How to fix - objects are not valid as a react child

This error happens when you pass a JavaScript object as a child to an element. The error also can occur when you supply the incorrect element type as the child.

This article takes an in-depth look into practical situations where this invariant error can occur.

Passing JavaScript object as a child to an element

Most HTML elements accept a string or another HTML element as its children. The below examples illustrates attempts to pass JavaScript objects into HTML elements.

As we all know, a UL element accepts <li> elements as children. React generates the invalid object error when we pass the Javascript object (array) items.

const Search = () => {
const items = 
	[
	  {id: 1, city:'Oklahoma'}, 
	  {id: 2, city:'Edmond'}, 
	  {id: 3, city:'Tulsa'}, 
 	  {id: 4, city:'Toronto'}, 
 	  {id: 5, city:'Melbourne'}
	]
return(
   <>
      <ul>
	   {items}
      </ul>
   </>
)}

The correct way to render <li> items is to iterate the item array and return an <li> element for each item.

<ul>
   {items.map((item) => {
      return <li key={item.id}>{item.city}</li>
   })}
</ul>

Passing an object as <select> element options generates the invalid object error.

const Search = () => {
const items = 
	[
	  {id: 1, city:'Oklahoma'}, 
	  {id: 2, city:'Edmond'}, 
	  {id: 3, city:'Tulsa'}, 
 	  {id: 4, city:'Toronto'}, 
 	  {id: 5, city:'Melbourne'}
	]
return(
   <>
      <select>{items}</select>
   </>
)}

The correct way to render <select> options is to iterate the item array and return an option element for each item.

<select>
   {items.map((item) => {
       return  <option key={item.id}>{item.city}</option>
   })}
 </select>

Passing an object as <button> text generates the invalid object error.

const Search = () => {
const items = 
	[
	  {id: 1, city:'Oklahoma'}, 
	  {id: 2, city:'Edmond'}, 
	  {id: 3, city:'Tulsa'}, 
 	  {id: 4, city:'Toronto'}, 
 	  {id: 5, city:'Melbourne'}
	]
return(
   <>
      <button>{items}</button>
   </>
)}

The correct way to render an array of buttons is to iterate the item array and return a <button> for each item.

{items.map((item) => {
    return  <button key={item.id}>{item.city}</button>
})}

Passing the wrong component type as a child to an element

Below is an example where <Routes> component accepts <Route> component as a valid child but receives a <Link> instead.

<BrowserRouter>
   <Routes>
       <Route path="/" element={<Search/>}/>
       <Link to="/"/>{/*Wrong component type*/}
   </Routes>
</BrowserRouter>