NEVE- Question for you

[rrosen]

Neve-
I was very intrigued by your post about a week ago about purchasing toys that would have longevity. I really like this philosophy. My DD turns 1 in early September and I am beginning to think about what I would like to give her (relatives will also be looking for suggestions) My parents have already bought (and put away) a kettler, a wooden rocking horse, and a wooden wagon (can you tell they love to buy for her?) I would love your input (and of course everyone else's) on what other toys would capture her attention, and imagination for years to come. I am tired of the loud, plastic,monstrosities that are taking over my house.

Eagerly awaiting your ideas!
Thanks in advance,

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I'll list some of the things we have and how he is with them.

I have a wooden grocery store and on it are the Melissa and Doug "food" items. There are cartons/containers, fruit veggies, bread. He carries these around often, he has no idea what they are or even "how" to use them but he sure does like carrying them around.

I have a big Mr. Potatoe Head that he has really taken a liking to lately.

By far his favorite toy of the month is his fisher price train set, it is plastic and can be considered big and space taking, BUT it is like a figure eight and I have actually placed the leg of his grocery store within the one of the circles of the figure eight (does that make sense???) so it is kind of contained some within that and not so open out on the floor.

I lucked out and got a nice bookshelf of many squares that has all of his little wooden toys stashed in it.

He also has just become really interested in a HUGE basket of blocks, I have old blocks, new blocks, ugly blocks all blocks in there, he is now building pyramids with the blocks, at 11 months old he crawled around with them in his hands (in other words he has used them).

I have my childhood pots and pans that he also likes to bring down the kettle to from my wooden stove and sink from my childhood and stash blocks in there.

He loves a wooden toy from Tuesday Morning that allows him to bang three balls thru the holes...he has loved this for months, but this week there is a difference in his love of it, he actually tries to put all balls in the house on it and he now carries it around eveywhere balancing the balls on it.

I also just bought him a soft foamy T-ball set at Walgrens drug store, granted it is for 3 and up but he LOVES to hit the ball on it, granted he doesn't hit outwards he hits more downwards but he will literally carry that T-ball stand around chasing Steve while he mows to play...he was so desperate yesterday he approached our neighbor in his yard with it...

He also loves his bucket filled with shells, his sand shovels etc...

I have never missed the leap frog learing table, he has his train table that he uses all of the time to stand up on...and he choses what he wants on there.

RAQUET BALL!!!!! My mom found a blue ball that we think is a raquet ball he loves this ball, granted the dogs help here!!!!!

Tristan also loves (and has since about 7 months old or so) a plastic nice noise cube called the embryonics Mozart Magic Cube...I never would have bought this but he does love it...

ALSO he loves his books...I go to thrift stores and buy "used" ones where he can play with them and go thru them and I am not fretting if he tears part of a page etc...

I'm kind of manic in my spending on toys...I hit thrift stores and buy things that are off the beaten path...but then I also will drop some money on things that really catch my eye.

OH and instruments...he likes his marakas, drum and cymbols...
There is a more "toddler" set that is wooden and has seashell shapes to it that I have really liked, Debbie at Oopsie Daisy sells them, but the ones I have came from Tuesday Morning and are from "First Act", I have seen them at WalMart too.

We also have a cheap ball pit in the shape of a boat...he seemed to love it at first but it took up a lot of room, so I have taken advice here and have put it away but will come back out with it at times...

I have designed a killer puppet theater that I would like my father to make...that is what I drool over the most is a nice puppet theater for him.


I hope that helps...
I'll brain storm some more...
I have not regretted this approach in the least, and It is nice to know that my toy room won't change often over the years.


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

[muskiesusan]

Neve,

I was wondering about your wooden grocery store. Is this something you had made, or bought? If you bought it, where did you find it? I have been looking for a grocery store and cash register to get Nick, but I have only found plastic, which I was trying to avoid.

Thanks for your help!

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01/01
& Alex 04/27/04

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

We bought it as Tuesday Morning...it is wooden but it is not the most sturdy nor the most gorgeous store. It does the job, and it is "nice". It is primary colors and though I didn'thave images of sons play room being primary colors I have noticed that trend in just about everything and now except it.

The food on it makes it look nicer, Tristan does shake it at times thus the food falls off, but that seemed to be a stage at about 14 months or so and he has not done that recently.

The tiny scale and cash resgister are plastic...there are wooden ones out there and I think for Christmas he will get one.

