Jimmy Fallon sparks parenting debate after revealing gifts for his daughters

US talk show host Jimmy Fallon has sparked debate among parents after revealing the controversial present he's planning to gift his daughters this Christmas. 

The time for Christmas shopping has finally arrived. Whether you've got it all under control and everyone's gifts are already wrapped and ready, or you're currently running around the stores in search of the top Christmas toys for 2023 like a headless chicken (or should we say turkey?), we can all agree that the holiday pressure  is now mounting. 

Most of that pressure is centred on gifting. What are the best gifts to give? While one of 2023's top 15 food hampers will undoubtedly make the perfect gift for any adult in your life, and our round up of 22 of the best perfumes of all time will make shopping for a mother-in-law easier than ever, what do you get for a growing kid? 

A phone feels like the obvious choice to some. It did to US talk show host Jimmy Fallon who admitted during a recent interview that he wasn’t sure what his two young daughters wanted for Christmas, so he just brought them each a phone as he'd heard that's what their friends had asked for. 

The admission, made during an appearance on talk show Live with Kelly and Mark, sparked immediate backlash from the show hosts. "Don’t do it,” they said in unison before Kelly emphasised their point with a dramatic, “No, no no!”

Fallon was forced to share that he had already brought the phones for his two children, Winnie, 10, and Franny, nine. “It’s already done!” he jokingly shouted. “I got them a phone!”

The hosts' responses are understandable. There is a lot of thought that should go into buying your child's first phone and parenting experts have been vocal about the steps you should take before doing so, from decoupling your handset from a monthly contract, to choosing a plan with unlimited calls and texts so that you can keep in contact with your offspring at all times

Fallon has always spoken candidly about his role as a father and previously shared how becoming a dad has increased his empathy towards other parents. "You get it more,” he told Fatherly as per Today about parenthood. 

“When I didn’t have kids, if I heard a crying baby in the restaurant, I would think. ‘Can you stop the crying and go around the block?’ Now I would be like, ‘Just give me the baby — how can I help? I’ve been there."

He recently took on the responsibility of looking after other people's kids at nine-year old Franny's birthday party. He told Live with Kelly and Mark, “She had a little birthday party with little nine-year-old kids. Man, boys are just animals. I’m so happy to have girls.

"They’re great. And it’s just cute — we had cotton candy and they were dancing to Taylor Swift and it was beautiful.”