Questions about Play/ Train Tables

[christymc33]

We have slowly but surely been turning our living room into our dd's play room. DD is currently 6 months, and I am looking to replace our coffee table (wooden, but with glass top) Anticipating standing, propping etc. I have been looking at the train tables and maybe thinking of getting one for the living room. Do you think that would work? Would it look ok in a living room? We do use our coffee table a lot, to set things on such as magazines, food, remotes, etc.
Any advice on what to purchase?? Train table or otherwise?
Thank you!!

[whittyanne]

We got rid of our coffee table when DS started cruising around. We've had nothing for awhile now - it takes some getting used to, but in the end it's fine. Once your DD is up and moving about, you aren't going to have magazines/food/remotes out on top of a table anyway b/c she's just going to get to it. And keep in mind that train tables are still hard (hard if fallen onto by a new walker)

So I would recommend just learing to live w/o one for awhile. We're currently in the market for a train table - but DS is now 20 months and he rolls his trains around on the carpet and needs something!

If you have your heart set on getting a table now, go check them out at TRU. I was just there yesterday and they have a new one on sale - it's nothing special but cheap and might work for you in the interim.

[eb1]

I think some other people here have purchased train tables from Pottery Barn Kids for just your situation and have been happy. The tables are less gaudy than regular train tables and look more like coffee tables.

http://ww1.potterybarnkids.com/sch/kwd.cfm?words=train%20table&src=hme

If you do some searches here, you'll find reviews of the PBK train tables.

[SarahK]

If we do end up getting a train table, it will replace our coffee table in the family room. I think we likely will go with the one from PBK because it looks a bit more like a nice piece of furniture than some of the others I've seen.

Our daughter is 20 months old and we've had our wooden coffeetable since before she was born. She started walking at 9.5 months and definitely has bonked her head on the table a few times because we never took the table out--but for that matter, she also managed to bonk her head on the corner of the wall a few times and there is no way to remove the wall!!

Still, even at 20 months she doesn't have much of an interest in train sets (I keep showing them to her at the Children's Museum though) so we have put off that purchase.

[Mommaof2]

Have you thought about one of the art tables from Pottery Barn? I find that is really useful for crafts, games, etc. Plus they use it for cars, trains, etc. Just a thought.