What baby/child product do you think is overhyped to the point of annoying you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Expensive but tiny strollers. The BabyZen Yo-Yo is the main one that comes to mind but there are others. The idea of spending $600 on a tiny stroller so that you can carry it on planes is insane to me. There are less expensive travel strollers, or you could just gate check a normal size stroller.

Sophie (seconded). It's a $20 teething toy. Also, for years the Sophies would wind up filled with mold because they weren't airtight and baby drool would get inside and then, mold. They fixed the problem so the newer ones shouldn't do this but still -- gross.

All designer baby clothes. I'm talking specifically about like Kate Spade baby dresses. That stuff is so expensive and is often really inappropriate for children -- stiff fabric, inconvenient lengths, etc. I get people often get these outfits from grandparents or friends, so you maybe throw the kid in it for photos. But I am judged of people who buy it themselves.

Looking at this list, I'm realizing I sound super judged of rich people, which is funny because I'm pretty rich. But I think I just hate trendy status stuff. Money is GREAT, but spend it on things that are actually useful/attractive, not just on whatever all the other rich people are buying.

wow, is that really a thing? I thought you would just use a $10 Cosco stroller if you really wanted something tiny. I could get the niche appeal of a super-light, super-narrow, yet still super-sturdy stroller if you had to regularly commute on public transport and space was at a premium or you wanted to be able to fold it up quickly. But yeah, a special airplane stroller seems nutso.

Yeah, there are a number of high end travel strollers. I think the Yo-yo is the most expensive. I think it's one thing if it's your main stroller, but I definitely know people who have an Uppababy, a Yo-yo, AND a jogging stroller. It's... a lot.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely loved my Ergo. I used it 18 months for each child and then sold it for 50% of the new cost! What a value!

Any type of swing or electric rocker or Mamaroo type thing would have been a waste for me because I realized with my first I didn’t want my babies to require motion to fall asleep. Thankfully as new parents we only got a cheap-ish swing that we promptly sold when we realized we never used it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a bunch of common items that:

-I totally understand the appeal of
-Don't annoy me in any way (or rarely)
-I was laughed at for not buying
-I ended up never buying and never using

It wasn't the products, which are popular for good reason! It was the weird insistence (among a vocal minority) that I would regret not buying them, and definitely "break down" and buy them (??) etc.

This. It's not the item, it's the proselytizing. A pregnant friend of mine asked me last year what was the "one item" we couldn't live without when our baby was born and I told her "the baby?" Everyone is different and it's hard to have a newborn. So people acquire a product and find some relief and convince themselves they've figured out babies or parenting in general. But it's a normal thing all parents go through. No one gets it right immediately. There's trial and error and yes, relief, when you finally find something that actually works for you.

Also: I was one of those people who LOVED the rock'n'play. My kid would only sleep in the co-sleeper (as long as I was next to her), my arms, or the rock'n'play her first 3 months of life. Without the rock'n'play, I would have had to strap her to my chest 24/7. It was the only thing that enabled me to make myself a sandwich or lay down on the couch alone for 10 minutes. I am glad I had my kid well before the recall. Still no idea who kids were dying in them -- does not seem possible!

+2

"ONE OF US, ONE OF US"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There were a bunch of common items that:

-I totally understand the appeal of
-Don't annoy me in any way (or rarely)
-I was laughed at for not buying
-I ended up never buying and never using

It wasn't the products, which are popular for good reason! It was the weird insistence (among a vocal minority) that I would regret not buying them, and definitely "break down" and buy them (??) etc.

PP, what were the items? I feel like the carrier people are the worst.

[Anonymous]

I felt that way about the diaper genie. I was gifted several but only used it once. I didnt like the idea of diapers sitting on my house.

I wasn't a fan of strollers. They only work for me at amusement park with toddlers. I felt they were too bulky. For my oldest is used a Bjorn and a back pack carrier. My youngest loved thr moby wrap. I wish I had thought of it sooner than I did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a bunch of common items that:

-I totally understand the appeal of
-Don't annoy me in any way (or rarely)
-I was laughed at for not buying
-I ended up never buying and never using

It wasn't the products, which are popular for good reason! It was the weird insistence (among a vocal minority) that I would regret not buying them, and definitely "break down" and buy them (??) etc.

PP, what were the items? I feel like the carrier people are the worst.

Oh, lots of standards.

