Ride-on or push toy for 1 year old...

[lmladuke]

DD's 1st b-day is not for 3 months, but I am starting to think about it. I am contemplating some sort of small ride on toy or something you push. DS had a Cozy Coupe - which is good for outdoors, but I was thinking of maybe something smaller for indoors? At 1 year old is she too small for a doll stroller? I was also contemplating the RF walker wagon, is this a better idea?

If anyone has any other ideas, I would love to hear them. Don't really want just a big plastic toy (a la Little Tikes) but I am wondering it those are my only options?

Lori

Mommy to Jonathan Matthew 7/27/01
and Katherine Olivia 7/28/04

http://lilypie.com/baby1/050728/2/13/3/-5/.png

[lpl47]

My son (now almost 19 months) loves his ride-on toys. For those just beginning to ride, one with a push bar in the back is great - that way it serves as both a ride-on and a push toy. Now that he's older and a better rider, he prefers the one that actually allows him to steer the wheels so he can maneuver it around the furniture etc.

Here are some suggestions -

Good for pushing and riding:
http://tinyurl.com/cr7r7 (this one is quite plasticy and does make sounds, but was a favorite with my son around his 1st birthday until it was recently recalled. Hopefully they have fixed the problem and continue to sell it. HE LOVES IT.)

http://tinyurl.com/9a33n

Good steering:
http://tinyurl.com/86kgu (we recently got this as a gift and it's great!)

violette the cow ride on at www.faoschwarz.com

http://tinyurl.com/ah72c

[August Mom]

DS has/had the Chicco Play 'n Ride Train and I really like it. The steering actually moves the wheels (which, although it seems obvious isn't always true). There are no electronic songs, but there are activities. And, the best part according to DS is that the seat lifts up to reveal a storage compartment. DS enjoys putting various treasures in there. If you really want a push walker and your DS isn't very steady on his feet, I wouldn't recommend this. I just don't think it's stable enough for a beginning walker. DS had it when he began to walk and I wound up getting a separate item for that purpose. If you mainly want a ride-on and also like the push feature, then I think this is great. HTH

http://tinyurl.com/7a8wn

[caldreamer]

I just went through this debate for my almost 1 year old DS. We have a small house, so I had to force myself to choose just one, and I just couldn't put one more piece of large molded plastic in my living room. I decided on the RF walker wagon because he can use it now (not quite walking, and this is slow enough for him), he loves taking things in and out of it, and it can double as a shopping cart/ doll stroller/ all the other push around things we don't have room for. The guy in the toy store said customers love their walker wagons for years, whereas the ride-ons are cute, but once they graduate to a trike they get discarded. I went back and forth forever, though. One thing that helped me was to take DS to toy stores and let him try things out, to see what he responded to.