Where to Start When Getting a Train Set for 3 Yr Old

If you want to stick with Thomas sets, you have plenty of options. I have a ton of play sets for the Take N Play set. Those are the metal trains with magnets and the gray plastic track. Some of the trains will make noise and say sayings as you push them. Those have to be pushed manually. You can buy sets that snap together and extension track pieces. I swear, it seems like I have the entire island! One of the things I like about these sets are that they fold up. The trains range from about $6-9 each at Walmart, depending on if they talk or not. I bought about $300 worth of trains and track from a lady at work for $45. See if you could find someone selling. They hold up very well. This is what those sets look like.

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Friends-Take-n-Play-Rumbling...

Thomas also has the Trackmaster sets (brown track), where the trains move themselves with a battery. There are also sets with buildings that you can snap together and add extension track pieces. My son only has a couple of those and I don't really like them. They are too noisy to me, the tracks take up more space, and the trains are more expensive. Here's one of those:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Train-TrackMaster-Rides-Star...

Thomas also has the wooden set, but I could never find those easily in the stores, so I stuck with Take N Play. Good luck!

By making sure it is age appropriate. Some say 7 years old and up. They do mean that. The mechanics of running that one would require the parents of a younger child to stay by their side to manage running it.

So the set being age appropriate is vital.

Last year Santa brought our 4 year old girl a wooden set from Target. It was the Circo brand. We got add-ons too like the noise making things, tow trucks, ambulance, etc. It's a year later and it still gets played with daily.

IKEA might have wooden train track sets, not sure about the trains

My son got his first train set when he turned 2. We also like the wooden trains best. I would follow age suggestions on the sets. We went with the Thomas wooden railway sets. They can all be used together. My son started with the oval set at age 2. Next he got a figure 8 set. Then we added the zoo set, down by the docks set, and some extra tunnels, a station, a hospital, a mine, and water tower. His water tower, the station, and some of his trains all make sounds. There are sights and sounds destinations, as well as battery-powered trains that you can get to add to your town. You can also buy specialty track and track expansion sets.

Each set comes with layout suggestions for learning how to put the track together. However now that we have several sets, our layouts get very creative and are always different. Sometimes it runs very smoothly, other times not. It is a great exercise for keeping your brain active. When we make a particularly great track, we always photograph it. Then, we can make it again if we are limited in actual play time. It has become an entire family fun activity with our son, my husband and I all working together to solve how to make the track run smoother. We have gradually tried to encourage my son to figure out how to make it on his own. When we work together, we assign each person with a portion of the town to make. We probably have close to 500 pieces of track now. My son has gradually gotten better at building complicated tracks, and he can do the majority of the layout on his own. He is 5 years old now, and this toy is one of his favorites. We do a big layout trying to use all his track and destinations on the weekends. He plays with smaller town versions along with his die-cast cars, legos, dinosaurs, and little people sets during the week. He plays with something out of his train box daily.

We tried to buy the sets when they were marked down. Also the grandparents on both sides love giving him something for his train set. I think the wooden ones hold up so much better than the plastic ones. My son's cousins have the plastic version, and they are constantly replacing broken track. I must admit that it was a little challenging for me at first, but even I enjoy building the tracks now with my son. It is so much fun and we really have a great time with the trains in our house. Good luck with whatever set you decide on getting for your daughter.

Ikea has wooden train sets at really good prices.

We had the Fisher Price Geo Trax. These have all the bells and whistles and buildings etc. They were fun, but too big for a train table. We had several sets we put together on the floor, but because we couldn't leave them set up they didn't get used so much.

I did the same as you when my son was little, except a little round one, not as big as yours.

There are bridges and turn tables and tunnels. Get some pictures of some different configurations of train tracks and try to build them. (Something other than round shaped.) The more intricate she can make them, the better.

You can find the little buildings and villages, but I'd try to find cheaper ones than the Thomas the Tank Engine ones.

My kids played with their trains into their teens. (Mine were boys, but it sounds like she likes them.)

Good luck!
Dawn

For a 3 year old, I stick with a Thomas train or similar. When my oldest was turning 2 we got him a big Melissa and Doug set as a starter. Then we've added Thomas and Brio items to the mix over the years. My youngest is now 4 (girl) and her brothers (6 and 7) still enjoy getting out all the wooden track and building bridges and tracks all over the living room.

I like the Plan City toys to add to the mix. We got my second son the Plan City road set when he turned two, and they have some of the bigger pieces as well (thanks to Grandma) so they get put up around the railroad tracks.

At this point, most of the play happens on the floor (we have too much to fit on our train table) but the kids did play on the table a TON when they were little.

My middle son (6) got a few Thomas Trackmaster things for his birthday this month, honestly, he loves them (for the moment anyway) the trains go by themselves and are loud (squeeky loud not fun loud) and they drive me nutty. the track is harder to assemble (would be harder for a 3 year old) and I feel that kids would use less imagination playing with it since all mine do is watch it go around and around rather than playing with them (making up stories, having them talk to each other, etc.).

Here are some links to the items I mentioned:

http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Wooden-Railway/...

http://www.amazon.com/PlanToys-PlanCity-Road-System-Delux...

http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Toys-608400-City-Station/dp/B0...

http://www.amazon.com/Plan-Toys-601302-City-Station/dp/B0...

we experimented with the "round the tree" train at about 2-3 years of age, because of the same reasons, son was SUPER into thomas, and loved them. well, between him and the cat they loved it too much, they couldn't leave it alone. (also, not for nothing, i don't consider thomas "not too pricey"- it really makes me go BAH HUMBUG to see the ridiculous prices on those little pieces of painted wood...) so i guess i'm a grinch - we haven't had one after that first try.

the good news was, by age 4 he was well past the thomas stage. we had bought some S. hand, and as quickly as he went through that phase, i was glad we never shelled out the kinds of money that some people do. now at 6 he is WAAAY too "big" to play with thomas.

My MIL got Oliver a "tabletop" train set (It has it's own platform so it's not actually on top of a table) for his 2nd birthday. She said she got it and all of it's accessories at a thrift store. There is a track with hills and curves and bridges, a station where all the trains go when they are not being used, stop and go signs, track switches to direct the trains right or left, and about 50 thomas trains that connect magnetically. She claims all of this cost her $60... Don't know if I believe her or not. Anyways, he loves it. At 2 his attention span isn't amazing but he will play with that train set for an hour or more at a time! I can send you a picture or something if you want to see what it looks like.

Check Costco-they used to have the best train table that had a ton come with it. Also-she may like Geotrax as well. It is at a larger scale and is remote control.
So great to hear of a girl liking trains!

Whatever brand you get, be sure to check on the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site and go quite a way back. In 2007, the maker of some very well-known kids' wooden trains had to recall 1.5 million pieces that had lead paint on them. (Search CPSC's site for the details.) Of course those are off the market now but the lessons are (1) Stay aware of all recalls and (2) Don't buy USED pieces because you can't know when they were made or if they're ones subject to recall.

www.cpsc.gov

Always check toys on CPSC before you buy to see if there were any past recalls (or recent ones!).

We bought mostly Brio and supplemented with additional track from Ikea. I purchased most of it (new) on E Bay. Both are compatible with the Thomas stuff you already have.

We bought our first train set for my 2&4 year old..Geotrax North Pole Express..they love it. The cordless remote is so easy to use my 2year has no problem. The tracks snap together very easy. The Christmas one is pricey..$100 but I got it on sale for $70. But they have the same one just not Christmas themed for $60.