I've spent hours contemplating toys for this girl!!!

[etwahl]

i don't know why toys gets me every time. i think because our local toy selection is appalling. but i go through this every couple months, never knowing what to get her! and always feeling like she's seriously lacking in the toy department. how do you know what the "right" toys are? i'm starting to overthink this i think and drive myself a little nutso. i just don't know what the right toys are!!! i actually did make myself a list from all the first birthday threads, then went to a toys r us when we were out of town and was disappointed in the selection. then i spent hours pouring over various web sites and still haven't placed an order. what's wrong with me? i have no problem buying her clothes. she's a well clothed little girl, but toys have me baffled most of the time. AAGGHHH!!!


Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[cchavez]

What toys are you considering??? I feel Diego needs some new toys too! I went into our Little Tykes store looking for the garden (discontinued) and was not impressed with the kitchen or workshop......

Tomorrow I am going to a local toy shop that has some neat toys but I think what is keeping me from buying is that he b-day is less than 2 months away so I know he will get new toys then.

Oh, and there are some HUGE childrens consignment sales coming up in the next few wkends so I am hoping to get some good toys there.....

[jubilee]

I do the exact same thing!! LOL... I think the thing that brings us all together is the "anal" over-researching of everything. Logan's birthday is a month away and I only plan to buy a few toys but you'd think I was planning a major event with all the pouring over various web sites that I've done!! I think I've decided on the Radio Flyer push wagon #12, a shape sorter, a little people set, and a beach ball. He doesn't even really play with toys much, just focuses on cruising and crawling! Honestly he's happy with empty cereal boxes or a piece of paper, why do I obsess with his toys??

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

How funny...because I want to come visit you and am dying to hit that toy store in the charming "down town" I loved that place!!!! I have only walked into a TRU ONCE since having Tristan (that inlcudes during pregnancy too) and I forgot the reason but it was like 5 minutes and walked out empty handed. I like the charming boutiques like the one you have...

I don't have any advice because I've posted several times the toys that T seems to like and nothing has really changed on our end, in all honesty he is most amused by regular house hold items...It might be a good thing that the toys aren't really grabbing you you can stash that money away for toys down the road that she will really want. Most of Tristan's "toys" now are for older kids and he just finds a way to enjoy them thought not really using them appropriatly. For instance his wood food...he isn't using it like "food" to play but he loves to crawl across the room with it...

I'll help you if you want when I am there...
Neve
http://home.nc.rr.com/ourbabytristan
AKA "mama2be"-forgot password
and Baby Boy Tristan born @UNC
Feb 25, 2003
Brother to 3 pups "gees" and 2 kitties

[heidi_timms]

If you have Target, I highly recommend the Parents Magazine toys. They have all kinds of cool toys. Our favorite is the drum with instruments inside the drum. All of the instruments are shaped like bugs. My DD loves the drumsticks!

http://store.yahoo.com/babyride/pm9137t2.html

Another toy I plan on getting is one of those poppers that they push. It's a classic toy that has been around for years, but kids seem to love these!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B00000IZOU/qid=1078933988/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-4046933-4945454

HTH!


~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[ppshah]

Tammy,

I agree with Julie. DS is perfectly happy playing with a set of plastic funnels and measuring cups and half empty bottle of water. For christmas gifts we just went to Target in 30 minutes picked out a few things and they were all a big hit.

I did go crazy researching stuff for his birthday gifts. Hopefully he will like them( Although I'm afraid since I took so long to decide very few toys will actually get here on time. LOL!!). I think for me I'm a minimalist so I want to get as few things as possible without him missing out on anything.

[Momof3Labs]

It IS hard because not every baby likes every toy! So you can think all you want about it, but ultimately it is Lauren's decision. And her opinion can change day to day, week to week and month to month.

What toys does she like at home, or at other people's houses? Taking her to test drive toys at a slightly older baby's house is a great way to see what catches her eye.

Try to relax about it, and maybe just buy her one or two toys for her birthday, see how that goes, and then shop some more a few weeks or a month later. I find that works MUCH better than a big toy shopping spree!

[egoldber]

I've got to agree with Lori. Just a couple toys is plenty at that age.

I also buy toys throughout the year (mainly at Target, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Tuesday Morning, consignment stores and sales) and introduce them to her throughout the year. I don't much special shopping for her birthday, I just pull a couple things out of the "toy closet" and wrap them, LOL! I do usually get one "special" toy and that's it.

