Best (Sensory) Toys for a Toddler of 2 1/2 - 3 Years

It sounds like he is playing with too many toys that have lights, sounds and action. He needs to be entertained rather than entertain himself. I would say take away some of the overstimulating toys and give him a few days... or a week to get used to entertaining himself again. Soon he will be playing with pots and pans, or dirt and stuff outside.

I notice with my 2 1/2 year old that the more toys she has, the less she plays with any of them. We rotate toys out... have a few out at a time so it is less overstimulating.

That said... my daughters favorite toys are her dolls, cooking set, books, and any sort of pen and paper! She plays with real things more often than her own toys...lol

My son has a sand and water table made by the company Step 2, we got it at Walmart. Right now we just have sand in it. He loves to drive his cars and trucks through it and will play at it for 20+ min. straight, he's almost 3. He also loves his wooden train set. Those are the two toys he plays with the most.

Here are some of my 3 yr old son's favorite toys:

Bunch of crayons/washable markers and paper to draw on or coloring pages printed off the internet
Matchbox cars
Train set (with wooden rail like Thomas sets)
Sand box toys /playing in the sand
Playdoh
Stickers
Simple puzzles (Melissa and Doug wooden puzzles where the chunky pieces can also be used in pretend play) (my son moved on to more complicated puzzles now)
Balls (a big plastic ball to kick around in the yard)
Dinosaur toys

Pretend play:
-Dress up (especially hats)
-Cooking (pots, pans, spoons etc) He loved "cooking" and then serving the food to us when he was around 2 1/2
-Tools (toy hammer, wrench etc)

Recently he started to show interest in action figures.

I think all toys and games are developmental, in that they help them develop ;-)

Actually my son plays better with simple things around the house better than expensive toys, most of the time. He loved taking measuring cups and spoons from the kitchen and cooking with them, for example. Also, if he "finds" something himself, rather than me handing it to him, it is much better! So I sometimes strategically place a toy so he "finds" it ;-)

EDIT: For sensory issues, different textures and water and sand play would be great. At my son's preschool, they have a "sensory" table (a table which is like a shallow tub) where they put various things like sand, rice, dry pasta, beans, coffee beans etc mixed in with a bunch of different little toys or scoops. Also, playdoh or pudding/yogurt as toy, or balls with different spikes/textures would be good.
You can also ask the occupational therapist for recommendations.
You can google "sensory toys" or "sensory toys for toddlers" to find some ideas. Such as:
http://sensoryuniversity.com/?gclid=CKCwkbur-agCFU5qKgodk...
http://www.sensoryinterventions.com/

things I've done,
1. her school had the kids play with shaving cream, put it on the table and play in it
2. flour and water, cornstarch and water, rice and water
3. water and bowls and cups
4. music, freeze dance
5. play dough
6. pudding as a toy

I've done the above and my daughter was'nt behind but I had a friend whos daughter was and they told her to do the above too.....any sort of texture thats diferent they can feel and play with is supposed to help...and we incorporated music with everything

My son turns 3 in July. He loves his tricycle and scooter. Small cars and trucks over the big ones. Balls of all shapes and sizes (if yours likes the pingpong ball, buy him a bag full, you can't get more classic or normal than a ball). He also likes playing with the kitchen/cooking stuff and dressup but usually only with a playmate, not by himself. My kid can entertain himself for hours with some sand and water...if you have an outside area then get a couple buckets and smaller scoops or digging tools...or lay a plastic shower curtian on the kitchen or bathroom floor. He likes his train set but like pretend play stuff he wants a playmate when he plays with it. Strollers are fun, either the babydoll ones or his old umbrella stroller. At my mom's he plays with a tin pie plate, wooden spatula, oatmeal box with rice in it...homemade musical instruments.

I would suggest getting Dr. Toy's book "Smart Play/Smart Toys" she has great suggestions for every age. I think you are right in going for "simple". Since he seems attracted to sound, you may try a toddler drum, tambourine, etc. It also sounds like he'd like a ball track - ours is wooden and makes nice clacking sounds as it falls. Another sensory experience is play-doh. If he takes the puzzle apart, he has interest in it, but maybe it is too difficult for him to put back together on his own. Has he done peg puzzles? Since he likes switches, etc. he may also like a ball maze - Anatex makes some great ones or a "latches" board. He may also like a gear set since you spin those. I'd also recommend a set of basic blocks.

When our son was that age-he's not much older now, 3/12...he loved Thomas the Train, books, coloring sometimes and the computer. At that age they usually get really into one, maybe two things and are fixated on it for a lonnnggg time. For us it was Thomas, all day, all the time. They really like being played with at that time too. Even if it is just pushing trains around a track for 30 minutes..frustrating for sure. :) Sidewalk chalk when it's nice out, balls in the backyard and I remember him LOVING playing with water bottles, cups and the hose...he could entertain himself with that for forever.

He was also a quick study on the computer and there are tons of educational things out there, Sprout, PBS, etc....

A big cardboard box is always a hit as a play house, tubes they can crawl thru-anything you can make a game out of, can still be educational-you can teach shapes while playing in a SQUARE cardboard box, etc...there are some fridge phonics things out there that he liked that are magnets on the frdige too. At night while my husband cooked dinner my son and I would "exercsie" by running around the island in our kitchen...I was pregnant-that's about all I could do!

Sounds like you might need to just go back to the basics, put all the toys away that he isnt playing with for now. It sounds as if he might be a tad overwhelmed by all the toys he has.

How about the shape sorter bucket, ball and hammer toy, or fisher price makes a toy that has gears that are removable and you press a button they light up and turn.

GEO TRACKS - look at them at amazon. We got a set for my son for his 3rd birthday and he played with them for hours. Bascially it's a very flexible, movable track that you put cars on that run on batteries and watch them go - move the track - crash etc...

Pound and Roll Tower by Melissa & Doug ... like 20 at Toys R Us ... my sons FAV toy ... we gave it to his cousin who has sensory issues too and he LOVES it as well.