Marble Tunnel Toys

[hanaum02]

My husband and I were thinking that some sort of marble run toy would be good as a "big gift" for our 3-year old son. First of all, do you think he is too young for this? Secondly (assuming this is good for his age), what kind do you recommend:
- haba ball track
- quadrilla
- alex toys (http://www.growingtreetoys.com/product/3861) - I thought this was cute, but hadn't heard anything about it
- plastic one instead of wood (http://www.amazon.com/Transparent-Marble-Run-43%252dpc%252e-Set/dp/B00000J4QK/ref=pd_sbs_t_title_1 or any others you might have to suggest)- might be more appropriate for his age??

Thanks for any recommendations!
Michelle
Zach (9/04) and Avery (10/07)

[brittone2]

We have one similar to the one Tedco toys sells as our basic set (found for $1 at a Waldorf school rummage sale, so I didn't debate it much ;) ). We've since added on multiple Haba pieces.

DS is almost 4, and he's been interested in the marble run since prior to turning 3.

Here's my thoughts, fwiw. Expect that he'll need quite a bit of help to build w/ it (Quadrilla might be a little easier, but even then, I think it is supposedly kind of challenging). On the bright side, it is a toy that can really grow w/ them. My son was playing with two 8 year old boys from our neighborhood today at our house, and they *loved* the marble run.

If you are okay with having to set it up for him, and realize even a slight bump will send the block style ones crashing down pretty easily, I think it is a great toy. Some kids don't have the fine motor control or personality to handle that level of frustration. If that's the case, maybe a plastic one that interlocks would be better?

We've had a lot of fun w/ our set in the past year, but it definitely requires parental involvement most of the time in our house.

I think there are some posts about Quadrilla specifically if you want to search the archives. I don't have any first-hand experience w/ it. I think it might be a little easier to set up than the block-style ones, but less flexible in terms of layouts. How easily toppled it is, I have no idea.