There are some toys that I avoid buying :

1. 'Rubbish toys' - e.g. toys from fast food restaurants (unless they come free) or from $1 'tikam' machines.

2. Soft toys - major dust collector with little use.

3. Fad toys - toys that come and go for the moment, usually spurred on by movies and TV programmes.  E.g. beyblades, Pokemon cards, figurines.

4. Toys related to vice and violent, or questionable values - e.g. superhero toys, swords & guns, Barbie dolls/Ken, jackpoit machines.

5. Toys that will cause unnecessary damage to the house & furnishing or take up too much space - e.g. garden slides.

6. CD Rom or other computer, playstation, nintendo games - serves no purpose but cultivate anti-social behaviour and contribute to bad eyesight.  Content of games are often questionable too. 

These are the contraband items.  But there are still other toys that I don't buy because there is no necessity to buy them obviously.

Educational Toys

I want to put in a small section on Educational toys because it is something close to my heart also.  These days, almost every toy you see in the market claims to be 'educational', including those puzzles that require you to take apart 2 pieces of metal.

Now, what is really 'educational'?  These toys either answers to your child's stage of development or contribute by teaching your child concrete skills and knowledge.  They can be as simple as stacking cups and lego blocks to interactive CD ROM games.  I am not here to recommend you to get one of those Mozart CDs, or Black-Red-White mobile, etc.  Whether or not these toys are really useful, it really depends on individual.  Your mileage may vary.  On the other hand, between getting a meaningless Batman toy and an educational toy, I will definitely vote that you go for the more useful one.

A lot of parents do not realise that the usefulness of an educational toy depends a lot on how you use it.  In my opinion, a lot of Singaporean parents are very reluctant to buy toys that would need their involvement.  I may be stepping on some toes here but having been in the trade of selling educational aids, I can safely conclude that the majority of the local parents prefer to buy a toy that they can chuck it to their kids, saying 'there, go and play with it yourself and don't disturb me' and hope that their kids will be self-taught while playing with the toy.  Hence, the popularity of CD ROM games (which I will come to this later).