Toys for 3 Year Old Boy

Big Leggos
Wooden blocks of varying shapes, sizes and colors
Play tent
Dress up clothes
Toy computer
Leap Pad
Craft (glue + construction paper + darn near anything! cotton balls, beads, rocks, bits of colored paper, etc.)

Hope this helps!!

My 2 1/2 year old daughter likes to play with the large legos. She plays with them all by herself.
Good luck,
L.

My son is the same age - he likes his Leapster but doesn't play with it longer than maybe a half hour. He'll play legos/trains/cars for an extended amount of time. He loves playing on the computer - www.noggin.com is his favorite site - I have to be careful here, he will play until.... so I try to limit it to a half hour, I have allowed him to play for an hour but I try not to leave him at the computer that long! He'll play at the table with play-doh for a decent amount of time. He also likes those little puzzles that have 48 pieces (they come in a small box) he's done enough to be able to do it on his own and the 48 piece can take awhile - he has one that has 100 pieces but he does need help so I'll ask him to get all the outside pieces and insides pieces in to seperate piles - that takes a bit, then I'll help him with the outside, then he can do the inside - that allows me enough time to make dinner or clean the kitchen (-: My daughter who is now 6 could and still does play by herself really well. My son does too, but not for as long as she did at this age. With my son, I find if I start the play with him - build a train track, color a bit, etc.. then get up and do what I need to do - he seems to play by himself for a longer period of time. We also go to the park a lot.

I wanted to add after reading the post after mine - not that she put in her "no computer" comment because of me but I just wanted to say my son will be 4 next month, at his preschool they have computers in the classroom, so he learned to play at school and I allow him and his sister to play here. He watches very little TV, what he does watch is commercial free (noggin for the most part). I'm not a huge fan of TV, computer or video games. I love the outdoor ideas the poster after me suggested and second all of them. Another thing we do is just play in the mud. We have a nice size yard so I let him pour water in to a bucket take it to the dirt pile and play with his trucks, make mud pies or stomp around. We also get mixing bowls out and wooden spoons and I give him flour/water and he - well, makes a huge mess, but boy does he have fun. Paint - lot's of painting, but the things I originally mentioned were things you could set him up to do and not have to be right there. When my son is outside, I'm with him or at least in earshot checking on him very often.
Hope this helps!
M.

I do similar things as LS suggested.
My son is 2.5 years old... sand boxes are great. Or Moon Sand.
Anything a kid can "build" really immerses them as well, and their imagination.

Also, my son like those "Operation" games... he can sit there for a long time just trying to pick out the body parts without it going "BZZZZ!"

But each child is different... when my daughter was that age, she always liked to have someone next to her. My son on the other hand is more independent... and can and will be perfectly content immersing himself in anything. He also pretend plays by himself too... and it's so cute.

Also, get some costumes... and knick knacks for him to "pretend play." This is a perfect age for that... and it develops them as well. Kids LOVE costumes! Or, he can play with his Daddy's clothes and put them on and pretend play. My kids like to do that too.

But all in all... each child has a certain window of time they will play by themselves... then they will ebb and flow and then want you near them too, for help.

My son also like to paint rocks. I get them from outside, I lay out a huge piece of plastic so he doesn't dirty the floor, paints, brushes, and then I just let him paint. I don't tell him "how" to paint, but just let him explore it himself.

Also, sidewalk chalk is great too. I just let my kids draw on the patio. Anything goes! Since it rinses off with the next rain.

We have those "Leapsters" too. Both my kids like it. My son figured it out on his own and he can do that for awhile... especially in the car or if I'm busy cooking.

Or, get some big boxes, and let him paint that... and then get things he can glue on it etc. Kids love doing things like that.

Or, get a piece of furniture that you don't mind letting him have a go at, and let him paint it. My son and daughter love doing that.

Lots of different things, that you don't necessarily have to buy or spend money on.