Crib
Pacifier
Stroller
Disposable diapers
Baby food

We just didn't use them.

[Anonymous]

Agree with City Mini - such a huge heavy thing.
Agree with Sophie
The PACK AND PLAY - great for home. Horrendous for travel, especially when there much better travel cribs out there.

Loved our Keekaroo, our formula maker, our rock and play. Wanted to love our ergo but couldn't do it.

Loved our Aiden and Anais swaddle blankets and the Leachco podster as a place to put baby down. (No one ever talks about the Leachco Podster, and that thing is the bomb).

[Anonymous]

This is bringing back memories!

I could never get any of the trendy wraps to work. I always felt like the baby was falling out. My kids LOVED the Baby Bjorn, which everyone said would kill their hips. Their hips are fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is bringing back memories!

I could never get any of the trendy wraps to work. I always felt like the baby was falling out. My kids LOVED the Baby Bjorn, which everyone said would kill their hips. Their hips are fine.

I couldn't get any of the carriers to work either so we used stroller.. but I was determined and finally used the Maya wrap to carry my then giant 18 mo to walk on snow covered streets! Also came in handy to walk quickly with my toddler when on trip to Asia and strollers were not common or convenient

[Anonymous]

An iPad per kid

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a bunch of common items that:

-I totally understand the appeal of
-Don't annoy me in any way (or rarely)
-I was laughed at for not buying
-I ended up never buying and never using

It wasn't the products, which are popular for good reason! It was the weird insistence (among a vocal minority) that I would regret not buying them, and definitely "break down" and buy them (??) etc.

This. It's not the item, it's the proselytizing. A pregnant friend of mine asked me last year what was the "one item" we couldn't live without when our baby was born and I told her "the baby?" Everyone is different and it's hard to have a newborn. So people acquire a product and find some relief and convince themselves they've figured out babies or parenting in general. But it's a normal thing all parents go through. No one gets it right immediately. There's trial and error and yes, relief, when you finally find something that actually works for you.

Also: I was one of those people who LOVED the rock'n'play. My kid would only sleep in the co-sleeper (as long as I was next to her), my arms, or the rock'n'play her first 3 months of life. Without the rock'n'play, I would have had to strap her to my chest 24/7. It was the only thing that enabled me to make myself a sandwich or lay down on the couch alone for 10 minutes. I am glad I had my kid well before the recall. Still no idea who kids were dying in them -- does not seem possible!

+2

"ONE OF US, ONE OF US"

+3

We never owned a rock and play. My baby never took a pacifier. I never had a wipe warmer or a bottle warmer or a baby food maker or 90 percent of the other crap that didn't exist 20 years ago but which is somehow now considered indispensable. But the thing that bothered me was not people who bought every gadget, but the people who INSISTED that I "needed" some expensive item, usually one which was only useful for a couple of months, and that I could not possibly raise a baby without one. Like, my mom thought onesies were amazing and foldable strollers (the only thing that existed when I was a baby were these huge prams) were a godsend. But then, the number of people who center their identity on consumer goods never ceases to amaze me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There were a bunch of common items that:

-I totally understand the appeal of
-Don't annoy me in any way (or rarely)
-I was laughed at for not buying
-I ended up never buying and never using

It wasn't the products, which are popular for good reason! It was the weird insistence (among a vocal minority) that I would regret not buying them, and definitely "break down" and buy them (??) etc.

PP, what were the items? I feel like the carrier people are the worst.

Oh, lots of standards.

Crib
Pacifier
Stroller
Disposable diapers
Baby food

We just didn't use them.

You didn’t use a crib or a stroller? Like, EVER?

[Anonymous]

Slings. I'm not carrying a toddler in a sling. Slings are for babies. I see women hauling children around in them. Once they can walk, let them walk.

[Anonymous]

Big expensive stroller. Diaper genie. Changing table. Bottle warmer. (Isn’t that what a microwave is for?) fancy odd shaped nipples for bottles.

[Anonymous]

Things everyone told me to get but I didn't:

Changing table - used a pad on the floor
Snoo - I liked Harvey Karp's methods but this is too gimmicky
Wipe warmer - fire hazard
Rock n Play - looked dangerous from the get-go
Ergo - liked the Boba much better
Pack n Play - those things are heavy, and not easy to set up or take down, besides being really uncomfortable for the baby because of the metal bars that the mattress sits on

Loved: Lotus travel crib, City Mini GT, NoseFrida