Trains for a toddler?

[acmom]

My son, who is 16 months has been playing with the wooden train set at the library and LOVES it. We are thinking of getting him some kind of train for Christmas but are a little overwhelmed by the choices! Any suggestions on what might be a good choice that he could have fun with now, but also continue to use as he gets older?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Wooden trains are choking hazards so I wouldn't get them for a 16mo. I would recommend the FP Geotrax. They take some adult help to build the track layout till closer to 3-4yo but they love dictating layouts, running the trains (they have battery operated and plain trains), and acting like Godzilla and smashing your creations. My Geotrax still get played with by my 9yo and his friends! They have a lot of "wow" factor and have been a hit with ds1, ds2 and their friends and family.

I'd start with this set:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3515905

Beth

[kristac]

sorry double post

[kristac]

Geotrax for sure. Have been a hit here since my almost 7 year old was about that age.

[AlbrightRC]

I'd start small if you decide on geotrax. We bought our son a large set and he got alot handed down from his cousin but they are currently packed up in a box because he would only play with them if someone was playing with him. He's 3 and he'll sit and play for a long time with his wooden trains by himself. It all depends on your son's personality I think.

[Gena]

DS had a Brio My First Railway set when he was toddler. This is a wooden set labeled for ages 18 months and up. He loved it. It was a very nice set and integrated well with the wooden trains he got when he was older. Unfortunately I don't think this set is made anymore, but it may be possible to find it on ebay.

He also had a Little Tikes Fold Up N Go Train (http://www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-Fold-Up-Train/dp/B001GQ1DMQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1318944547&sr=8-4). This was a really cute little train and he enjoyed it very much.

[jammytoast]

I found geotrax too clunky for my kids (not to mention the storage of them). If you're near an ikea, try their wooden train set (cute, cheap and can work with thomas and brio)

otherwise, scour craigslist for wooden thomas. I can't personally see how the engines/cars could be choking hazard. Some of the little trees or the signal post holder, yes, but the big engines? no way.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i second the IKEA train set recommendation. it's only $15.99, and comes with a lot of tracks and a basic train set. we got it for DS when he was around that age. he LOVED it and once we saw how much he liked it, we got him the Thomas set. we just went to IKEA the other day and they had this train set on a table and he was there for half an hour playing on his own. He could have been there all day! :)

i think the IKEA and other track sets said 3+, but i didn't worry about it bc my son has long stopped putting things into his mouth.

if you are really worried about choking hazards you can look into getting a couple of the Thomas wooden Railway Early Engineer sets/trains. I got them on sale at TJMaxx. The trains were like $5.99 or so..and the sets were like $12.99 they are rated 18months and up...a lot chunkier and bigger and easier to use.

[YouAreTheFocus]

My son just turned 2 and we got him this set for his birthday:

http://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Railway-15-piece-Beginners-Circle/dp/B0013W4K50

It is rated 2+ and is really cute! They also have some other pieces that are rated 2+ as well (if you want to add on).

[jgenie]

Wooden trains are choking hazards so I wouldn't get them for a 16mo. I would recommend the FP Geotrax. They take some adult help to build the track layout till closer to 3-4yo but they love dictating layouts, running the trains (they have battery operated and plain trains), and acting like Godzilla and smashing your creations. My Geotrax still get played with by my 9yo and his friends! They have a lot of "wow" factor and have been a hit with ds1, ds2 and their friends and family.

I'd start with this set:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3515905

Beth

We bought this set this past Christmas on the recommendation of the BBB. It was a huge hit. Unfortunately DH didn't think we had enough track to make interesting layouts so a couple of CL purchases later we now have a huge collection. It's a huge hit with DH (DS1 and DS2 also enjoy it quite a bit!) :)

[larig]

I think it just depends on the kid. My kid ignored the geotrax train (I gave them away), but LOVES his Thomas sets. Both have pros and cons.

The geotrax stick together better, but they're harder for little people to snap together. They are very durable, but they take up much more room to store. (I love the xmas one with lights, etc.) I found them hard to find in stores, couldn't find new engines very easily. They have a lot of non-train sets (like pixar cars sets).

The wooden Thomas sets are $$$, but I can walk to a store in our neighborhood and buy more of them. DS knows the characters and likes them. We have a tiny house, and the scale is smaller for the wooden thomas, so that means we can build more intricate layouts with toys that take up less room. (They are also what DS has at preschool to play with). I also am more likely to keep them for DS's kids, because they're wood.

[acmom]

For those of you that went with wooden trains, what age did you start?

[AlbrightRC]

My son was somewhere between 15-18 months when he started playing with the few thomas trains we had. On his second birthday we got him an imaginarium wooden set and it has grown from there. He has gotten more thomas trains and we also now have some wooden chuggington trains that all work togeather very well

[jgenie]

For those of you that went with wooden trains, what age did you start?

DS1 received his first wooden Thomas train the month before he turned two. Almost 2 years later and he still plays with his wooden trains every day. Some of his friends have moved on from Thomas and onto Star Wars and Transformers but DS1 still really enjoys playing with trains. Trains are big interest in our house.

ETA: Thomas trains are expensive but I bought a large portion of our collection at after Christmas sales. DS1 didn't start watching TV until he was close to 3 so I never had a complaint about which trains he had or that he wanted different trains. He is just starting to ask for particular trains and I pick them up as I find them on sale. You can also buy used trains on CL and save quite a bit.

[alirebco]

Ikea train set - we got it around 18 months or so.

[LKMang]

The IKEA train set is a HUGE hit with my DS. He is now almost 3 years old, but we gave it to him last xmas (2 years old). I was thinking about adding a few pieces from thomas or brio to go with it for this xmas. We started with the basic set and I was able to find another set for very cheap from a consignment sale. He just loves it!