Ideas for Toys?

magna-doodle. My kids are 12, 9, 5-1/2, and 2. 3 girls and the last a boy. They all play with the magna-doodle. All the time. I have one in the basement and in the boys room. We also have small travel ones. They are awesome.

Hi S.!
My 4-year old son has LOVED his GEO trax (Fisher Price) for years now. It has been a great investment, as far as long lasting interest. Every Christmas and birthday we would get him another set, so now he has a lot of different options. My son is also just crazy about simple Matchbox trucks and cars... can't go wrong. If you don't already have it, the wooden trains are great, too. We have a train table (great deal at Costco!), where we keep the wooden tracks in one drawer (Thomas and generic version), and the GEO tracks in the other. Both my kids have played with this since we got it (when my son was born!), so it has lasted a long time.
Another thing that my kids love, is doing messy art outside. I have a plastic picnic table that I keep outside, where we do fingerpaints and watercolors. When they are done, it's just easy to hose down and wipe with bleach water. I don't have to worry about getting dirt everywhere.
If you have a yard, my son LOVED a bubble mower when he was younger. He would walk and run for hours "mowing" the grass, while laughing at the bubbles coming out. Even one without bubbles entertained him.
The big legos (duplo) are STILL a big hit in my house. Even my almost 8-yr old still uses them. And they will build action figures, dinosaurs, swords, and other things. I got a BIG tub of duplos when my daughter turned a year and it has lasted 7 years now!
Good luck and have fun! :)

J.

Melissa & Doug make a wooden barn - very basic, not leading in any way or any annoying noises and lights. My daughter has loved it. It came w/ a couple of animals and over time we have added more (you can get cool ones at Target, Toys R Us and online). We've also added tractors from Playmobil, but you could get whatever ones you like. We use a piece of blue construction paper for a pond. Once you spend a little time playing w/ it and having the animals pretending and talking I'm sure the boys will be doing it w/ each other independently.

Melissa & Doug also make a wooden tool set. Very cute, good for hand eye coordination.

We also have a little blue wooden kitchen from Target, and a plastic shopping cart. It's great! I don't reccomend the really expensive ones or ones that make noise - again they can be leading and inhibit imagination. We stocked it w/ some inexpensive food, old plastic plates and cups and baby utensils from our kitchen, emptied spice jars also from our kitchen. We did get one little wooden food set (I think it's Melissa & Doug, too - we love them!) that came w/ a little wooden "knife" where the food velcros together and you can cut it - soo fun. My daughter likes to take the shopping cart w/ a stuffed animal in the front, go shopping for food, take it home to her kitchen, put it away, then prepare a feast - that occupies her for a while!

As far as books, my daughter loooooves to read - and one of the best things we've gotten is a subscription to Babybug - a magazine for babies and toddlers. They have sturdy pages, cute little stories and rhymes in it. She enjoys reading them over and over and looking for new ones to come in the mail. As your child grows they have different magazines for each age group, I think the next one is called Cricket? My daughter will be 3 in Sept. but she still enjoys Babybug a lot.

Good luck and have fun!
S.

I absolutely agree with the sandbox. I have a 15 month old and an almost 3 year old. They do not tire of the sand box. Another thing my boys love is drawing. If you can get your hands on some butcher paper, you just lay it all over a large space on the floor and sit them in the middle with some non-toxic markers (they all are these days, i think) and wearing already dirty t-shirts. the easy wash markers wash very easily off of the skin and any floor it might get on (excluding carpet, of course). They also love "reading." Best are the thick books that can't be ripped (block books, i think they're called?). I have a tupperware box full of those small books and they'll just sit there and go through them all. I hope that helps!

My son will be 3 in August. He LOVES anything he can figure out or build. One fundction toys he tires of quickly. He loves his Lego/Duplos with the inexpensive table that goes with, Magnet puzzles or magnet letters and numbers on a baking pan. The Thomas trains have been endless hours of play. And playdough with all the little fun factory stuff they make now. We only let him play with that sitting at the table when I'm close by - cos of the potential mess in the carpet fibers (done that one already!) OR the big load of wooden blocks & shapes for building. Stack em up and knock em down. Then teach him to pick up his mess when he's done. Hope that helps! OH - he likes big size nuts and bolts too. Will sit there and screw and unsrew then just fascinated. They probably have big toy ones or wooden ones that would be safer around your baby!

My 4 year old has always loved his cars, trucks, legos and trains.

When he was two we bought him a play-kitchen at a yard sale. He can spend hours at it pretending to cook.

He also loves to play in the sand box. And he can't enough of his tinkertoys and lincoln logs, both bought at yard sales, too.

I have a 3 year old boy and he just loves his Geo Trax and he started getting them when he was 2 years old. They have them at target. I think that they are great because there are very strong and easy to put the tracks together and you can add on. I have a big plastic bin that I keep them in and when he gets bored I put them away and then in a couple weeks bring them back out and he loves them again. I hope that the advice helps. S.

Hi Sarah,

A good toy is a horse on springs. They enjoy riding for minutes at a time and is physically healthy as well.

The Vermont Country Store sells them. Check their web site.

Something different. Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

Visit your local large appliance store and get a refrigerator or stove cardboard box. My boys played endlessly with boxes when they were toddlers!

Have Fun!
E.

VTech Sing & Discover Story Piano
My son just turned one and received this toy for his birthday. It has quickly become his favorite.

IDK any toy he will play with non-stop for hours (not usually the nature of infants) but this certainly hold his attention for a good while.

One of the greatest games for preschoolers, in my opinion, is Cariboo, by Cranium. My 4-year-old daughter LOVES it, and around Christmas, it's hard to find. Look for it on sale, though. Cranium produces another good toy for toddlers, though I can't remember the name of it right off hand. Requires listening and movement skills.