Good luck,
Susan

M., give up the time to play with your son. Forget the dishes and vacumning, he will be in preschool or kindergarten very soon, and he wants to be with you!
He's just a baby, take the time...
you're a good mom, I can tell!
deb

Hello M.,

Basic stuff is best.

3 years old is the little scientist stage. Anything that can facilitate his self-discovery of the magical world around him will keep him busy for hours.

Give him an area in the yard, on the patio, or in the house, where he can mix starch and water in a bowl. You could even give him some paint to mix in as well. That will keep him busy for a while. Set it up so HE is the one adding the starch, and the water, to a bowl.

You can also set up a big pan of uncooked rice and let him practice pouring into cups of various sizes. (Tell him he is a construction worker, or a chef -- whatever will catch his attention. Or just set it up and let him discover it.)

If you have an outside area, get a baby pool and things he can float. If not, do the same indoors in a smaller version, in a roasting pan, with an assortment of things that sink or float.

If you want a happy, grounded child, who can focus, steer clear of more than 1 hour of tv a day (and keep it commercial-free), and keep him away from the computer for now.

Other ideas are on our website at: www.RivieraPlaySchool.com

Lots of Love,
Linda

My oldest boy, 4 1/2, loves his super hero figures, he roll plays them playing together, so he doesn't need me all the time. He does like when the whole family plays though. My youngest boy,2 1/2, does the train and car thing, but he's picked up on the roll playing too. They both love bubble guns and water guns. They'll play together or alone. The reason I say the bubble gun or machine over a bubble wand is that with the wand they sometimes need help blowing the bubbles.

I echo Imaginext, Thomas the tank, and and blocks.
Also try Little People. They have a bunch of boy things-car garage, dump trucks, fire engine, train, etc. The perfect thing is that your 1 year old can play too. My mom always buys the grand kids the farm house for their first Christmas and everybody adds to it each Christmas and birthday.
My son is 9 and my nieces are 10 and 7-they would never admit playing with "baby toys" but there magically seem to be little people out when we have to pick up before they leave.
Good Luck

Anything he can climb! Little boys focus development on large motor skills for quite some time. This is why they are so active & don't use many words (more sounds like grunting, or humming, & car sounds). Little boys (& big) are more like puppies, take um to the park & let them run & climb till they drop. When you get them home they might sit still long enough to let you make dinner. The good news about most boys is they are rarely moody & dramatic like little girls. I raised 3 busy boys & had a blast!
Blessings ~ d

I highly recommend the toy lines by Imaginext. I have a 4 y.o. And a 2 y.o. And they both love these toys! They are durable, promote imagnative play and not extremely expensive.They are simply themed toys that are perfect for little hands. We have the Batman theme and the dinosaur theme...these toys tend to keep my 2 entertained for an hour to an hour and a half!! And its so great to hear them using their imaginations and not wanting to watch TV! There are some smallish pieces, but my 2 yo did fine. You can check the web site out for where to buy them and such and Target has great customer reviews about them. Best of luck and happy toy hunting!

Duplo!

It will lead to Lego when he's older but it's fantastic for learning/playing. We like to build with our son too but he's loved Duplo since his second birthday and he's 6 1/2, still plays with it (though Lego is his favorite now).

It can be expensive but the more the have the more fun it is to build and it will last forever.

One of my son's favorite things to play with at 3 was his bucket of Duplo blocks. He would play with them for a long time and would proudly show me his creations. When your son gets a little older, he can graduate to regular Legos. My son also liked Playmobil sets and the figures that came with them. The pirate ship and construction equipment were big favorites. Even at 10, he and his friends still play with the pirate ship and figures. If he's into something like Bob the Builder or Thomas the Tank Engine, figures from those shows would also be good.

