QOTD: Thursday

MrsPhilDunphy

What is the most obnoxious toy in your house?

vml14

Anything made by VTech.  They don't have a volume control, so they are always on super loud.  Their songs are awful, and they keep talking to you every minute or so for a few minutes after you are done playing.  We currently have the VTech helicopter out, and I can't stand it!!

amh_navyblue

Love Elmo...hate hearing his voice over and over again.  DD#2 got 2 Elmo talking toys for her birthday (one of them we inflicted on ourselves by buying it for her...): 

-the Elmo guitar ("Press a button so Elmo can play you a song.  Press a button so Elmo can play you a song. Press a button...you get the idea...)

-Alphabet block Elmo (can't remember the exact name)...cool toy except for the repetitive element: "Put a block in Elmo's hand.  Please put a block in Elmo's hand. Elmo wants to play.  Please put a block in Elmo's hand...."

kafunder

Oh there are so many. If I had to narrow it down, I'd say the Vtech Baby Laptop or the Vtech Farm. The Farm isn't so bad except that it keeps playing music and talking even after the kids move onto something else.

 

 

MrsPhilDunphy

For a long time it was the Fisher Price Puppy. That thing creeped DH out so bad it had to go live in the basement. And sometimes we could even hear it, talking to itself, down there all alone. Creepy.

C loves his ball popper but I find it incredibly annoying. It is super loud and the balls have a tendency to fly under the couch and get caught in a wad of dog hair.  Plus, now he's at the age where he would rather see what non-ball objects he can jam down the tube.

tracy042206

Currently it is this Barbie set that sings Falalalala.  I wish they had more of a variety of songs but it is just the one, over and over and over and over because they love this toy.  If they are all on at once they sing in harmony but if it is just one only that one voice will be heard so the kids put them on and take them off constantly.

Hey Jellisy

When DD was little, I used to think it was the Fisher Price Puppy, but now I kind of like him, perhaps because other toys have gotten more annoying.  I second the VTech Laptop.  DD doesn't know how to play the games on their yet so it just makes annoying music, over and over again..   

umdbride

vml14:

Anything made by VTech.  They don't have a volume control, so they are always on super loud.  Their songs are awful, and they keep talking to you every minute or so for a few minutes after you are done playing.  We currently have the VTech helicopter out, and I can't stand it!!

This exactly.  DS got several VTech toys for Christmas and I really wish they had volume control - there is no reason they should be that loud. 

kastle

my mom got some book for sprout that "reads" it to him.

so annoying.  I can read to my child!!!

but it has a song that is now stuck in my head. 

MrsPhilDunphy

umdbride:

vml14:

Anything made by VTech.  They don't have a volume control, so they are always on super loud.  Their songs are awful, and they keep talking to you every minute or so for a few minutes after you are done playing.  We currently have the VTech helicopter out, and I can't stand it!!

This exactly.  DS got several VTech toys for Christmas and I really wish they had volume control - there is no reason they should be that loud. 

We have been known to put duct tape over the speaker of certain toys.

WinesNotWhines

I also hate the Vtech toys. They are sooo annoying and loud!

The worst toy we have is a singing Ernie doll that M received as a gift. Ernie only sings one song (Old Macdonald) and he ONLY does the version with a cow ("moo moo" here, "moo moo" there). WTF? Can't it at least rotate through some different animals? It's annoying AND pointless, and I've banished it to the basement.

Mrs.Handy

There is this baby laptop computer that my parents got for DS. It is really loud and has annoying songs. But I was impressed that DS started imitating one of the sounds "Star". It's so cute!

preissless1

C really likes keyboards that play notes.  I HATE that most childrens toys with musical keys have an extra ditty that plays after a note is pressed.  Let my kid have creative control of what noises come from the dang keyboard!!

umdbride

MrsPhilDunphy:

umdbride:

vml14:

Anything made by VTech.  They don't have a volume control, so they are always on super loud.  Their songs are awful, and they keep talking to you every minute or so for a few minutes after you are done playing.  We currently have the VTech helicopter out, and I can't stand it!!

This exactly.  DS got several VTech toys for Christmas and I really wish they had volume control - there is no reason they should be that loud. 

We have been known to put duct tape over the speaker of certain toys.

so smart!  I will be picking up some duct tape this weekend

SoonToBeMrsDTS

The Melissa and Doug puzzles that make sounds. The reason they're so annoying is because they randomly start making sounds (barking, sirens, mooing) when we turn off a light or walk by them. The kids won't even be here and suddenly I hear mooing from our playroom.

rnin02

We've managed to weed out the more annoying toys lately, but he's suddenly into listening to CDs, and his godmother gave him a Veggie Tales CD for Christmas, and he listens to it over and over and over, and it has to go from my car, to his bedroom at night, then to daddy's car, then with grandma...it drives me insane. Those darn  songs stick in your head too.

tomandcourt

Lately, it's been this ridiculous thing the ILs got for J:

It's a mini piano with sheet music. For a two-year-old. And none of them are normal kid's songs, it's all music from the show, which we've never seen. And it's complicated music! 

I guess this one isn't so much obnoxious as just . . . irksome. I do not understand the thinking on a lot of their gifts, and there are just.so.many of them.

NicoNiko

SoonToBeMrsDTS:

The Melissa and Doug puzzles that make sounds. The reason they're so annoying is because they randomly start making sounds (barking, sirens, mooing) when we turn off a light or walk by them. The kids won't even be here and suddenly I hear mooing from our playroom.

Same for us! We have a train one that is not supposed to go "Choo choo" until all pieces are in it, so I took a piece away, and it still does it whenever we turn off the light!

