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Should kids register for gifts?
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JEREMY HOBSON: We are less than two weeks away from Christmas. Sorry, I know that can be a stressful thing to hear when you still have shopping to do. Especially if you have to buy something for little kids. What do you get for a two year old? Well, a growing number of parents say they've got a year round solution: gift registries for children.
Sally Herships has the story.
Sally Herships: I'm in Maplewood, New Jersey, about to hit a party. It's for one-year-old Asher Friedland. He has an older sister, so his mom Danielle has lots of birthday experience. But this year, she tried something new: registering for gifts for both kids.
Danielle Friedland: My daughter's 5. She doesn't tell me that much about her friends.
Friedland says picking out presents for other people's kids can be tough. Registries, she says, are convenient. So, are gift registries for kids tacky or do they just have a bad wrap? Time for another party.
Birthday boy Dovid Lavender is 2. His family lives in Brooklyn. While his mom Nora cooked lunch for the partygoers, she told me a registry could seem rude. But she likes the idea of being able to suggest presents.
Nora Lavender: We have limited funds so the idea of saying 'These are the kind of clothes we like' has some appeal to it, although I didn't register for him. It's probably the tacky factor, although I registered for my wedding, so I guess it's not that different.
Or is it? I'm still confused. So I asked Amy Dickinson. She writes the syndicated "Ask Amy" column.
Amy Dickinson: In my view, the whole idea of registering for gifts for a one-year-old is cuckoo, crazy.
Dickinson says a birthday for a young kid should be a family celebration, not a gift grab. And she says parents who register could miss out.
Dickinson: I'm a mother of five. And I might want to give your one-year-old something that you haven't thought of.
But Asher's mom, Danielle Friedland, says she tried to make her kid's registries thoughtful. And she only gave out information if people asked.
Well, at least there's one group who just doesn't care.
Herships: What did you get?
Child: Cars! Spider Man! Toy Story!
I'm Sally Herships for Marketplace.
I keep a year-round "wish list" for my kids on Amazon.com. The kids don't know about it and I never give it out to people unsolicited. But its nice to have something to tell grandparents, aunts and uncles far away when they ask, "What does he want?"
I totally disagree with the previous comments. I think gift registries for children are a great idea. Just because a child is registrered somewhere doesn't mean you are REQUIRED to get an item on the list, anymore than you are REQUIRED to get an item for a couple about to be married from their registry. And who knows what a 5-year old would like? Or a 12-year old for that matter? And to Miss Snooty Voice: one could easily make the same argument for weddings. I wonder how many you've attended without bringing a gift for the couple. Births, birthdays, graduations, house warmings, weddings--it is traditional to give gifts to celebrate these events, and many gifts end up having enormous sentimental value to the recipient with the passing of time. No, gifts are not required, but it's simply downright stingy (not to mention tacky) not to bring one. There is absolutely NO difference between registries and asking a parent what their child would like to have. I think it's perfectly appropriate to have registries for ALL these events. This is not about greed, people. It's about creating memories and seeing the joy on someone's face when they get "just what they wanted." And furthermore to Miss Snooty Voice: It is more blessed to give than to receive. With your attitude, you're probably not invited to many parties.
(in a snooty voice) To suggest that guests are invited for anything other than the pleasure of their company is rude, and recipients of invitations are free to respond with nothing more than good wishes or stunned silence, as they see fit.
I agree with Alberto. This sends the wrong message to the parent and the child.
For a toddler we are really talking gifts for the parent. What gifts would make their life easier. For older children are we really going to let them pick only the items they want?
Wouldn't it be better for the gift to be something unexpected and something which might spark an interest by the child. Thinking of my personal experience getting a Chemistry set at 7. I would not normally pick a gift like that for myself.
