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.
