We at Baby-Patch thought that it was important to let you know the types of gifts that parents do not like, are not used and end up stuffed at the back of a cupboard or in the bin. Here you will be able to learn from others mistakes and ensure you give a gift that does not make its way onto this list!

The gift of clothes is a controversial one. It seems that except for the basic clothing items most parents like to choose there own baby clothes. In our survey many parents commented that clothes for one reason or another were
amongst the worst gifts they received.

Parents received very small clothes that never fitted the baby, clothing for the wrong season or clothing that was not to their taste so for all these reasons the clothes were never worn. Most parents received at least one item of clothing that was either impractical, old fashioned or ugly and therefore, never worn. Parents expressed their feelings of guilt and sadness for wasting these clothes. The lesson to be learnt is not to buy clothes for a newborn!

The other category was ornamental items that our parenting team disliked because they were either impractical, old-fashioned or over the top. Some examples included a silver container to put a lock of the baby's hair in, a porcelain shoe with the baby's name inscribed on it or a silver birth certificate holder. Some parents may appreciate these items, but for our down to earth parents who replied to the survey they would have liked something that the baby could have used.

Teddy bears and soft toys are a traditional gift but many parents commented that they received just too many. In the first few months of life these toys are just ornamental anyway as it is more hygienic for the baby to play with hard plastic toys that can be washed. If you can avoid these cute soft toys and buy a more interesting toy for the baby to play with your gift may actually be used!

Our final worst gift that we thought we should share with you is a strange gift that one of our parents received. This gift was a pair of gloves to wear when bathing the newborn. Except if you have a medical condition where you can not get your hands wet we see no logical reason that a parent would use gloves when bathing their infant. There is nothing a newborn like’s more than skin to skin contact, so we are not sure if the baby would enjoy a bath supported by two gloves. Stick to general items that parents need rather than buy some gimmicky strange gift that will never be used. Have a look at our article of what parents need for their newborn for practical baby gift ideas.

We would love to know what the worst baby gift you received was, so send us your ideas on the worst baby gift your received!

Want to find out what the best newborn gifts our parenting team received were? Why not read Parent Say: What Was the Best Newborn Gift you Received?

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