What are the factors to consider before buying kids toys

1) Why do they want it? Because of a TV show? Friends? Pressure from peers? Pressure from commercials?

2) How much play will we get from it? I've got 3 kids, just because the first may grow out of it in 6 months doesn't mean the second won't use it for the next 2 years and the one after it will use it for 3 years or more. How much bang for my buck.

3) Can it be used in more than one way. For instance, a doll. She can pretend to be a mother. She can pretend the doll is acting out a scene with friends. She can go through a stressful day. She can sleep with it. She can use it with the bike. She can make it into a giant robotic monster who smashes all her brother's buildings. Etc. Vs... those slippers that have ears that flip up and down. What can you use them for? Slippers... that have ears that encourage stomping. One use. Easily bored.

4) Reviews from others. If I see that the tupperware shapesorter ball has been around for 20 years, and there's an ancient one in our church's nursery that still works and every kid from 1 to 90 in the room finds themselves playing with it at some point..., then I'm going to pay the extra money for that one and not the cheaper ones that I see broken all the time.

5) Does it encourage kids to make mistake, get messy, and have fun? Does it encourage exploration, noisiness, and general risk taking? Give me a sandbox and a bunch of water and toys to make a mud puddle and the cars that need to drive through it and the dolls that have to bathe in it over an electronic toy that has to be coddled but is 'educational' and I'll show you kids that will have fun and develop well. And yeah, I have bought my kids harmonicas, drums, the most annoying recording device, and glockenspiels and more. I'd rather have a noisy household messy with sand than kids on a tablet.

I'm not someone who goes looking for educational toys. Too many toys say "educational" to get the parents to buy it. The fact is, a toy will be educational no matter what it is, if you use it that way. I mean... did you know that getting your kids to use monkeybars will help their handwriting? Or that balancing on a balance beam is an important step for a child in language development? Things you may not think are educational often are very important.