Here is a wooden cash register
http://seriousshopping.shop.com/cc.class/cc?pcd=6930585

Here is my favorite store, but it is not the one we have, ours was pretty inexpensive.
http://www.maukilo.com/224+ErziGroceryStoreM.html

Mine looks more like this one, but really is nowhere in it's price range, and its not as pretty. I figure the food can make it pretty, and we have images of adding a sign to it or something. We thought "The three dog bakery" which is a real bakery for dogs and we have three :)...
http://www.maukilo.com/224+ErziShopS.html

Check out that site though it is GREAT!!!!

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

[rrosen]

Thank you for that list! I love the Melissa and Doug toys but, admit I have been hesitant since so many say ages 3 and up. I assumed they were in some way a choking hazard? I am going to look more closely next time.
I love the idea of some sort of imaginary play set like the store, I was thinking maybe a kitchen?

Thanks again I really appreciate the ideas and do plan on trying to purchase toys for longevity. Now I have to convince my parents to stop buying out the toy store!

[NEVE and TRISTAN]

I don't have parents that buy him anything (except an awesome table and chairs he is getting for Christmas)...so that hasn't been an obstacle for us and can see where that would be for many.

He got one $3 car from Wal Mart and outside of that has no "Walmart" toys and I have only stepped foot into Toys R Us once and that was to see if they had extra balls for his ball pit, I was in and out in 2 minutes. That has helped me keep his toys to the more simple I do think.

Debbie at Oopsie Daisly was offering 25% off of her Melissa Doug toys, I don't know if she still is. If you are interested you might want to call her 9198331383.
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

[egoldber]

Not Neve, but here would be my list of toys that last. I have been pretty good about avoiding plastic monstrosities, and since I have a personal dislike of ANY toy that makes noise or plays music when buttons are pressed, they have been pretty easy for me to resist. If I had to do it all again, I would have virtually NO toys before she was about 9 months old, other than a few simple basic ones.

Here is stuff that we use pretty much every day.

easel and drawing paper
grocery cart and play food
kitchen set with pots&pans and other accesories
baby doll, accessories and doll stroller
dress up clothes
puppets and finger puppets
bubbles
sidewalk chalk
tricycle
balls of all shapes and sizes
building blocks of all shapes and sizes (Megabloks/Duplos for the younger ones and wooden blocks and Legos for older)
plastic figures of people and animals (we have a big bin with all types)
dollhouse
trains and cars
wooden puzzles (various types as they get older)
books (can't have too many, IMO)

Her absolute fav thing to do right now is to play on the deck with a big bucket of water and 2 plastic cups. She will do this for HOURS! I look around at all the toys I have and so much of it is a waste. And the fewer toys she has, the better she plays.

HTH,

[papal]

>>And the fewer toys she has, the better she plays.

YES!! This is SO TRUE. If dd has all her toys spread out around her, she will play with paper or the doorstop.. but if there is just ONE, she will play with it endlessly. I wish i had read you're advice 3 months ago.. she would not have as many toys, and really, she does not have as many as most babies her age... her favorite right now is the wooden multicolored toy that looks like an animal made up of different colored wooden balls held together with some strong string...it had some german name.
My cousin just bought her the Learning Leapfrog thingie (it has books and you press buttons and it makes hideous noises). Seriously, i want to burn it...why does a 8 month old need to know numbers and colors and alphabets.. she has her whole life to learn these things.... and i also do not like the plasticy xylophone thingy that looks like a Tiger.. freaks me out.. and stuffed toys.. creepy (except the pigs).. i wish people would not give her toys... she has no interest in most of them... and Toys R Us has the most awful toys i have seen... blech to the primary colors plasticy thingies.

[muskiesusan]

Thanks Neve for the links. I have not seen the grocery store at our Tuesday Mornings, but I will continue looking!

I imagine our playroom will also look very similiar for years to come. It has a kitchen, workbench with various tools, art area, ride- on vehicles, a train table and a hide out. Basically so he can role play anything that mom and dad are doing, including hiding out! I tend to buy wood stuff when available and not cost prohibitive. We do have our fair share of plastic though and some make noises, which drives me nuts. These tend to be the toys that are gifts and I rotate them in and out of play to ease my pain. I think about getting rid of them, but Nick does enjoy playing with them.

My neighbor just dropped off a ton of toys that her boys have outgrown, and they are huge! Everything is super-size. Even though I appreciate the thought, I will be passing most of them on to others. I just don't have the room to store these things, or can I take all the noise they make!

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01/01
& Alex 04/27/04