth you can buy.

We have TMX . . . . I am still undecided as to whether I am impressed with him or not. Not as good as I thought he would be, however the kids love him. He was a last christmas present, and they still play with him. Always a good sign, lol.

Answer 8

Yes. Not only did the older kids have everything AND keep it in good shape, but there is also the factor that, once you've had the experience of buying your child a $100/ up toy only to have them express exuberant joy over *the box it came in*, you tend to look at toys differently. At least in our experience. Maybe our older kids just REALLY liked boxes, though :)

Answer 9

Yeah, I have exactly the same problem, especially given that mine are all so close in age.

What I try to do now is buy things between them or things that they'll all play with, bigger toys like climbing castles, play kitchens, etc.  That way I don't have as many random discarded toys lying around.  It's hard though, and quite frankly my kids just have waaay too many toys, there's as many in storage as there is in the house, so I'm determined not to go crazy this Christmas!

Answer 10

The Christmas battle.  We just had our fourth last month and for years we have struggled with the older three and what to get.

We simply started having the kids write out their list of what they wanted and list the top three items first.  We always make sure we get those three itmes, unless they are way out there, and then the rest is filled with movies, books, pc games and clothes.  This way they get a few things they want and then the rest is more stuff they can use over want.

If they play with the older siblings toys then add to those toys, say it is lego's then buy a new lego set to add with the others, if it is cars get them a new track to go with it.

Answer 11

Yes!  It seems unfair.  At my older daughter's birthday we have a list of things we thing she should have.  (a bike, new clothes, a board game, etc.) Then for the younger she has the older kid's one and it is kind of banged up, but still ok. Of course that means she has so much so she isn't really that deprived. lol. I try to get her one thing each holiday that is identifiably purchased for her.  A book I write inside the front cover or somethign that has her name...

Don't get me started about the pictures though.  I am a shockingly bad parent about photographing the second child.  Great now I have guilt!

Answer 12

I have a son who is 4 and a daughter who is 2. My son is easier to shop for because he has more interests and he can actually tell us what he wants...I find it more difficult to buy for my daughter cause her only interest is ELMO and she has like 10 diffferent Elmo's already...I've tried buying her My Little Pony's and stuff like that but she is interested for a few minutes and then I never see that toy again same with Dora...she has like 5 different ones and never plays with them....so that is my dilema.........