Toy chest -- baby toys

[NancyB]

Does anyone have any good ideas for a toy chest that is safe for kids

Thanks Nancy

[brubeck]

I use a plastic laundry basket in the primary play area. It's open so my children won't get locked inside, and sometimes my daughter likes to dump out the toys and just play in the basket.

For more long-term storage I use those plastic Rubbermaid bins with lids. Even if my kids got into those they could not get inside and put the lid back on, so I feel that they are safe.

Of course neither of these options is super attractive, but they are cheap and they work.

[egoldber]

I have several of these around the house:

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?PRODID=62087&CATID=62568

I like them because they are soft sided, so when she was younger, Sarah could easily get to the contents inside.

HTH,

[nohomama]

If you're looking for a traditional toy chest have a look at this one.

http://www.babystyle.com/common/dProductFrame.asp?DepartmentID=4&CategoryID=32&SubCategoryID=490&ClassID=531

It's manufactured by Generation 2 Worldwide/Child Designs, comes in either a natural or cherry finish, and has a slamproof hinge. You can get if from www.babystyle.com for $78 (Right now they have free shipping on orders over $75 until 6/22. The code is "summership" ) or you can go to www.childesigns.com and get a factory second for $42.

We've had this toy chest since Lola was 4-5 months old and I bought it because I didn't want to have to see her toys. Of course, as we've accumulated more of them they don't all fit anymore and I've purchased a bunch of relatively inexpensive seagrass baskets from Ten Thousand Villages for the overflow. At any rate, Lola is now of an age when she can open and close the toy chest by herself and with the hinge, I really have no worries about her fingers getting crushed. You can open the lid halfway and it just stays put. Slamproof hinges are a fabulous invention.

[carolcarpenter]

Just wanted to make a correction. The web site referenced above is www.childesigns.com
Here's the URL that leads directly to the $42 toy box:
http://search.childesigns.com/garage/detail.asp?ID=23

Thanks nohomama for the tip!

[nohomama]

Whoops! Sorry for the screw-up. I went ahead and fixed it in my post.

[blnony]

I posted about this a month or so ago, and there are the cutest wicker toy chests at PBK without tops and it has wheels on one end. I'm doing a terrible job at explaining it, and its not in the catalog but they have them in the stores.
Whenever I get around to it (hopefully soon); I'm going to get the larger one for my DD.
If you're close to a PBK or outlet, you could look at those.
I like the fact that they are big, don't have tops and look really great even in a living room.