toys for 18mo...little touch leappad?

[skohng]

hi all,

my ds is getting bored with all his toys. i've been thinking of getting him the leapfrog little touch leappad. i see a lot of mixed reviews on this, though. he loves reading and is not too rough on his books. coulod this work for us?

what other toys would be entertaining for him? (as i foresee long winter days ahead of us.,...)

thanks!
selena

[JBaxter]

We didnt have much luck with the little touch leappad. Books are one thing Nathan isnt rough with but he loved to take out the cartrige and the book. He saw me put them in and he was forever pulling them out.

Fun toys
Magna doodle
Aqua doodle
play doh
wooden blocks/ nesting blocks
Leapfrog drum, tad, discovery ball and frige magnets
small pop up tent or tunnel
little people garage or bus
wooden shape and animal puzzles ( the bigger ones)
we play ball toss to a clothes basket alot LOL.
Nathan also loves his little vacuum and broom ( he helps me clean)

[o_mom]

We have this (hand-me-down) and DS was OK with it around 2, but really didn't get it until sometime after that. I probably wouldn't buy it, but free it did OK. I am really, really sick of "The Little Engine that Could", though. We have 4 books and that is the only one he wants.

[jennifer_r]

We received it as a gift - our friends said so she'll grow up smart - I have alot of comments about that statement but I'll hold back. I can't stand the thing. We tried a few times and DD couldn't get it to work. The "buttons" are really hard to press (even for an adult) I even bought another book to go with it. I also don't like the premise of the toy of how it's supposed to turn them onto reading - what's wrong with reading books to them???? If anything, it's soooo different from real books that I would think it would do the opposite. So, off my soapbox now.

How about:
blocks (all types - big foam blocks that you could build a tower and that he could jump onto and knock over, ABC blocks, etc.)
cars (safe ones for his age ofcourse)
FP LP set - DD has the house that she loves. maybe the garage?
a parachute
bubbles

Have you introduced him to crayons yet? I use the 3M post-it doodle/scratch pads - they're about the size of construction paper and they stick to the surface so the paper doesn't move around when they are drawing.

DD played (and still plays) with this one ALOT:
http://www.oompa.com/cgi-bin/item/HA1132?oompaItem=Haba_Ball%20Track%20Roll%20'N%20R oll%20'N%20Roll
We received this as a gift (at 16 months) and I was surprised as to how MUCH she loved it. It's actually a big hit with all the kids that come over. It took her about 2 minutes to figure out how to "work" it.

HTH

Jennifer

Mom to:
Christopher 12/29/89
Adelaide 8/23/04
Bronwyn 11/9/05

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_garnet_6m.gif[/img][/url]

[Canna]

My DD is 20 months. I absolutely HATE all things Leap Frog (they are pretty much banned in our home) but here's what she has been playing with lately.

Stackers of various kinds. Especially a wooden stacker with rings that go on poles of different heights.

Little People Sets. She likes the Farm, the Garage, House.

Blocks (needs me to lpay with her)

Small Set of Wooden Trains

Toy pots/pans and food

Soft animals, plastic dinosaurs

Wooden puzzles

Set of counting bears - these are a choking hazard I'm sure, it's 50 plastic bears in 5 colors with matching colored cups. I keep them up high and monitor her while she plays with them, but she LOVES them and asks for them.

She's starting to like coloring books more and loves regular books. Hope that helps!

[MarisaSF]

Another vote for "I hate this toy." ;)
I wouldn't waste your money.
Legos, trains, play pots and pans, art/drawing supplies (including aqua/magna doodle) are currently getting the most use here (at age 2, but they've been popular since about 18 months).

[skohng]

wow! good thing i checked here first! if there's anyone here who DOES like the leappad let me know so i can weigh the advice. otherwise looks like it's not worth the $!

my mom wanted to get ds those huge cardboard blocks made to looks like bricks. i refuse picking up those monstrous things around our apartment... but now that i think about it, he may love those!

thanks for all the advice, everyone.

