Age and plan garage/road system versus train

[sste]

OK, given all the great deals out there I am planning ahead for DS's holiday gifts.

Next holiday season, DS will be 25 months old. I have already bought a plan toys garage at a huge discount and plan to buy the deluxe road system when I find a good sale. Is he the right age for this stuff at 2 years old?

Also, I was thinking of getting him train stuff as well for the holidays. Or would you wait until 2.5 or 3? What age did your kids get into trains - - I am thinking of the whittle line or the maplelandmark stuff??? I want to make sure I get FULL usage of the train stuff since its pricey . . .

[ett]

I would do wooden trains first and then save the plan city for later. DS1 has been playing with trains since 2 and DS2 has been playing with them since 18 months. Plan City contains small pieces that are choking hazard. People have also had problems with the wheels coming off the cars, also posing a choking hazard. So I think waiting until closer to 3 on that is better, and when they're a little older, they're more into the imaginative play. But the trains will definitely be fun at age 2.

ETA: Okay, I just re-read you post and saw that you were specifically talking about the plan garage so that would be okay for a 2 year old. But if you were going to use it with the plan city cars, then I would make sure that he wasn't mouthing things anymore. Still, if you want full use of the wooden trains, 2 years old is a good time to start or even a little earlier. DS2 just turned 2 and is able to build with the tracks himself now. But before that we would build the tracks for him and then he would push the trains on the tracks.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Most wooden trains contain choking hazards so I wouldn't recommend them till 3+yo. The Geotrax are ok under 3 though and that's why we chose them. We have both kinds of trains and there is no doubt that in our house the Geotrax are more fun. :)

Beth