You might want to look into Discovery Toys at www.discoverytoysinc.com. The toys are durable, educational and FUN! If you'd like more information about the product, feel free to contact me. I can help you find a consultant in your area.

Finally, do not neglect the old favorites, like wooden blocks, Tinkertoys, and Megablocks. Great for developing problem solving, creativity, and critical thinking. My 4-year-old girl even likes the K'nex bricks, which is great because my 9-year-old son loves Legos and they can play together. K'nex are too small for your 1-year-old, but Megablocks should work for the both of them.

Honestly, it doesn't take much to make them happy at this age. They can do so much more with cardboard boxes, construction paper and paste. And, I believe they learn more that way. Do not spend a lot of money on the toys. When my children were 1 and 3, they were happy just to go through my cabinets and play with real pots and pans. We'd make music using them. They like to pour water in the sink and play with plastic toys. They were learning bouyancy, cause and effect, and about water. They loved music and outdoor walks around the neighborhood. A few visits to library storytimes and their days were very full.

my daughter loves puzzles and her magna-doodles. i also rotate toys to keep them fresh. playdough and blocks are great ideas. toddlers also like to help cook and clean and care for plants. my daughter has her own pot that she checks on and waters.

My Son was always into puzzles. Absolutely loved them- still does-he's 5 now. We ordered MANY things from Fat Brain Toys on the internet-really cool stuff & ideas there. We had an inflatable bus(like a small playhouse ) that had the little plastic balls. We attached a small dollar store basketball hoop in the play corner and he loved making baskets with those little plastic balls- they have many sun uses. He graduated to a little tykes basketball hoop in the yard. The play tools we're great too- just like daddy(although when he was 2 he used the hammer to 'fix' the Christmas Tree-that was the year I stopped using the shiny glass ornaments!) The store- Tuesday Morning- always had really neat educational toys at awesome prices, but it's hit or miss there.

Have you thought of creating a rice-box? Its like a sandbox for playing with/in, but with rice so its easier to clean up. My daycare has one. They keep it in a storage container with a lid. Use a box that is low to the ground, yet has room. Something like a box that slides under the bed.
M.

Bubbles! Get a huge refill at Target or Walmart for $3. Also, take a bucket, fill it with water and give them paintbrushes to "paint" your back deck/sidewalk. It dries and they keep on painting. My son loves to do the dishes with me (we have a two bay sink and he sits in one while we work in the other). Anything musical, you can get shakers, harmonicas, sticks, etc. or even a guitar or banjo.

Toys that my 3 year old uses every day include the Disney Cars "action figures" and the Little People Garage.

The others have all mentioned some great ideas below, here are some others:

--play tools - my daughter loves 'fixing' things all through the house, and 'fixes' them repeatedly

--get a giant box (or two) and make a car/truck/bus or whatever out of it - first its an art project, then its a toy for a while (just don't get it wet = )

--non-character-specific action toy sets - there are pirates, airplane & crew, ocean adventure, safari adventure sets out there. We LOVED playing with the ones my brother got as a kid. Because they aren't character-specific, they outlast all the character phases kids go through.

Here's some examples of what I'm talking about (there are lots more out there I'm sure, these are all on eToys.com):
Pirate Adventures:
http://www.etoys.com/Pirate-Adventures-Battle-Island-Play...
Polar Adventures Playset:
http://www.etoys.com/genProduct.html?PID=4716735&ctid...
Holiday Flight Jet Plane playset:
http://www.etoys.com/genProduct.html?PID=4051619&ctid...

My kids loved Playmobil and Lego, wooden trains by Brio, lincoln logs, and stuff like that.
YMMV

I too have a 3 and a 1 year old and they have tons of toys which they rarely play with. The things they use for long periods of time are puzzles, legos (the big ones, Megablocks I think), a Thomas the Train set, and a play kitchen. Both of the kids love Dr. Seuss books, maybe get a couple of them if you don't already have some.

Id say give Little People a try. My 5 and 3 year olds STILL get them out and play with them. They really allow for imaginative play. And I've found that they're also pretty reasonably priced.

Don't underestimate having them help out with chores - that can keep kids busy for hours - laundry, washing dishes, etc.

But in terms of real toys my child loves (age 4) -

From about 18 months onward the play kitchen was popular with toy dishes and food - to save money my daughter would use a lot of old tupperware, wooden spoons, and washed out containers (yogurt, milk, juice, etc. for "food").

Your three year old is probably ready for board and card games like Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Go Fish, and Memory.

For the one year old, I would recommend collecting smallish tote bags, paper gift bags, and boxes and letting him go "shopping." Have him collect anything - like a scavenger hunt - you can make this game more complex for the older one so they can play together.

Water play in the sink or tub is very popular at our house, so maybe a sand table?

And teach them to build a fort with sheets and empty boxes.

Also, Haba Blocks - basic wood blocks and architechural sets, and Tinker Toys for the three year old.

We generally try to stay away from character toys (like Disney). Look at Oompa Toys online, they have adorable European toys, that may give you some ideas (and carry teh Haba brand). www.oompa.com

Have fun!

Hi, S., Are you familiar with Discovery Toys? If not, please contact Trish; ____@____.com. Enjoy! :) N. B.

My 2 1/2 year old loves his leep frog computer. It is very educational and has programs that you change all the time for the age and interests of the child. My child is all about wheels (any car, truck, etc) and they have learning programs with trucks etc.
Also, he LOVES his Thomas the train table and track set. I change it all the time so he doesn't get board, but has been playing with that now for about 1 year non-stop when we are not outside.
Good luck
C. H