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Cincinnati Babies
What does your 3-4 year old love to play with?
I am brainstorming ideas for DD's BD. She is bored with her kitchen and dolls right now, so we need lots of inexpensive toys and activities that we can rotate in and out to keep her interested. I was thinking about the FP walkie talkies, because she has been trying to talk to us through the baby monitor receiver. Doesn't work so well, but she thinks it does. Maybe the Kid Tough camera too. Can't start that love too early, and she needs to leave my camera ALONE. 
Is early 3 too young for the 3+ board games? She still puts stuff in her mouth, so Barbie is still a pain in my behind. Maybe a FP iXL? That looked like it was very versatile. Thoughts? What does your 3 year old love to play with. I also need a 4 year old gift, so thoughts on that are welcome too.
Is early 3 too young for the 3+ board games? She still puts stuff in her mouth, so Barbie is still a pain in my behind. Maybe a FP iXL? That looked like it was very versatile. Thoughts? What does your 3 year old love to play with. I also need a 4 year old gift, so thoughts on that are welcome too. This discussion has been closed.
Re: What does your 3-4 year old love to play with?
Cars, cars, and more cars.. and all things cars like ramps, tracks, etc... that's probably not hugely helpful.
However, B loves to play memory and the babysitter we used a few weeks ago played a version of Candyland (she let him decide the rules). When we play memory, we just use 12 or 18 cards (so 6 or 9 matches) instead of all 72 cards. He also loves to play on the computer, so anything electronic might be good.
ETA: He also loves to play with a golf set- it kind of reminds me of this set. https://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Plastic-Golf-Set-Rolling/dp/B001W8OMDK/ref=sr_1_13?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1308696302&sr=1-13
We have Elefun, which she loves. I was looking at Gator Golf, Memory, and Candyland. Maybe Cootie, and the flies in the pants game too. I am trying to avoid the computer for now. She gets all obsessed when we let her on the laptops, and I see lots of tantrums when we are doing our business stuff and she can't play on them. I think the iXL might be an alternative to that, so she can't take over one of the laptops. LOL.
Yeah, we have an extra laptop and we set time limits. We set a timer for 15 minutes and then give a 5 minute warning. Then he has 5 more minutes... it usually works because of the warning part. If it wasn't for that, it would be all out tantrums. We still have a few, but it seems to soften it.
All things sports...but if she's a girly girl that may not work
He got a Mobigo a few months ago that he really likes playing with. And he's also got Alphie, it keeps him pretty entertained. For his b-day we're going to try some games as well, possibly Elefun, Hungry Hungry Hippo, Hi Ho Cherry-O, Don't Break the Ice...but some of those might not work if she's putting stuff in her mouth.
Audrey is obessed with her train table and playing with her Cars cars. MATER!
Not that she is 3 or 4.
Do you have any piggy paints? Audrey loves to let me do her nails now.
I use the quick dry stuff from Sally Hansen. Cheaper, and dries in a minute. DD loves it.
For games DS has Hungry Hippos, Mickey Yahtzee, Hi-Ho Cherrio, Candyland, Go-fish, and Memory. I taught him how to play "slap goofy" instead of slap jack with a deck of Mickey Mouse cards intended for Snap.
He also loves jigsaw puzzles, playdoh, anything involving painting, Color Wonder, and his matchbox cars/monster trucks. Anything he can play pretend with is a big hit too.
Jennie
Play-Doh, board games (Hi Ho Cherrio's a popular one, although she plays it her own way), puzzles, Fisher Price Snap N Style doll, her musical instruments, especially her cat keyboard from Target and her xylophone. I may add to this later since I'm not at home to look at our toys right now, but those are the favorites off the top of my head.
ETA: Duplos are good. Her magnetic fishing puzzle. She likes her Scribble and Write too. And she can play for a while with markers, safety scissors and a glue stick.
Photo by Melissa Nicole Photography
Adding to the list... keyboard (kidjamz?), paperjamz guitar, microphone, anything musical.
Also, B got a LARGE set of Lincoln Logs for Easter from my dad. He loves those too.
Jennie
Katie is loving all of her art stuff right now. We actually bought her some trace alphabet letters for her to begin to learn to write the letters. Also a big book of worksheets geared towards 3-4 year old. We call it her homework and she does a worksheet every night before dinner. I picked these up at a Parent Teacher store.
For games, we enjoy, memory, candyland, hungry hungry hippos, and elefun.
She is really into dancing and singing, so we have a microphone and CD player that is just for her.
Also, she loves her V-Tech kid tough camera. It's the camera she recieved from the twins when they were born. It's been great. She even left it outside in the rain and it still works. It's cute to see the pictures in her eyes.
Katie: 1/16/08 2lbs. 15oz.
Abby & Emily: 12/31/10 6lbs. 2oz. & 5lbs. 7oz.
Yes, this too.
Ava likes Barbies but is getting more into them now at (almost) 4 so I think you can wait on them at 3. For her birthday last year, she got one of those FP Snap and Style dolls and always called it her Barbie, but it was nice that the pieces were bigger and the clothes just snapped on and off. I had actually planned on getting another one at Christmas, but it was so hard to find them in stock at that time.
Hmm, what else? She really likes building sets. We have a FP Little People one, and she plays with it constantly, so I think we'll put Legos Duplo sets on her birthday wish list. She loves her train set. We have a small one by Imaginarium that is girlified with pink and purple trains, a fountain, ice cream shop, etc. It's cute and they love it. I was so happy because I didn't know if they would be as into it as they are the train tables (they always play with them at Totter's Otterville, TRU, etc.) but we didn't have the room for something like that. She still loves arts and crafts more than anything else, so I always restock our supply when it comes time to give gifts. She still likes puzzles but is doing jigsaw puzzles now rather than the peg puzzles. She does likes board games, and although she didn't get them right at 3, it's a learning process so I would get some of them. Memory, for instance, she couldn't play the way it is supposed to be played but we used it as a matching game instead, so she was still having fun with it and learning something. She got some of those 'Ready to Read' level 1 books for her birthday last year and likes those.
Last year at Christmas, we considered the iXL but I didn't feel like she would really "get" the computer games yet. We haven't really introduced computer/video games anyway and I don't know when we will. That being said, she entertained herself with the demo at TRU for a good 20 minutes. However, she was more interested in the art and music parts of it, and I didn't feel like we needed the iXL for that. She can draw on regular paper, and we have the FP Kid Tough Music Player for downloading music (which we like--we use it in their bedroom while they're going to sleep, in their playroom, they love the microphone, etc). Whenever I decide to introduce something like this, the iXL is the one I plan to get though.
Forgot this one. Charlotte got this for Christmas last year and both girls play with it a lot. They have the cute drum set that is the same brand and right next to it on the shelf at Target.
I'm glad to hear you say you like this. Ellie is either getting it for Christmas or as a gift from her new sibling when he or she arrives. She's a nut for music and performing.
Photo by Melissa Nicole Photography