Chunky Wooden Puzzles
Blocks
Play Kitchen
Musical Instruments (if you don't mind the noise)
Baloons (under close supervision - count them!)
Large Plastic Animal Sets (Animal Planet brand is great)
Colorforms
Stickers

That's all I can think of right now. Also, I have found that if you play with your child for 15 minutes or so a different times during the day and then quietly slip away, they are more likely to play for longer by themselves for longer periods of time than when I am constantly putting them off. A few minutes of cooperative lay is worth an hour of quiet time for me, or so it seems.

Good luck.

My 3 yr old daughter loves her My First Computer by Leap Frog. It hooks right into the TV so I can let her play on it while I'm making dinner. She especially loves the Backyardigan and Cars game. She's learning mousing skills and alphabet/keyboarding. I had to help her learn the mouse at first, but just 1 mth later she is all on her own, even hooks it up!

Get Marble Works by Imaginarium or Tinker Toys.

Look into My First Leap Pad or a Vsmile system. Educational and fun.

GeoTrax - My father-in-law got my son his first set when he was 3 and it was a life saver. He will need some help in the beginning setting up the tracks but then there are hours of playing with trains. My son is now 8 and still pulls them out and puts together trains.
Good Luck
kati

Hi M.,

You might want to visit a parent-teacher store, like Lakeshore in San Marcos or San Diego, or Creative Teaching Supply in Solana Beach. They have some great learning toys that kids can play with by themselves.

When my son was that age we bought him a "Feed the Dog" fine-motor skills game. You "feed" bones into the dog's mouth with a pair of "tweezers"--my son liked it and didn't know he was helping himself develop a new skill. :-) There is also a game called "Mighty Mind" that my son likes. It is similar to Tangrams/Tangoes. It involves shapes--kids arrange plastic shapes onto a card to form a picture. Lite Brites are fun, too, and Duplo Blocks.

My son has also enjoyed playing with a horse stable--I had one as a kid, but he likes it, too--he enjoys putting all of the animals (horses plus other farm animals) into the stable and taking care of them--giving them water, food, "brushing" them, and doing other things that a veterinarian might do. I never thought of a stable as something that a boy might like, but he does! He plays with it differently than I did (my play involved relationships with the horses, but his involves more practical skills). It's a good reminder not to put a gender onto certain toys.

What about a big box? That is a really fun "toy"--we currently have one sitting in our living room that is serving as a rocket ship, fort, restaurant, house, elevator, and boat. It can be colored on and is also a great place to "hide."

I almost forgot--a shopping cart and a kitchen! Again, those may not seem like typical boy toys, but oh my goodness, we've gotten so much usage out of those items! My son's "restaurant" is very masculine-looking and is often "out of food" and "very expensive" but the "service is good." It is so great when my older niece and younger nephew come over because those toys serve both genders and involve extended play. It's fun to see how the girls and boys play differently and together in the kitchen.

:-) D.

Big cardboard boxes. He can do so much with them and they're free! Encourage him to color them and cut them with safety scissors. Big Legos are a big hit around my house. My three year-old is checking out a picture book right now that we got from the library and he's been self-occupied for fifteen minutes. Hope this helps!

well you know how they have play kitchens for boys and girls (but mostly girls use them) well they have little tool benches for boys. try the color wonder finger paints, play dough (if he wont eat it cause some kids do haha), maybe get a little esle (spelling?) so he can paint you pictures on butcher paper. does he like puzzles? maybe set him up with a simple treasure hunt make a map with pictures he will reckonize around the house and have it go to a special toy or book or even lunch for that matter lol. does he like to build? blocks! what kid doesnt like blocks? how about a box of large pop cycle sticks (like the kind in the drs office... tongue depressers) give him a glue stick and little pretty things and have him make you a magnet or a frame or whatever he wants. theres endless possibilities just ask him what he wants to do... oh how about a light bright i loved those as a kid and they are a lot safer now (i think i saw one at walmart lol). good luck!

Try good old fashioned wooden blocks. Both of my kids loved them and played with them until they were about 10.

M.