Need Advice on Christmas Gift for Toddler

I bought my daughter a guitar last year for Christmas. I got it for $20 at http://www.ltdcommodities.com/30-Wood-Guitar-With-Case/ca....

Also, my family owns a Nintendo Wii w/ Guitar Hero. My daughter and neice, both under 4, know how to play the game on beginner mode. The game for Wii, Xbox, and PS3 are all played the same. You get one guitar with the game. Rock Band has the Beatles version as well. It's an expensive gift, but at the same time, as she gets older, it may simplify your gift buying experience because you can just get her games :)

Hope that helps.

N.,

Rock Band, XBOX are too adavanced for her. rock band she can play with the drums etc, but the instruments are way too big for her.

There are age approprioate one- more karoke type available. I know Toys R Us have something like that. A coworker bought one for her grand-daughter who is the same age. I think she paid like $70 for it. (much cheaper than XBOX). I think with the model she got the kids can see themselves on TV singing.

There is also Kinder Kids music stuff, where they can play instruments with the music. Not sure where you get that I would do a websearch.

Cracker barrel has various toy instrument too- drums & a xylophone.

Tuesday Morning sometimes has stuff too. I bought my daughter who will be 3 next month a keyboard (low end, battery operated) for $8.

Hope this helps

I think a little karaoke machine would be cool. Also, I went for the wii. My son is 4 and there is so much for younger children to do on it, also unlike most game systems, they have to actually move so at least the are not sitting on their butts playing video games. We really enjoy it. I'm thinking of getting him one of the singing games for christmas but not sure how that works with a little kid, have to research that.

OMG an XBOX for a 3 year old???

Get her what she wants - a guitar! My sons both have small versions which are pretty good. Dad tunes them so they sound like a "real" guitar (and they are). Or you can get her a used acoustic guitar (but then you have that size thing to worry about). We got ours at Target, you can get them online, by First Act. Then you can jam together!

Sorry to all you gamaholics out there, but musicians like music, not to pretend to be someone else playing music (to be fair, I've never played Rock Band, and to be honest, I'm not a musician, but everyone else in my house is!).

Also my younger son got a kids keyboard when he was about her age that he loved and still plays to this day (in fact I pulled it out to get the name and he's playing with it now ;>). So if she's musically inclined you might want to branch out. It's called Kidspirit Electronic Keyboard - I just did a quick search and couldn't find it new - you might need to try e-bay. It had a microphone to it too.

Anyway good luck and have fun!

I wouldn't get her the video gaming system. Get her real guitar her size, and maybe some kind of tape recorder thing with a microphone or even one of those funny microphones that echo when you talk or sing into it.

I think the video games are not appropriate for this age or this skill. It's so wonderful that your child loves music and an instrument so encourage that for what it is. My husband plays guitar and says that those guitar hero type games are a total rip off because they don't really teach chords...it's just buttons so your child is just learning sequencing from different buttons and nothing about actually playing guitar.
My son loves playing guitar and he has a toy one and then we also let him play with my husbands ukulele...it seems to be the perfect size for him. He's also allowed to play with our adult guitars with my husbands supervision.
I just saw a bunch of kid guitars at Ross...maybe you can find one there.

I recommend keeping it simple! They have very cheap "echo" microphones at Target etc, that my daughter loved at the age. No batteries! A simple toy guitar (again--no batteries)is a fabulous toy. I had a plastic one growing up that didn't even play well and we loved it. Sounds like your husband might want to teach her how to play, though :-)

Also, if you look online for kids cd player, they have ones with microphones attached. They're very sturdy. I think that might be a good place to start. Save the fancy electronics for later!

Game systems are far to advanced for her. Look at the Fisher Price Website, you will find age appropriate musical toys and microphones and stuff. My five year old is very similar. His granmother is getting him a wooden guitar for Christmas from Walmart. Not expensive, designed for chil size, just right for them. Definitely encourage th music now. It is the perfect time.

Dear N.,

Bless your heart for seeking out what your child is into instead of traditional "dolls". Three is a bit young for any of these things (Xbox, PSP, Rock Band) and will not really satisfy what she is seeking. At this age many children seek out musical toys. If you go down the toy isles or look online at toysrus.com for ideas, you will find many guitars aimed at her age that will let her strum and play her own music, and they also play music pre programed. My grandchildrens favorite of these was the wiggles guitar. I saw on toysrus.com that there are several guitars in a wide price range by fisher price, these are usually durable and can handle toddler rough stuff.

Fisher Price always has at least one or two toys out with micraphones, they are usually durable and the toys in my five year olds toyroom with a mic are the ones that get used the most. At this age they are not embarrased yet and have great creativity!

N. - I would consider a WII instead of the other two games. They have games like American Idol, Guitar Hero, and you can get the guitar, drums, etc. My oldest started with these games at 3 1/2 and loves them and music! There are all sorts of games you can play as a family that are appropriate for her age with this gaming system. Much more so than the other systems you mentioned. They also make small guitars, recorders, harmonicas, etc for her age group. Both of my boys started with those things at very young ages and are so into music right now.

How about a childrens karaoke set. Emerson makes a great small light weight one for a good price. I got my girls the same one last year for christmas. They love it

M.
mother of 2 beatiful daughters , wife, and owner of a home preschool

A kid-sized acoustic guitar would be fabulous. it's not to young to start w/real instruments. Mine started at 3 or 4. Try Sam Ash. They even have small electric guitars.

First Act makes smaller versions of acoustic guitars and sells them at national chains like Target and they are relatively inexpensive.

good luck! I am a musician myself and we all love the Rock Band and Guitar Hero type games too ... but nothing compares to playing your own music.

BTW, you said she likes the Beatles ... there's a Beatles' program for Rock Band now that is pretty good.

C.

If you were going to get her a gaming system, I would recommend the Wii. That way she will at least get some exercise along w/ all the music and hand-eye coordination, etc...

But- you may also consider a real guitar for her size. Unfortunately Guitar Hero only has you coordinating the rhythm with colors. You don't learn notes or how to actually play. It's fun, but they could do so much more with it! (each color represents a note.....then take the colors away gradually)

Also- when she is a little older, you may want to check out some music software like Garageband... She can create her own music using the computer...

Have you thought about a kid size acoustic guitar? There are toy ones, but there are also genuine guitars that are smaller sized for kids. Or maybe even an inexpensive keyboard for her to play around with... she might like to experiment with other instruments.
Karaoke machine sounds like a good idea, too. There are kid friendly ones of those, too.

Hi N.,

I have read all the responses and I agree with Samantha. If you are going to get a console get her a Wii. It is not too expensive. They have all the interactive music and singing games with all the instruments. Plus you can get other educational but active game too. Sounds like she would love RockBand Beatles addition.. It comes with drums / guitar and a microphone ahe could play on her own or with others which is a great plus. I have just got it myself and it is my favorite. My dd is 2 and she dances and sings when we play.

I hope she enjoys what ever you decide.

Why not get her a child-size guitar? My daughter is also a music lover, and we do have a multitude of real instruments that my husband plays, builds, and collects, but we have been picking up all sorts of instruments for her over the last year or so......band-in-a box, a spongebob ukelele that she plays like a guitar(i even made a shoulder strap for it!), tambourines, a harmonica, triangle, all sorts of percussion instruments....that she can rock out with dad, or play along to music already playing(either on the stereo or tv)this allows her to be creative, goof off with mom and dad(as a pretend band) and play a variety of instruments!!!! And quite frankly has been a lot more interactive with the family and way less expensive!!!Good Luck!!L.