VARedhead

MrsPhilDunphy:

For a long time it was the Fisher Price Puppy. That thing creeped DH out so bad it had to go live in the basement. And sometimes we could even hear it, talking to itself, down there all alone. Creepy.

Totally this.  It reminds me of this commercial for the postal service.

Much like others complaints about toys with no volume control, we got this microphone with no volume, and it's pretty loud.

amh_navyblue

SoonToBeMrsDTS:

The Melissa and Doug puzzles that make sounds. The reason they're so annoying is because they randomly start making sounds (barking, sirens, mooing) when we turn off a light or walk by them. The kids won't even be here and suddenly I hear mooing from our playroom.

 

THIS. SO FREAKY.

RomeRomance06

Honestly, it's this giant stuffed Minnie Mouse doll that my aunt got DD for Christmas. It's, seriously, twice as big as DD, she's not interested in it and it takes up a crapload of space in her room. I'm considering putting it in the attic.

DCtoLowcountry

This Playskool toolkit has a man's voice that says, "Time to fix it. Fix it good, buddy!" In addition to being grammatically incorrect, it's downright pervy.

DH has a special hatred for the Hallmark recordable storybooks. He hides them because he hates when DS leaves one open and the light shines on it and all of a sudden he hears his mother's voice coming from an empty room.

tomandcourt

DCtoLowcountry:

This Playskool toolkit has a man's voice that says, "Time to fix it. Fix it good, buddy!" In addition to being grammatically incorrect, it's downright pervy.

Are you sure he's not saying "Fix it, good buddy!"? Maybe he's just really friendly.

DCtoLowcountry

tomandcourt:

[Are you sure he's not saying "Fix it, good buddy!"? Maybe he's just really friendly.

No. The emphasis is distinctly, "Fix it GOOD, buddy!" It gives me the creeps.

Sofka

oh so many,the ones I hate the most are those without an off switch (I've had them go off randomly in the middle of the night). WTF would anyone make a toy w/out an off switch???

Hey Jellisy

amh_navyblue:

SoonToBeMrsDTS:

The Melissa and Doug puzzles that make sounds. The reason they're so annoying is because they randomly start making sounds (barking, sirens, mooing) when we turn off a light or walk by them. The kids won't even be here and suddenly I hear mooing from our playroom.

 

THIS. SO FREAKY.

 

We took all of the batteries out of the puzzles.  The kids love them whether or not they make sounds. 

QueSrah

Man, I am more thankful than ever that we don't have a houseful of the noisy toys y'all mentioned!  Half of DD's toys are mine from the 70s amd 80s  (seriously - my parents bring a few things they saved in the basement every time they come out here), so they're not nearly as noisy :P  The worst of those is probably my Major Morgan (circa 1982) - it's a little toy that plays musical notes, but in the most irritating electronic way.  DH hates it with a passion and hides it for months at a time (until DD notices it and I let her have it for a few days).

ETA: There's an iPhone app for that????  Apparently retro is cool?

RomeRomance06

QueSrah:

Man, I am more thankful than ever that we don't have a houseful of the noisy toys y'all mentioned!  Half of DD's toys are mine from the 70s amd 80s  (seriously - my parents bring a few things they saved in the basement every time they come out here), so they're not nearly as noisy :P  The worst of those is probably my Major Morgan (circa 1982) - it's a little toy that plays musical notes, but in the most irritating electronic way.  DH hates it with a passion and hides it for months at a time (until DD notices it and I let her have it for a few days).

ETA: There's an iPhone app for that????  Apparently retro is cool?

Wow. I'm impressed your parents saved all your toys. I can't wait to purge ours when our kids are all grown up. I think my mom saved all my Barbies and she keeps asking if I want them for DD.

victoria1212

my mom saved a lot of my toys too that DD now plays with (after I swabbed them with those lead wipe things to make sure they were ok). Luckily, DD does not like many of the electronic noisy toys. However, I get ordered to rebuild the lincoln log house over and over and over and over again. I would like to hide them.

WinesNotWhines

I will also say that out of our electronic/battery-operated toys, the Leapfrog ones are the least annoying. They either play classical music or other songs that, for some reason, are significantly less irritating than the Vtech ones. Thank you, Leapfrog.

Artslvr

I have to weigh in on this QOTD because I'm a former music teacher and still work in the music ed world, and so many toys that have "music" are so annoying!

The worst one lately has to be the book the girls got that is similar to - or maybe it's the same as - this book, which DH has now hid from the girls.  The sound is just so obnoxious, and like those dang VTech toys - no volume control.

So nerdy-musician story:  My mom also saved a ton of my toys growing up, including an old school Fisher Price xylophone that is wooden with metal bars.  The thing is STILL in tune after all these years, a perfect scale.  I bought the modern/plastic version (the wood one I have is splintered, so not good to have around 14 mo. old DS) for my DD #2 about a year ago.  We open it up, and lo and behold, the thing does not play a proper scale.  I mean not even close.  So I called FP customer service just to tell them - not expecting them to do much (they didn't do anything actually) but just to let them know that I appreciate the fact that they used to have the attention to detail to make their toys play a proper scale (Do, Re, Mi, etc.) and to complain that the new one does not. 

veruca5839

Sofka:

oh so many,the ones I hate the most are those without an off switch (I've had them go off randomly in the middle of the night). WTF would anyone make a toy w/out an off switch???

Yes!  DD has a FP little musical toy that has the most sensitive button ever, no volume control, and no off switch.  It goes off constantly.  Also, V-Tech toys - the songs are awful, they're so loud, I can't stand them.