Todder Toys Must Haves

Hi Chris,

My kids really liked the Leapfrog fridge magnet toys. They had the barn yard and the letter factoy. They pretty much learned their letters from this toy. Also, trains are fun for boys this age.

N.

My little one loved working on puzzles starting @ 18 months. The Melissa & Doug line are good ones to start with. They're a great quiet & self-entertaining activity.

I know you have had enough responses already, but I just wanted to add our little boy really started his love for trains about that age. He is now almost 3 and is obsessed with them. SO I would have to say Thomas the train is the one toy we could not do with out in our house at that age. It sounds like you are a fun mom. have a great summer

I have 5 year old twin boys and a 7 year old girl and there is one toy in our house that has been used consistently for 5 years now and that is our indoor trampoline for children (It's a small trampoline -probably about 4 feet by four feet and it has a bar that comes up for them to hold onto). It is still used daily in our house.
We have a no jumping on the couches or bed rule, so it has also helped with that.
It's always a big hit when other kids come over too. One year olds to 9 year olds love it!
I would make sure you get a well made one though, because my friends loved ours so much, they bought one for their kids and theirs tips very easily.
It's a great way to get some energy out and get rid of the need to jump else where in the house.
Good luck!
P.S. I agree with the other suggestion of rotating toys every couple of months. When I change their toys, you would think it's Christmas in our house. They are so excited to play with the "new" toys.

One other idea is to do a toy swap with other moms with children who are around 18 months.

I strongly suggest cars, especially cars from the movie Cars. If your son has not seen it, rent it...he'll love it.

Hello!
What I have found to be an "inexpensive" treat for our 3 yr old son is to box up some of his toys that he doesnt seem to play with, pack them away for a couple months. While letting some out so he has some to play with. And a month or 2 rotate them, it is like he gets new toys every few months. It requires a bit of work, but has been WELL worth it. Plus Im not tripping/stepping/falling over toys that are just lying around making the rooms look like a jumbled mess. Hope this helps! :)

Ball activities - we had a basket ball hoop (a small one made by Little Tykes, I think) that they enjoyed playing with

Kitchen set - we've had one for 2 years and my kids still find it entertaining

Musical instruments

Playdoh

How about a small slide for the backyard (Little Tykes or Step 2)?

Sandbox (a fun alternative is to take a plastic sweater box with a lid, put sand or rice or dried beans in it. It is portable, easy to clean up, easy to store)

puzzles

Chris,
The busy ball popper and Dress me up Elmo was popular when my daughter was 18 months.

My son LOVED the bounce and spin Zebra, we got it at Walmart, but its everywhere. Its low and they can sit on it and bounce on it or bounce and turn around on it and it makes noises and all. For the active ones it's great b/c he can go gentle or rough on it whatever he is feeling for the day. My son didn't get off it and it held his 4 yr old sister too, so it lasts a long time.

Waffle blocks were a hit with all my children.
Legos
Wooden natural toys like here: http://hyenacart.com/unfinishedwoodentoys/

my children were lousy at playing by themselves if I did not show them how to play. Which is often times challenging as I work from home.

I suggest Brainy Baby DVDs. My triplets would watch those while I'd do my house work and they learned their ABCs before they turned 2! I didn't even realize it until they were playing with their Leap Frog frig letters and showing me what each letter was! Also, for fun, Curious Buddies is fantastic DVDs.

It sounds like you have allot of toys for your son. He may be getting bored cuz he may be getting over stimulated or overwhelmed. Try binning up half the toys and rotate toys out every week or two. I know allot of parents who have done this. When they bin up some toys and put them away and then take out other toys, the kids feel like they're getting all new toys again. They get very excited.

With it being summer, try to do as much outdoor stuff as possible. Kids at this love to explore, even the simplest things to us can be exciting to them. Go for a nature walk and stop and show him the grass and have him sit and feel it, tickle him on the cheeck with a blade of grass, make the grass whistle in your fingers. Have him touch the bark on a tree and feel how rough it is. He can pick up leaves and pick flowers. Pick up rocks and pebbles and throw them in the street. Maybe he'll throw farther than you, lol. Point up to the sky and show him the clouds and any planes that go by. Let him check out a street mailbox, point out different colored cars and trucks. Walk at his pace. Go to the park and let him play with the sand. That'll mean automatic bath but he'll love that, lol. Little things like this can really interest a little child. Have fun with it!

