I think that these days our homes are swamped with toys and our kids many times can't access some of them. Does this happen to you? Do you manage to make some sort of selection according to age?
I struggle with this all the time, but not just toys, clothes as well. Last year I bought my five year old step-grandson a very expensive remote controlled helicopter because someone bought him a remote controlled car the year before. But the car he was given had the remote wired to the car and the car would say things as it went along, my helicopter was the kind you see grown men flying over the park at a weekend. It lasted about an hour before he gleefully flew it into the wall and it smashed into a million pieces.
Ouch that sound really painful dean...! When buying toys I always see what's adequate for each age, apart from using common sense, but the main issue is when I have them all packing my place, it's hard to make a selection and more because I don't want my kids to be watching or else they just might want to keep everything...
I am having same trouble too. I just think that some toys that I see wouldn't work with the one to whom I will give it to. It would be just a surprise later on for me that in fact it would and it does. I don't have a gauge of the toys to give to kids according to their age. It would happen frequently that they toys I bought doesn't watch with the age to whom those toys are intended for.
That comes with experience, sometimes we see a toy and we think it's great for a kid, but than we see the recommended age and it's not adequate. I think it's great that they put the recommended age because we finally manage to buy something suitable for the age of that kid. On the other hand it's more hard work because in conscience we can't just get anything...