The most useless things we bought our babies
THINGS can get out of hand when you enter the baby store on Amazon ; you’ll click and click on all those suggestions and must-haves, until you end up with a full cart for your little one. Baby items are for sure cute, and it gives a pregnant woman a certain amount of thrill to shop for the little one that she can’t wait to meet.
But much of the items that you’ll purchase for your newborn, or in baby’s first year ,will turn out to be useless — either the baby will hate them, they are not practical for everyday use, or they will just sit in your house as decoration, for that time you hope will come when you’ll get some use out of them.
Below six parents share the most useless things they spent big bucks on for their babies.
Nordia Wallace, mom of a two-year-old:
The stroller. Sigh. My in-laws purchased this expensive, three-wheel brand name stroller that I’ve used once. The plan was to walk the baby in it and get some exercise at the same time, or take it when we go to the mall shopping so I don’t have to carry the baby. But it’s been sitting in my dining room since I got it — this big stroller that I can’t even fold up. It’s not practical to take anywhere because it’s so big, and the baby cries everytime I put her in it. It’s now used as that drop spot — to store dirty clothes and other knick knacks. And I can’t even sell it or give it away because it was a gift.
Wendi Weise, mom of three:
I’d say the most unwise purchase was the jungle gym activity centre. It was supposed to be a bouncer that I could place the baby in and he would be kept busy with all the activities, but he’s never been interested, and he hates when I put him in there. So it’s just taking up space in my living room, and I’m too embarrassed to pull it down because my husband had told me it was a waste of money, and I insisted that it wasn’t.
Kristen Chin, mom of two:
That would be the baby sit-up chair. And this was doubly expensive because I paid to have it shipped to Jamaica. It was supposed to keep the baby propped up so she could watch me work, but to be honest, propping her up in her plastic bath tub with a pillow worked better. I got it late, around five months, so by then my baby was a little chunky and was already kinda sitting up. I probably got two uses out of it, and then neither I nor the baby could bother with the confinement and the screams when I’d put her in it.
Marcha Campbell, mom of one:
My toddler likes to explore, and will run off at the slightest whiff of freedom, so I bought a baby leash after reading great reviews on Amazon. The plan was to tie one end to my hand and the other to his, and then I could sit while he wandered safely. Well on day one, when he realised that he was tethered, he rolled on the ground and screamed bloody murder. Then when he calmed down, he screamed some more. Now everytime he glimpses the leash it’s a meltdown, so I just don’t bother.
Crystal Williams, mom of two:
That would be clothes for special occasions — whether that’s church, Christmas, Easter or birthdays. I bought them all, and you know what, it’s now COVID season and no one is going anywhere, so to ensure that I don’t waste my money, I dress the kids up in the dresses at home. But you know what’s worse, everything is itchy because the fabric isn’t cotton, so they hate them anyway.
Marilyn Henry, mom of six:
Certain things have never been used — the dolls, the ‘genius baby’ musical instruments, the stackable blocks… instead the kids seemed more fascinated with the boxes the stuff came in, and with random things like sticks and stones and rocks, rather than the fancy toys. After the third child I just stopped buying toys altogether, and let them use their imaginations.
