10 Toys That Kids Love and Moms Love to Hate

I used to think Play-Doh was kind of cool, mostly because my oldest child wasn't that interested in it, so I wasn't aware of its darker side. My 3-year-old, however, is obsessed, which means I now have small chunks of Play-Doh stuck on rugs, crusted under couches, and hardening in multicolored balls all over my house.

He even managed to stick a bunch in the center of a toilet paper holder, where it remains to this day because I can't get it out. Add in those fun-sounding Play-Doh toy sets, like this ice cream castle ($13, originally $20), which my kids got for Christmas, and I now have tiny plastic Play-Doh accessories all over my house, too. Fun!

Whoever started marketing glitter to small children has a special place reserved for them in hell. Sure, it's pretty, but so was my car before it was covered in it from every single craft project my kids bring home. Don't agree? Pick up this ALEX Toys glitter shaker set ($15, originally $29), give it to your kids, then get back to me.

Am I the only one who doesn't understand why I have to add at least $3 worth of these tiny toys to my Target cart on every single trip? I get that small things are cute, but guess what? They're also destined to be lost within 24 hours, abandoned to the depths of my couch cushions where their sweet little Shopkins faces can smile for all eternity. Pick up a Shopkins Season 5 12 pack ($7, originally $11) — seriously Season 5! How many seasons do we have to suffer through to get the full effect of how annoying these are for moms?

Beads in general are a pretty obnoxious toy to present to a small child, but Aquabeads might be the worst offender. Why? Take beads, then add a tiny plastic pen that's supposed to perfectly place those beads on a small plastic tray with bead-shaped indentations in order to create little designs that you set with water from a tiny spray bottle, and what do you get? Every mom's worst nightmare.

Not only will you be forced to participate in this process in order to actually create any recognizable design but you'll get the added pleasure of separating beads by color for hours, fighting with your children about how long the designs actually need to dry before they can pick them up, then throwing them away days later when your children forget about them. AquaBeads ($10), your charms are endless.

Confession: I actually think Hot Wheels are pretty cool. I like the colors, shapes, and designs of each little car, and I would love to display them in my little guy's room like this and suggest he never play with them. Because what I don't like? Constantly stepping on them (ouch!) and finding them hiding in every corner of my house. But hey, why not add a Hot Wheels 50 pack ($42, originally $55) to his collection to contribute to his current fun/my future design goals?

Barbie is a controversial lady. I appreciate her newfound diversity, but you know my daughter is still going for the girliest, skinniest, blondest version, right? Her latest request: the Barbie Sparkle Style Salon ($15, originally $30), which comes with the added bonus of glitter (see #2), which she's supposed to apply to her doll's hair and presumably her entire room, then wash out at a working sink. Does this sound like a good idea to anyone but Barbie?

If you have one of those kids (and I've met a few) who will get a new Lego set or a bucket of assorted Legos ($48, originally $60 for 790 pieces), then sit for hours building stuff with them, you've won the child jackpot. I, on the other hand, have kids who prefer to dump Legos all over the floor, slap a few together, then abandon the project for me to clean up and occasionally injure the bottom of my feet on. So, nope, not my favorite.

In theory, this stuff sounds awesome, which is why my kids have been gifted it by their grandparents multiple times. But let's be clear: Kinetic Sand ($13) and toddlers are not a match made in heaven. Sure, the product claims that it's easy to clean up, but they haven't seen what my kid can do with it. Thank God for vacuums.

When I was a kid, I loved American Girl, and that fact meant I had all the books and one doll, who came with exactly one outfit and that was it. Today, my daughter has a Bitty Baby, a WellieWisher, a Truly Me doll, a Himalayan Kitten (what?!), two doll beds, 50,000 outfits, and 100,000 accessories, at a total cost of infinity. And she still wants more.

After all, the evil-genius brand comes out with a cool new doll like Taylor Swift-wannabe Tenney Grant ($115 for doll and book) way too freaking often. And since we live in Chicago, we get the added bonus of visiting the brand's colossal store for mediocre food, doll ear-piercing and hair styling, and design-your-own doll outfit station. If you need me, I'll be emptying my bank account.

You know what's really fun as a parent? When you realize that your kids probably get more jacked up over a free toy that comes in a $3 meal than they did over that $100 gift you gave them for their last birthday. Even worse? When McDonald's comes out with a really good collection of Happy Meal toys, and your little ones decide they're going to die unless they have every single one.

When those stuffed Secret Life of Pets toys were out last Summer, I had to enlist every member of my family to visit their respective golden arches to find every little animal. We got about 20, and now they all live at the bottom of the toy bin. Time and effort well spent.