Books or Toys?

I'm now at the stage where I'm buying for my grandchildren, and I have to say I buy books, jigsaw puzzles and games rather than toys. These are educational, and can be used time and time again, and then passed on to other children if they are still in good condition. Toys tend to go in trends, and this year's must-have toy is next year's charity shop donation. Books, puzzles and games never go out of fashion.

 

I don't have kids, but I have two nephews and a niece. I used to buy educational toys for them. They were fun, but also taught them something. Now, my nephews are in their early twenties. Now, they tell me how much they liked my gifts. Even my brother (their father) got a kick out of the toys. The stores that I used to buy those toys are now defunct. I think it's really tragic. I would love to buy the same type of toys for my young niece, but it's hard to find educational toys that are girl-oriented.

 

I buy both for them but prefer buying more of the books. I have also realized that we can't force a kid to have a liking for books so we need to first get into the habit of reading them. When kids see us reading , they naturally develop a this trait. Since they are kids , they naturally want to have toys around them but we can decide the proportion of that. I usually buy constructive toys. There are many in the market. I recommend hiring games than actually investing money into it. There are stores that give out good toys for rent, just that we need to take care of it.

 

We buy both. My son loves toys but also loves it when we read a book to him. I think he loves books more because he usually get bored easily with toys but when you're reading a book to him he's very attentive. At 12 months, he already have a favorite book.

 

I bought lots of toys and books when there was only my eldest. But now that he has siblings, I buy more books than the toys. Some toys that my eldest played with are still in good condition so his siblings had the chance to play with them, too. And there are some books that I bought years ago that are now being read by my daughter ( my 2nd child). My youngest son browse through most of the picture books. Now that he's almost 2 years old, he's very interested in the alphabet, numbers and shapes.

 

My daughter, who is 18 months old, has not started to ask for toys yet, but I much prefer books over toys. Her grandmother has gotten her enough toys and generally, she enjoys playing with regular everyday items like pots, pans, and cups more anyways. Right now she is really interested in looking through books and pointing at the different characters. I do not think you can ever have too many high-quality children's books. Like Sandra stated earlier, books never go out of style!

 

For my son its both. Suprisingly he usually asks for books when we go shopping and im more than happy to buy them for him. Hes 2 and really donst ask for toys much. I thinkn its becasue hes already smothered in them. My husband and I took him to toys r us for his second bday and told him to go nuts and buy whatever he wanted. We tried to show him all the cool toys but know what he came out with? A $3 sandbox truck lol He didnt want anything else.

 

I agree that books will be better for them in the long run, however I think you have to have a good mix. When they're younger obviously they are going to get more use out of the toys until you start reading to them, which is never too soon. Once they start reading on their own you could start to shift the emphasis from toys to books. I remember as a kid wanting toys more than I wanted to books but luckily as I grew so did my love for books. My child is a one year old and I think that from writing this post I'm going to start reading to him more often.

 

My kids are at the age where they buy their own toys or games. They're both teenagers and do odd jobs for money. If I'm going to buy them presents, I usually select a mix of fun, mindless stuff like a video game and a book or other educational material. I can't imagine anyone buying their children only books and no toys ever!

When the holidays or birthdays roll around and family members and friends start asking for ideas about what my sons would like, I usually give books as ideas. I'm very glad that both my boys enjoy books quite a lot.

 

I buy both books and toys to my child. I prefer buying used books at the library children's section so I don't spend so much money on them. My child loves toys so I buy him some every now and again as compensation for being smart and well-behaved. Ideally, I would buy him anything educational, but my husband keeps reminding me that he's got to have some fun toys as well. We try to make the most out of toys and books he has.

 

I strongly feel that the best gift or purchase for a child would be a book. Nowadays children watch too many tv shows and not enough educational programs. I feel that a child should have many books in their possession. I believe that if I was a parent I would buy my children many educational yet funs books to help with their imagination and intelligence.

 

I think both books and toys are important to kids. It is both helpful to their learning and development. Sometimes kids would prefer toys as they prefer playing than reading Both can be fun depending on the kids interests.

 

My children love reading books, so the choice is easy. There is nothing like a story book to fire the imagination of the young ones. I prefer books to computer games and TV. I would rather they go out doors and play a good game of football or whatever they like and read books while at home and while we travel. We prefer to drive when we travel during the holidays. The habit of reading books is such a blessing when we are on road for 8-10 hours at a stretch with some breaks. It is books all the way for me and my boys.

 

If I have a child right now, I would probably give him books more than giving him toys. I believe that kids who are fund of reading early tend to have better general knowledge as they age compared to others who are not fund of reading. I would still give him or her toys though. I do not want to deprive my child with the thing that all children enjoy most. Playing!

 

I agree with adoreachild, the children's age dtermine what should we buy them as gifts. Unfortunately, I don't have children but I shop very often for my sister's daughter (6 years old) and son (3 years old). The little girl likes to receive books and dolls whereas my sister's son likes toy cars and teddy bears the most.

 

According to me books and toys both are important product for child development. Each children started study from the picture books. Picture books enable children know the different types of thing with any character. Many educational toys are helpful to learn primary knowledge with fun.

 

When I was a kid, I was given a combination of both books and toys, so most probably when I'll have kids then I would want them to have books and toys as well, so that they can learn from books and be entertained with toys.

 

I buy both. I buy books when there are book orders from school, or when a kid wants one for Christmas. Other than that we use the library. But I like when my kids get special books as gifts.
I don't tend to buy my kud toys except for Christmas, birthday and little Easter toys. I'm very selective with what I'll buy. Especially for kid #4.
As a gift, I think my kids would rather get toys.

 

I buy both as well but I buy toys as a reward for the good deed my daughter done both at home and school. Books are very useful as they can come quite handy when it comes to the learning of the kids at home. I guess, its a form of balance which I suppose is the best thing to do for us parents.