Toddler toys

kleigh926 · July 2014

I feel like the majority of my posts are boring parenting questions, because I'm a FTM who worries too much. Sorry :-/

I know that it's normal toddler behavior to ignore toys and just want to get into everything else. My concern is that I wonder if DD is bored with the toys she has and if we need to get her some more age-appropriate toys... like maybe the stuff she has is geared towards younger babies. I'm fairly certain she would ignore any new toys after about 5 minutes as well, which is why I'm hesitant to buy her anything new (plus, we are really limited for space). Examples of toys she has: stacking cups, simple puzzles, baby dolls/stuffed animals, all different sorts of balls (including one that says numbers and letters), a Little People play set, the V-tech walker, a Noah's Ark shape sorter, a little piano, play cell phone, old remotes without batteries, tea set, and lots of books, among other things. Outside she has a garden bench/water table, swing, and a soccer ball. She mostly doesn't care about anything but the soccer ball, and usually just wants to walk around and try to run away from me.

I guess what I'm asking is, do those sorts of things sound appropriate for an 18-month old? Are there any toys you would recommend that your kids love? She doesn't seem to be super interested in any of her toys for any length of time. I am probably worried about nothing, because her grandparents have tons of toys as well which I would think are toddler-appropriate, and she doesn't pay much attention to them either (her favorite thing seems to be ripping out every single piece to the play kitchen and dumping them all over the floor at DH's grandma's). It's probably just her age and personality. Share your ideas with me

brachysira · July 2014

My baby loves to run wild too and is not that into new toys very long. Sometimes it seems like she has to warm up to a toy even--she's not into it at first. However, she still plays with her v-tech walker for a few minutes most days, will play with puzzles if I suggest it, does her stacking toy regularly, is still very into stacking cups, plays with the shape sorter for a short while each day if it's out, likes to pretend with the tea set and sometimes dolls on occasion, and will do all kinds of ball things with DH outside. She has some new duplos that stick to a cart that she likes, but does not love. She is not that into her newish water table, although she was for a few days. She still likes to play outside but wants to turn the hose on, put new toys in the sand box, etc. She is now more into "drawing", stickers, etc. than she was. So I think you have what you need. Maybe you should just put a few things away and then get them out or rearrange things.

DublinMama · July 2014

The EI specialist recommended the Playskool farmhouse toy to us. That's great, but she also recommended dry rice and beans in ice cube trays to help with his spoon skills. The farmhouse toy is $35. The rice and beans will cost me $3. Uncle Ben, here we come! Just offering the idea that she can have new things that don't have to be toys.

kleigh926 · July 2014

@DC2London‌, I do try to rotate toys to a certain degree. The same toys are always available to her (I leave her toybox open in her room), but we only bring certain toys out to our living area, and I try to change it up. I was thinking about making play dough too! Do you have a good recipe?

wineandcake · July 2014

DS is very into cars right now. He has regular cars, a wooden horse on wheels, tractors, and even puzzle pieces that are cars/trucks he plays with like they are cars. He's not into stuffed toys at all right now except for his teddy. He plays with books a good chunk of the day.

Honestly, his favorite thing to do is play with the dogs/cats. Feeding them, petting them, trying to get them to play with his toys, and cuddling them. Toys get boring, animals are always fun.

djm31012 · July 2014

Ds loves cars and trains , he loves puzzles and books and he loves to color . He is equally interested in phones , remotes , and Tupperware. I wouldn't worry . DC made a good suggestion of rotating toys so they don't get bored . I would also recc buying something bigger for inside of you can like a kitchen set or play BBQ . Ds loves taking all the pieces out and putting them away .

kleigh926 · July 2014

I'd love to get her a play kitchen for our house, but we simply don't have enough room. It's very cramped already with having to make space for the new baby. My parents are even storing some of our stuff at their house. Small houses suck

tamarar5 · July 2014

I can't agree more on the small house issue!!! But I will say, if I had to sacrifice room for one toy —which I did —the kitchen is the one if do it for. We have a wooden one that Target produced briefly, but I also love the Melissa and Doug one. I dislike the plastic kitchens because they have soooooo many pieces and they are so tiny. But that's my personal point.

Dd for her toy kitchen at 18months, and it's still one of her favorite toys at 7yrs. We've bought different M&D wooden food stuffs and everything for the kitchen gets stored in the kitchen. It's so great. That might be a fun toy for your dd while you are cooking. She can be making dinner for her babies while you are feeding the new baby.

As fast as rotating, it might be worth it to pull some out of her toy box entirely for a couple of weeks. Even if she doesn't play with them daily, even seeing them will make them "old hat.". Removing them from her site entirely might inspire the new feeling again.

Good luck!

holly321 · July 2014

If the kitchen is too big, have you considered a grill? We bought the kids one yesterday and I think they okayed with it for an hour straight.

brachysira · July 2014

We took one of those square cranberry juice bottles and put clothes pins in it. She played with it for about 8 hours over a few days and still likes to get it out once in a while.

kbates85 · July 2014

OK, I've been on a accidental bumpcation but I just wanted to say that LJ loves his little playhut tent. It was like $15. He's not really interested in any of his other toys but he always asks for his tent. The one he has looks just like this

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=33790176&KPID=18174883&mr:trackingCode=9B9B7B56-1EDA-E311-9094-90E2BA285E75&mr:referralID=NA&mr:filter=38524427326&camp=PLAPPC-_-PID18174883&mr:ad=35201299606&mr:device=c&mr:match=&mr:adType=pla&cagpspn=plab_18174883&mr:keyword=

holly321 · July 2014

kbates85 said:

OK, I've been on a accidental bumpcation but I just wanted to say that LJ loves his little playhut tent. It was like $15. He's not really interested in any of his other toys but he always asks for his tent. The one he has looks just like this

https://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=33790176&KPID=18174883&mr:trackingCode=9B9B7B56-1EDA-E311-9094-90E2BA285E75&mr:referralID=NA&mr:filter=38524427326&camp=PLAPPC-_-PID18174883&mr:ad=35201299606&mr:device=c&mr:match=&mr:adType=pla&cagpspn=plab_18174883&mr:keyword=

dd has two tents. She and DS love them, I hide it a lot though. DD makes me get in it all the time, which makes me feel got and smothered. And she gets mad when the dog gets in it and knocks it over. Other than that, the kids play in it all day.

djm31012 · July 2014

kleigh926 said:

I'd love to get her a play kitchen for our house, but we simply don't have enough room. It's very cramped already with having to make space for the new baby. My parents are even storing some of our stuff at their house. Small houses suck

Ahhh forgot about the new baby! I think its much more important to have room for them

wells2010 · July 2014

We love all books (or mommy's magazines). She loves to sit in her little chairs (she has 2 arm chairs and a table/chair set from when I was little. We love to color. Also, I just got her a travel magna doodle, which she is loving. We've got a Vtech alphabet train- but she recently learned that she can be pushed (fast) on it and will sit on it and scream until someone starts pushing. Also, measuring cups, swiffer/broom, re-usable grocery bags (she carries them over her shoulder and puts her toys in them- just like I do with my purse). She has a little kid piano that makes cat noises too that she loves to play. We do puzzles and things too.

We want to get a play kitchen soon. DH wants to wait until we get a new (bigger) house. We can fit it now, but it would definitely seem to overwhelm our living space. Our friends have a kidcraft corner kitchen and it's awesome! DD loved to play with it when we went to visit them.

BabyMayinMarch · July 2014

DS is all about non-toys right now. His favorite thing right now is an old gift wrap cardboard tube. Other toy favorites are wooden stakable pieces, and bouncy balls.

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