[oliviasmomma]

DD has the LT leappad--she is 17 mo and got it for CHristmas las year. In the last month DD has started to play with it more, but I still give it a thumbs down. First off, the book that came with ours (One bear in the bedroom) is sucky as far as a story is concerned. It is like one of those badly written children's books--except this one has annoying sounds and cartoon illustrations to go with it. I like that the pages feel like regular book pages but are indestructible--I wish more book makers used that material for toddler books because there is a big sensory difference between real pages and board books, IMO. Basically once a day or so, DD will find it, turn it on and walk away--so it just plays this very quiet and plinky music int he background. Occasionally she will turn to her favorite page and press the rubber ducky over and over and over. Then she flips the pages and crawls on top which creates a very interesting set of noises.

We are stuck with it though, because it was the ONE gift I let DH pick out for her. If I were you, I wouldn't let it in the house!

Thanks for the other ideas, PP's I was starting to run out of good ones since DD is also getting bored with everything.

[o_mom]

A note on the blocks... we have a set of homemade "building blocks". Basically I saved boxes and used duct tape around them to keep them shut and they build with them. We have a bunch of beer boxes (12 pack), some diaper boxes and oatmeal containers. I just got a roll of black tape for around $3.50 and that was it. DH, of course, was more than willing to supply the beer boxes ;-).

[newnana]

all the aquadoodle/magnadoodle things I've seen say they are for ages 3 and up. Do you have a different one that isn't or do you just really supervise your DC when they are playing with them? I'm hoping to stock up on some 18 month toys for Christmas, so thanks for this thread!
Michelle

[katydid1971]

I was wondering the same thing about the aqua/magna doodles. At what age should they start to play with it?

[skohng]

i forgot to mention that my friend's ds has a little touch leappad that isn't for books -- it comes with planes, trains, and automobile shapes that make a sound when you insert it into its shape (looks like a puzzle). My ds LOVED it when we went there. any thoughts?

hm, are there little parts for the magna/aquadoodle? btw I saw aquadoodles at Costco a couple months ago for about $5 cheaper than target! I think i'll take a trip there soon!

I agree about the books, oliviasmom. they look well-made but seem boring/annoying like no other.

o_mom, i bet those beer boxes make for interesting playtime pics! ;)

[MarisaSF]

I guess the "pens" could be choking hazards?
Our magnadoodle is the travel version (MagnaPro, I think it is called). The "pen" is attached by a string, so I never worried about DD playing with that unsupervised. She's been using it in a rear-facing carseat for many months.

We don't have the Aquadoodle mat. We have the Travel aquadoodle board. The "pen" is fairly large and hard to take apart. I guess it depends on how you think your individual kid would do with it. An alternative idea is to give kiddo a little plate of water to dip his/her fingers into to "fingerpaint."

[kali]

We actually love all things LeapFrog. DS knows his ABCs and the sound every letter makes, *and* is starting to sound out very simple words like his name; we totally credit Fridge Phonics, Phonics Railroad, and the Letter Factory DVD. A friend of mine who has a Ph.D. in education raves about how much their 5-year old has learned from both the LittleTouch and regular LeapPads.

That said, the LeapFrog toys do have a few drawbacks. The audio tends to be repetetive and annoyingly catchy (of course, this is also what makes it perfect for teaching toddlers). The electronics can be unreliable (although I've found each unit either works or it doesn't--we haven't had a functioning one break). And, the age guidelines are off. The LittleTouch is supposed to be for ages 6-36 months, but DS is only now figuring out how it works and getting into it. Meanwhile, Fridge Phonics is for ages 2 and up, but he's been playing with it since the age of 18 months.

Hope this helps someone!

Kali,
Mom to Sammy, born 7/16/04

[JBaxter]

Nathan got a magnadoodle for you 2nd bday. The pen is attached and it did have 3 shape magnets ( to large to be swallowed). He loves his.

Aquadoodle has new travel mats also. They are about 5x7 cards with a maker you fill w/ water. The water makes the picture come up on the card.

[Moneypenny]

I guess she's the only one! She really started getting it around 18 months and she still plays with it every day, usually for at least 20 minutes at a time. Most of her friends in playgroup also have one and it seems to be pretty popular.

She has yet to really get into the magnadoodle or aquadoodle.

Susan
mama to my cutie pie, Avery
http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif[/img][/url]

[irene12]

My DS loves his little touch leappad. He's has several books, but seems to like the book that came with the leappad the most--One Bear in the Bedroom. He received it as a gift but I would recommend it. JMHO.

Irene