Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Lets talk about toys :)

I would love to hear what kind of toys your kids liked when they were toddlers. I have seen some nice recommendations here and I'm hoping for more.

DD is 24mo and has played with her Dublos everyday since she got them at 7-8mo. She has basic blocks, some animals and few persons so she can build houses for everybody.She recently got Thomas the train sets and those entertain her a while too. DH also likes to build the tracks

Like all the kids here she likes books and has lot of them. Now her favorite is "The Big Book of Things That Go" and she seems to be more interested in factual books than stories but does enjoy both of them.

She also has a play kitchen, doll stuff and tiny table with 2 chars ($20 from Ikea) which are used daily for pretend play and "art". She has two character 9 piece jigsaw puzzles from Target but those are getting too simple for her.

She has tons of other toys but hardy uses them and I'm trying not to make same mistakes again. Typical toys don't seem to work well here.

I like to order books and toys from Amazon as usually the prices are bit cheaper, they have free shipping and I do not need to leave home. Yesterday I ordered Melissa and doug puzzles (12, 24 and 30 pieces), abacus, 100 wood blocks, Lacing beads, See and Spell puzzle, Big Book of Bugs & Big Book of Animals and Magic School Bus book & DVD. I think she will like these, some of them might be too mature although you never know with kids.

Hi- my DS is 23 mos, and I see he goes through toys quickly- once they are mastered he's on to the next big thing. I've stopped reading the age recs on toys as he's preferring things geared to a 3 year old.
One of my friends with 3 gifted kids lives in an area with a "toy library". So, you can check out toys for a month, then rotate them out and get some new ones. I think it's a brilliant idea, and if there is something that your LO really latches onto, then you can invest $ into it.
I look for toys that are multifunctional- not one dimensional. Lots of pretend play toys- plus, I let him use my "grownup" tools with supervision. So we spend a lot of time "playing" in the kitchen. He gets frustrated at times with the smaller toy renditions of things. For example- he LOVES my food processor and has helped me with it since he was 11 mos. I've unplugged it and given him plastic play food to work with- that held his attention for at least 20 mins! (Great for my superbusy, spirited LO).
Also, never underestimate the value of a huge cardboard box, crayons, glue, and stickers. For my mechanical guy, I cut windows/doors, and he uses his play screwdriver, bolts, nuts, hammer and nails to "fix" the house. I had lots of fun drawing curtains on the inside of our box house.
Yes, books galore, we even indulge in an educational video or whimsical movie every now and then.

We're not a big toy family. DD3 has soooo many toys (pretty much all from Granny), and she really only plays with the blocks, the dolls, the puzzles (occasionally), and the play food (which is mostly imaginary). And of course art supplies. And books, books, books. Oh, and a few simple musical instruments.

I am actually very, very often on the verge of giving all her toys away. I am so tired of seeing them all just sitting there taking up space. So my advice is to stick to the basics. Often a stick and a bunch of leaves is the best toy a kid can have.

We have gotten lots and lots of use out of our Little People sets. DD2.75 plays with them daily and my older boys (5 and 7) still play with them.

The boys were never particularly fond of it, but DD loves the Magna Doodle.

DD also loves to string beads, the tiny choking-hazard ones. I give her a plastic needle (I think its called a tapestry needle) and a very long piece of yarn with a big knot at the end and she will string beads for 45min!

She adores stickers and paper, I buy the stickers in the 500 pack sheets and hand them to her with the paper. She loves it even more if I give her markers, crayons and colored pencils, too. Then, if I give her a pair of scissors after the stickers have lost their appeal, she'll sit there for another 20min cutting the paper.

my little guy LOVED any and all things Playmobile....they are honestly the only toys that have gone on and on and on for years. As he got older, his play with them changed...he would do typical play when he was a toddler with them and now that he is 6 I see him putting on huge play scenarios with them...I remember last year he had out his cargo ship and other pieces and re-enacted the Titanic crashing into an iceburg with the Carpathia coming for help....they are really timeless!

The toy library would be a great idea, I don't think there is anything like that here.

I should definitely bring DD some cardboard boxes from work occasionally, she would love to have tools too. I was thinking of getting her some kind of toolbox, she has been fixing her dolls stroller for a while.

I actually packed most of the toys away and then every now and then give her a box to go trough. She likes to look at them if they have been gone a while but does not really play with them.

We have magna-doodle too, DD has been using it since 9-10mo. Ours is small so we can take it to restaurants too.

I used to play with Playmobiles as a kid, too bad they are all at my parents house on a different continent.

My DH bought a tool box with real tools for DD3.5 -- she hastily rejects a toy that's not the real thing -- and she helps him do jobs around the house. Could be good for "fixing" strollers and other toys your child may have.
I recently purged our home of unused toys and I am trying stick to the basics. Little People are a big hit. Bristle blocks, Duplos, Tinker Toys (a big big hit), baby doll with stroller, blocks, basic art supplies, matchbox cars and playdoh. The play kitchen gets a lot of action, too.

OOOh LOVE playmobil toys too!
Yes, we recently had a garage sale and donated what was not bought.
I'd forgotten about bristle blocks- that's a great idea. We do a lot of pretend play outdoors, too. Dump trucks, cars, snow forts in the winter, and always play "store" where DS requests two dollars for any item... LOL.

I have had 37 pre school aged children in the last 7 years. The most successful toy in our household by far with every youngster that has come through is the Thomas the Train/Imaginarium railroad with the wooden track. We have a huge plastic tote with every imaginable tunnel and bridge. We have the roundhouse, the fuel house. All told there are several hundred pieces. Girls and boys, doesn't seem to matter.

Thank you everybody, great suggestions. What are bristle blocks, tinker toys and imaginarium railroad?

Could anybody recommend magnetic blocks (or something else that is different than legos and wooden blocks)?