This way I can buy things as I see them, and I buy ahead. I already have Lincoln Logs (because they had them at Marshalls) but she won't get them for awhile. I also have a bunch of dollhouse furniture that I got at Tuesday Morning that I haven't opened yet because she's not ready for it yet. I get books, puzzles, and other small things as I see them and this way when I really need for her to have a new toy (a particularly fussy, rainy day), I have one ready.

HTH,

[pamela mom of 3]

What is the "right" toy? hmmm..

Probably ones that are well made, that the children enjoy playing with and go along with what you approve of kwim?

I've also learned their will always be hits and misses..some simply do not work out, also i feel us as parents liking a toy will not ensure the child does.

Certain "classic" toys tend to have a broad range of appeal to many parents and kids, you know things like blocks, puzzles, dolls, push toys, swings, slides etc..etc

One way to find out what works is to take your child to a place/store that has many options set up already for children to actually use, you'll learn what appeals and what may not, of coarse through playcenters and other peoples homes you can learn this also.

I also think you have to learn to be flexible, i'm not saying to buys things that go totally against your own personal beliefs..just more the simple i don't like that toy not anything wrong with it but i think it's odd, silly..ugly lol whatever, sometimes these things can surprise us.

For instance and sorry i know this is an "older child's" toy but...ELLO, my eldest wanted some for xmas last year, i thought it was kinda odd..um ok dumb ;) all these silly little pieces that i could picture ending up in my youngests mouth and up my vac but they were really on the whole "ok" so she got 2 smaller sets for xmas from DH & I, turns out they are really great toys, and are very helpful in the creative front..you should see the things my girls make, i now like them so much and the type of play they have brought forth my dd will be getting 2 larger sets for her birthday this weekend...i suppose my point is again you learn what we may like may not always be what our children like lol...flexible that gumby way seems to be a huge part in being a parent.

Sorry i have rambled on way to much here, my best advice is don't sweat the small stuff...follow your little ones lead in what appeals..give a few things a try and remember the worst that can happen is the toy doesn't work out & gets returned or sold lol :D



~Pamela Mom Of 3

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blobflower.gif

[etwahl]

actually neve, you're right about that little boutique toy store. i do go there, but sometimes when i'm complaining i forget about it!

i didn't like TRU either. not at all in fact!

i think this is more "my issue" than lauren's. she has toys, but because we have them stashed all over the house (we have little toy baskets - one in the bedroom, one in the kitchen, one in our office) and then we have the playroom. so i think that I think we don't have toys because they're all over the place! also, i think i'm just a bit crazy sometimes, and i think it's this research side of me! so that's probably the problem :)

neve, i will have to come to your house one day and have lauren play with tristan's toys. that will probably give me some ideas too!

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[vikivoly]

Tammy I just wanted to say that sometimes you crack me up! I think we're a lot alike (actually I think a lot of us on this board are this way)! You're always posting questions that I could write myself, but I can't seem to get my point across as good as you do.

Any how, I think the others are probably right. I'm sure your DD has plenty of toys that she's happy with. At that age they tend not to get attached to one toy. My DD goes from toy to toy and plays with almost everything she has. She does have a few favorites, but sometimes I think they're just my favorites so I enjoy watching her play with those most! :)

FWIW, I agree with someone else who posted about the Parents toys at Target. DD seems to like them, but more importantly I do too! lol

[etwahl]

oh good, so you're laughing with me, not at me huh?! i really think that in "reality" this toy thing is not an issue. but i think i make it an issue when i get "bored" or when i don't have anything else at the moment to research. e.g. i just got my new diaper bag i was obsessing about, so now i need a new thing to obsess about. crazy huh? i've always been this obsessive though - even before lauren. before her, it was about which camera to buy, which tv to buy, which car to buy....notice a pattern? when it comes to buying stuff, i research each item to death, and spend way too much time trying to get the best price. to the point where it drives me batty! i wish i could just relax a little :) i think it was something i was born with though, ugh!!!

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[vikivoly]

Are you talking about yourself or me? :) It sounds like you either start on baby #2 or build a house! We chose to build a house, but #2 decided to come any way! Seriously though, after we built our house I did relax a bit when it came to making purchases. There were just too many decisions to make.