ok, ready for new toys

So, I was wondering what toys are good at this stage in the game. Is Mr. Potato Head good for them at this age or are there too many choking hazard pieces? What about those little people and the villages and barns and those kinds of things? I want some things that can keep their interest but also that aren't too expensive although I am thinking of getting them a play kitchen. I'm just so afraid that all the little parts and pieces (the dishes, pretend food, pots and pans) are going to just become more mess. If you have one, how do you maintian some order with it. I just get too tired walking around the entire downstairs picking up toys here and there. I try to make a rule that the toys must stay in the playroom but it's hard because it's actually another living room that's open to everything else. Sometimes they will just pick up something that they want to chew on and walk into another room and then see something they want to touch or explore and drop the toy right there. I know it's normal and I'm not that psycho about it but I would like to try and keep at least a tiny bit of order. Oh, and when do they start learning how to clean up and what did you do to teach it to them? I have some ideas (I was a kindergarten teacher before this) but I'm ALWAYS open to some other ideas. Thanks

 

I don't have a play kitchen yet, but the twins we have playgroup with do at their house and my kids play with it the entire time we are there. I suppose it is about time. We haven't done Mr. Potatoe head yet because I was concerned about the choking too.

Some of our favorites are the pink Fisher Price piggie bank with the big plastic coins - both of my kids love this. Do you have the FP Learning Home? It's a big hit! Also, I bought one of those tunnels (canvas with a "spring" so you can fold it down and store it easily). I bring it out once a day and they will play for at least 30 mintues in that. I put rice in empty water bottles and I swear this is one of their favorite toys (and has been for about 6 months, great for the car too) one of my teacher friends told me to put water, oil, food coloring and glitter in one too...my luck that would end up all over my couch so I haven't done it yet...maybe if I hot glued the lid on or something! We read board books all the time. Oh, and they love the lawn mowers they got for their birthday, we mow everynight before bed!

I bought the little people but my kids don't really know what to do with the sets yet...I just find the little people all over my house. So I put them up for a while, same with the mega blocks.

HTH

 

I would wait until they're closer to 2 before you get the "pretending" toys. Our boys were almost 2 at Christmas and we got them a barn, animals, tractors, etc., and they absolutely love them and play with them all the time. When they were a little younger they loved talking telephones, their "poppers" (that you push), and they started doing easy board puzzles when they were about 18 mos. old. Also about that age they got a book that had magnets in it where you take the magnets out and put them back in by matching them to the pictures. I saw them at Toys R Us once. They still play with that a lot.

 

Little People or Weebles would be good.

We also have the Fisher Price piggy bank and they love it.

 

I think they're a perfect age for the farm and dollhouse. Mine got them for XMas when they just turned one. Shortly after that, they played with them so nicely and appropriately. I would say a bit too young for Mr. Pot Head. Other favorites: Any shape sorters, easy puzzles, music set, pretend phones (not cell phones)-They get a kick out of the long cord, small basketball hoop (I know they're girls, but Ella loves it too!), pretend vacummn and broom. As far as cleaning up, I'm sure you sing the clean up song. Mine also started pretty young with responding to "If you want to X, you have to clean up first."

 

I haven't read the PP's, so this might be repititious, but mine are your age, so I can let you know what they love. They love the little people toys, especially one with Noah's ark now. They love items that seem real, like purses, keys, toy kitchen stuff. i got a toy kitchen free on freecycle.com (a yahoo group) and the food from someone else, too. I keep the food and stuff stowed in used wipes containers. I also have begun to teach cleanup skills. I started with DH handy to help wrangle them, and each night before bed and teeth brushing each of us take a kid and sing the "clean-up" song while we make a game out of putting things into their respective boxes (a toy box, a block box, and a book box)- we basically hand them the toys and they toss it in the box, with TONS of praise each time, like a basketball game. Hope that all helps!

 

if i could recommend one toy it would hands down be the Laugh and Learn home. My kids got it a few months after turning one ( i wasn't sure if i wanted to spend the $$ for it!!) and to this day at 21 months still play with it each and every day. It helps to teach them how to interact with one another; they can each take a side and play peek-a-boo, etc., and have just now started to figure out how to use the house key and realizing that the shapes can go into the door too! I never had to "remove it for a week and re-introduce it again" because they have never gotten sick of it. Well worth the money, and I would recommend it to anyone who asked me for the BEST 1 year old present!!!

 

QUOTE(summerfun @ Aug 24 2007, 03:24 PM) [snapback]379010[/snapback]
We also have the Fisher Price piggy bank and they love it.


Mine too.

DD found our Mr Potato head and LOVES it. She will actually spend 15-20 min sitting there playing with it.

My kids LOVE to push strollers around. DS puts his plastic tools in it and dd puts her dolls or Mr potato head in it.

 

QUOTE(2peasNApod @ Aug 24 2007, 09:05 PM) [snapback]378922[/snapback]
I bought the little people but my kids don't really know what to do with the sets yet...I just find the little people all over my house.