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat

You'll be spending enough money as he gets older - hit the yard sales for anything "role play" (we got our daughter a desk, picnic table, kitchen set and tent that way), and then she "appropriates" our stuff - tupperware, any food container that can be washed and isn't glass, an old cell phone, an old cordless phone, a remote with no batteries, and some loose keys on a ring. The more we "use" something, the more she plays with it!

My daughter is 16 mos and when she tires of that stuff, it's time to get on the floor to read a book, or go outside for a walk or the park. Good luck!

Hey Chris
My youngest loved Little People,and there are so many pieces you can buy and add to it,for birthdays,Christmas etc.It is something he can use his imagination with and can grow with him.

That said,here are 2 other ideas.Rotate his toys,take half of them and put away in a basment where he can't see them.I bet when you bring out a old toy or two,a week or so later,it will be like he has a new toy,a week can be an eternity to a toddler.I still do that with my 6 year old and it works.

Also,toddlers love simple things,you don't have to go out and spend money.Give him some boxes to play,anything will do,cracker or cereal boxes even.Add a wooden spoon,or other safe kitchen utensils and he will good.Be sure to give him lots of play time on his own,he will learn not to be so bored and develop his own creativity.

S.
www.SwitchStoresForHealthyLiving.com

Hi! My daughter had moved on to the 24-piece jigsaw puzzles nby 18 months. If your son has outgrown the wooden puzzles by then and seems bored, he may need more stimulation. My daughter also loved her kitchen, as well as her stacking cups, and it was at about 18 months, or a little older, that she got into card games. We used to say that we could get rid of all the toys we had, except the kitchen, the stacking cups and the puzzles and cards, and our daughter would keep busy. Our son was into his wooden trains at 18 months. We didn't buy a table for them, on purpose, and at the advice of a friend. That way, half the fun was (and still is...and he is 9 now, with adult electric trans) setting up the tracks and making creative designs. My daughter never was interested in trains (we bought he some, too), but she loved helping her brother set up his tracks! My son liked the kitchen, liked puzzles, but never was as gung ho about them as our daughter. He went for trains and cars from the get go. AND BOOKS. Always stacks and stacks and stacks of books...yard sales, library sales, etc. Also, dress up. I had a boy with material in in that my son could wrap around him and make into different characters, and I bought Halloween costumes when they went on sale and put them in a dress up boxx for him. U.S, Toys and the internet carry items year round for this. Have fun with it!

Hi Chris. It's no so much about how much you have it's how you put it out. Don't have every toy out or available every day. Put some in a box and rotate them every other day or two. It keeps things "fresh" for your child. Too many choices are worse than not enough. The toddlers I know and baby sit like simple toys like the fisher price fish bowl, the small tonka trucks/cars that are plasic (they are about $3 each at walmart) the supersized leggo blocks (yeah they love to chew on those!) and puzzles are a must have. If you think your toddler is ready for some crafts I recommend you only buy washable markers/crayons. I never do finger paint but some like to do that as well. (FYI washable stuff come off semi-gloss paint with no effort if you have flat or satin finish use 409 or a magic eraser if they get it on the walls!) We watch the noggin channel on tv (gotta love Moose A. Moose!!) as well as the usual PBS shows. Have fun. Remember at this age they can have fun with a wooden spoon and an empty shoe box! Best wishes.

My son is 3 now but ever since he was about 18 months he has had an easel (Melissa & Doug) and he's LOVED it! Play Doh is a big one at our house too and of course sidewalk chalk!

Hi!

I agree about not spending a lot of money, but the one thing my daughter loved (I had to buy two more as she used them to 'death') was a Learning Puppy (Fischer Price). It's soft enough that it won't hurt and it teaches colors and numbers. Initially she just loved dragging it around and hearing it 'talk' - I did give this to two twins, though (one boy and one girl) and it seems as if the girls like this kind of thing better so not sure if your son would go for it.

It's the only thing I remember she loved and took everywhere. Good luck!

S.

My son LOVES his fisher price little barn with animals. It is a good way to teach animal sounds and he matches the mommy animals to the babies! He is 2 1/2. Also, it lets him use his imagination when he's playing alone.

puzzles,abc and 123 magnets,songs with silly dances like itsy bitsy spider,happy and you know it,>>>building a fort with couch pillows and blankets,and my daughter loves to go for walks and collect rocks just a few ideas...oh and playdough.