age appropriate toys

zazzu

I've mentioned before that I don't have a lot of previous kid experience, so please excuse my dumb questions that seem obvious. We don't have a lot of space to store stuff, but I see cool stuff on sale sometimes and wonder when he'd use it.

At what age would a kid play with:

a sand/ water table

rocking horse

small table and chairs

play kitchen

 

 

 

sarahphoto

I think that things like that would be a little more appropriate for kids who are closer to 16-18 months old.  Once they start walking and standing they will have much more fun with things like the play kitchen. (Doors to shut, things to put in the sink)  W might have some supervised fun with a sand/water table now, but you probably won't see the full effectiveness of the toys until closer to 2.

jcyahne

Jillian got a play kitchen and rocking horse (small one) at the Christmas just after she turned one (she was almost 15 months).  I do not have a sand table.  I'd love a small table and chairs set.

iHeartHimMore

I think most of those will be more appropriate once he's closer to 18 months.  I'm a few months behind where I wanted to be but I'm looking at getting a play kitchen and table and chairs for Lila now, and she's 21 months.

Irishsapphire

Our nursery horse rocker that we got at Pottery Barn Kids said 18 months.  I am thinking that your child should be able to stand and balance on the horse. 

 Our baby cannot still balance in his Pottery Barn Kids First Hybrid Chair.  We can spot him, but he loses his balance.  I look at it this way that our baby still need the straps on his highchair, and we cannot put him in a restaurant highchair--he would lose his balance.  So I really feel like he needs to be able to stand and his feet need to be able to touch the floor when he sits. 

We have kept the toys really simple--like my  husband got him a cookie monster teether, and this Fisher Price truck that was age appropriate for my baby boy.  So I have decided to make that my husband's duty to get him toys--he just loves toys for boys--and he is better at it.  I am like more educational toys, and my husband just has fun with it.  And my husband just got my baby boy an Elmo book at Target, and he has been reading to baby from it. 

Seattle_JiLLn

I think it depends on when your child walks and what kind of motor skills he has. Cooper just turned 18 months. We had all of those toys already except a sand water table since he has an older brother. Cooper started walking at maybe 9.5 months. August ish. At Christmas he started riding a rocking horse. So he was walking for several months by then and was 14.5 months. Hes been sitting at our little table an chairs for longer than that though. He climbed up in the chair very soon after he walked. Definitely before he was one. Same with the kitchen. He pretends like he's making food now but before he just opened doors. Even now he spends more time just stashing things in it. Now the sand table. They would love the water part of it as soon as they can pull up and stand by it. But I wouldnt do sand til they are old enough to not eat it. I haven't gotten one because I just don't want to deal with the mess. Then there is/was some issue about play sand not really being sand but instead is ground silica and it might be a hazard for inhaling the dust so I just bailed on figuring out if that's a real issue or not. Fill a table up with water though for tons of fun. You could also just get a tiny baby pool.

zazzu

Thanks guys. That helps. W is still a bum when it comes to motor skills. He's an observer I'll show some restrain when I see good sales, til I know he'll use the stuff. I don't want to be a toy hoarder.

braveangel2

For us...

a sand/ water table - two (or at least old enough to understand not to put water/sand/mud in your eye)

rocking horse - she started about 18 months I think...between 15 and 18.

small table and chairs - E loves these, and started climbing in and out of them for fun at about 20 months I think

play kitchen - this is pretty recent - so two. I made her a sink out of a cardboard box, some spare things lying around and a 8-inch cake pan. She goes crazy for it, and particularly loved the one at Ikea.

 

theresab

zazzu:

I've mentioned before that I don't have a lot of previous kid experience, so please excuse my dumb questions that seem obvious. We don't have a lot of space to store stuff, but I see cool stuff on sale sometimes and wonder when he'd use it.

At what age would a kid play with:

a sand/ water table
we got one a month ago - she loves to play in the water. (I use warm tap water to fill it right now)  I haven't put the sand in it yet, as I think she is a bit young.  But you can get non-silica sand at Lakeshore Learning.  More expensive than the hardware store stuff, but much nicer in my opinion, especially because it is a small volume.

rocking horse
she got one for Christmas (from a relative) that sung to her and it freaked her out.  It went back to the store.

small table and chairs
we got one last month and she loves it

play kitchen
don't have one, but she likes the one at toddler group. 

 

 

 

Nancy_Drew

a sand/ water table we don't have one.

rocking horse, we had a PBK plush one in the nursery since before DD was born. She strted pulling up to stand on it at 7 months and when she could walk at 9 .5 months would climb on.

small table and chairs, we bought some small chairs at Ikea after she could walk. She loved sitting in them at daycare. We used an end table as her table in the kitchen/family room with the chairs. DS too used these early...probably 10-11 months. We just got Audrey her own set of table and chairs for her room for Xmas at age 3.5.

play kitchen Audrey got one for her 2nd bday and loves it! Plays with it everyday. Rye too loves it and plays with it just as much as she does. Probably since he could walk, so 10 ish months.

I would say if you come across a table and chairs now BUY IT!