Would Your Child Eat Spinach Every Day For A Year If It Meant Getting The Presents That He Wanted?

My oldest son turned 17 a couple of days ago. In the days leading up to his birthday he asked a lot of questions about his birthday presents. What was he getting? Was it vegetable or mineral? Was it electronic? Was it alive? Where was it? Was it in the house? Would I give him hints? I refused to answer all questions or give him any hints. There were a few times he said he knew what we got. It turned out he was wrong. At one point he informed me that since I wasn’t answering anything about his presents it must have been because I hadn’t gotten him any presents. This was followed by increased lurking. I think he was looking for his gifts, which fortunately were not in the house. I know better. I wasn’t always an adult after all. Fortunately for all of us, we got to his birthday without him knowing a thing and his presents were a surprise. Now Christmas is under a month away and I’m expecting the same type of interrogation about his Christmas presents. I was reading the results of the Walmart’s Talking Holiday Toys Survey, which polled 1,009 children between the ages of 3 – 11 and their parents. I decided to compare our results with theirs. I grant you, my oldest son is not 3-11. So I took into consideration how my son behaved during those years, as well as his behavior now which isn’t all that different. Here’s how that went.

THEY SAY: Kids are willing to do almost anything to get the toys they want for Christmas according to Walmart’s Talking Holiday Toys Survey, which found that 68 percent of kids said they would clean their rooms daily for a year, while 84 percent would work hard and give up playtime. But every child has limits; only 23 percent of kids would eat spinach for a year to get their holiday toys. The Walmart-commissioned survey also found that mom and dad favor educational toys and are focused on price.
WE SAY: I asked my son if he would eat spinach every day if it meant he’d get the toys he wanted. He does not like spinach, by the way. He asked if I meant only spinach every day, I answered that he could eat other foods as well. He said that wouldn’t be a big deal.
THEY SAY: Naughty or nice? Kids who’ve had a few time outs this year are in luck. While the majority of kids think their behavior impacts the amount of holiday toys they get, 78 percent of parents plan to buy the same amount of toys for their children regardless of how naughty or nice they’ve been throughout the year.
WE SAY: As I generally try to figure out what the “big gift” is going to be long in advance, behavior doesn’t have an effect on it. So I agree.
THEY SAY: Wish list toys – parents and kids disagree: The top toy gifts parents want to give their kids this Christmas are “toys that teach;” however, the top toys on kids’ wish lists are dolls and action figures.
“We have seen that educational toys – including kids’ tablets – are one of the most popular categories this year,” shared Phillips. “To meet this demand, we have significantly increased the quantity of educational tablets in our stores and are adding new products throughout the season. This is just one example of how we’ve worked closely with our suppliers to help ensure we have the toys both kids and parents want.”
WE SAY: Not so much. Wish list toys are just that, the toys kids wish for. Not the toys we wish to give them. The two are not always the same. I’ve found that when a child sets their heart on something and hopes for Santa to bring it, it would be crushing to not get that and get something not asked for at all. It’s a slightly different game for my youngest son, who asks for virtually nothing and is highly predictable. Some of the toys we choose for him are educational because we think they will be useful and enjoyed.
THEY SAY: Those sneaky kids: Parents are in the dark when it comes to knowing whether or not their kids find their gifts ahead of Christmas. Nearly twice as many kids as their parents say they found their gifts before the big morning (23 percent vs. 14 percent). The top hiding place? The closet.
WE SAY: Not a chance. The gifts are very well hidden outside of the house. I was born on a day, and it wasn’t yesterday.
THEY SAY: Nagging works. Asked about the most persuasive technique their child uses to get the toy he/she wants for Christmas, the top response for parents is their child asking them repeatedly for the gift. Similarly, when kids are asked what they think is the best way to ensure that they get the toy they want for Christmas, the most popular response was to keep telling Mom or Dad over and over and over again.
WE SAY: Baloney. Since they were little my children have been encouraged to open up some catalogs and newspapers and look for what they want, then make a list. Once I’ve been informed once, maybe twice, that’s enough. Nagging is not attractive, nor a habit I wish to encourage into older years and adulthood. My oldest has tried his own form of nagging, well it was more like bargaining for him. Let’s say, hypothetically, that I tell him I’ll pick him up at 9. He counters with 10. I counter with 9:30. He counters with 9:45. I counter with 8:45. He gives in. He’s pulled that twice, then learned he will not win.
THEY SAY: The toy store parents are looking for: Price is the most popular factor among parents for determining the type of store to shop at for Christmas toys. Walmart is committed to offering low prices and currently has hundreds of toy rollbacks in store and online. Walmart.com also features an expanded assortment of the hottest toys plus free shipping options that help customers save even more. Thousands of toys are eligible for free shipping to home on qualifying toy purchases of $45 or more, or free shipping to any Walmart store across the US. In addition, as part of Walmart’s Toyland Tuesday toy rollback program, where Walmart has been rolling back prices on toys every Tuesday beginning in October, the retailer is offering parents the opportunity to vote on their toy savings. On Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 parents can choose between two toys to go on rollback the following Tuesday.
WE SAY: Absolutely. Once the item has been determined, price is key.
For more on Walmart’s Talking Holiday Toys Survey, please visit news.walmart.com/holidaytoys. Survey Methodology – The “Walmart Talking Holiday Toys Survey” was conducted by GfK Public Affairs & Corporate Communications utilizing GfK’s KnowledgePanel. The survey polled 1,009 children between the ages of 3 –11 and each child’s parent in September 2012.
This  post has not been monetarily compensated. I am sharing it because I thought it was interesting. Please note that all personal opinions reflected in this post are my own or that of my family and have not been influenced in any way.