Same here. They enjoy putting the little people into bags and containers and then dumping them out, but that's about it -- no real pretend play yet. However, they do like pushing the L.P. school bus around. And they like pretty much anything that makes noise when you push buttons (although mommy is not as crazy about those!).

Shape sorters and large peg puzzles are good too. There's still the issue about picking up all the pieces, but at least you can store them right in the box or the puzzle.

I agree about it being too early for Mr. Potato Head.

They also love to push a toy stroller around. They put all kinds of things in it -- books, tupperware, sunglasses, CDs, etc., as well as more obvious things like stuffed animals and baby dolls. (They just got into animals and baby dolls a couple of months ago -- I was wondering if they ever would, and then all of a sudden it was like a switch just flipped and they were super into them!)

We need to work on doing cleanup. They do it at daycare (you have to put away whatever toys you get out), but I don't do it at home because it's so much faster for me just to do a big sweep after they go to bed.

 

IMO, they are still too young for the play kitchen, potato head, and little people (based on my own kids' development at that age). Their favorite toys at that stage were:

fisher price incrediblock
fisher price laugh and learn home
baby doll stroller
grocery cart
stacking rings from Ikea
fisher price shape sorter

 

My girls are STILL playing with the Laugh and Learn House! I definitely recommend that one.
They got a play kitchen at 16 mos for Christmas, but it was a few months before they really started playing with it. Ours didn't come with a bunch of accessories, so I got those slowly over time. I keep them all in plastic dollar store baskets next to the kitchen.
They are just now getting into Little People and having the people do things, like get in the swing, push them around in the bus, etc. I would hold off on that for now.
You might want to wait a couple months before getting too much new stuff. They are sort of in an in-between stage. I found rotating the toys once a week to be a good way at keeping things fresh. They were also big into (Ainsley still is) taking things in and out of containers, so stuff like plastic links and tupperware bowls would keep them amused.

 

We have that piggy too and love it. We have a play kitchen and the boys like it. I keep order by having one of those plastic rolling three drawered organizers. Food in one drawer, plates,etc. in another. My boys also are startinmg to love wooden puzzles. I have to help them at this point, but they enjoy it. I also bought some wooden blocks from walmart for like $10.00 and they love sitting with me and building towers and knocking them down.

 

I appreciate all your great suggestions. I guess it would have made more sense for me to mention what I already have. I do have the Laugh and Learn house since they were about 10 months old and have recommended it to many many people myself. It seems that more people posted yesterday and today and of course I went to TRU yesterday before seeing the posts. I bought some more Melissa and Doug puzzles which my girls love. The ones with the big huge knobs on them. I also bought the little people farm and house but you are right, they weren't quite ready for it. But I keep trying with them and they at least like to hear the sounds that it makes and play with the animals (and eat them ). I also bought a pretend vacuum cleaner which they don't seem quite into right now but my girls are terrified of my vacuum so I thought it was worth a shot to try and get them into it with a toy one. We have TONS AND TONS of board books which is their favorite thing right now; reading. So, I'm more than happy to read to them all day. Oh and I also bought them this really cute pink piggy bank toy that you put colored coins into. Know the one I mean? It's awesome and they love that. I met a woman there who had twin fraternal granddaughters so she recommended that one to me. Keep the ideas coming. I'm always looking for more ideas. Thanks!!!

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Aug 29 2007, 11:52 AM) [snapback]385186[/snapback]
They were also big into (Ainsley still is) taking things in and out of containers, so stuff like plastic links and tupperware bowls would keep them amused.


This is my boys' favorite activity...especially poor, little, obsessive-compulsive Joe. :unsure: We keep a pile of junk mail & empty boxes (kid-sized shoe boxes are his favorite) handy for him to sort up and down, in and out. They also love anything that's not meant to be a toy (tupperware, measuring cups, pots, etc). This week's favorite has been a stack of tin, disposable bread pans. I have a set of regular-sized ones and a set of mini-loaf pans. They have had a ball with them.

Love this post, BTW...great to see the suggestions from those who've already tested the good ones.

 

QUOTE(swiertel @ Aug 24 2007, 10:55 PM) [snapback]379034[/snapback]
Mr. Pot Head.



Where do I get him? :rotflmbo: (sorry, I couldn't resist!)

 

QUOTE(veggiehead @ Aug 29 2007, 07:51 PM) [snapback]385578[/snapback]
Where do I get him? :rotflmbo: (sorry, I couldn't resist!)


hahahaha that is too funny. didn't even realize that when i read it. could you imagine what that toy would look like???

 

QUOTE
Mr. Pot Head.


QUOTE(veggiehead @ Aug 29 2007, 07:51 PM) [snapback]385578[/snapback]
Where do I get him? :rotflmbo: (sorry, I couldn't resist!)


I used to date him, I'll bet he hasn't gone far! :laughing:

 

LOL, Mr Pot Head that's funny! I knew that guy once or twice too. Glad I've moved on.
Anyway, getting back to the subject. We just moved and there are a million boxes. The girls entertained themselves the majority of a day or two crawling in and out of a couple of empty cardboard boxes. It's amazing how fast we forget what fun those things are!
This is a good list though, I was thinking of getting these two new things as well. Thanks for starting the thread.