Baby M's Top 5 Toys for Toddlers

By request, here are Baby M's top toys for toddlers.  Baby M is two and half years old.  His interests include trucks, dirt, sticks, trains and dinosaurs.   So these are Baby M's favorite toys.  The ones he continues to play with week after week.  The ones that haven't broken after 2 hours and the ones that I haven't felt compelled to hide for my own sanity.  And, in case you were wondering,  I do not receive any free toys, coupons or any other sort of compensation from anybody.

Step2 Sand and Water Table
Baby M got this sandbox for his first birthday and he continues to play with it daily.  I am amazed at how much time he can spend happily digging, scooping and splashing.  Even better, he is quite content to play alone so that I can get a few things done.  The toy is not perfect; my patio is perpetually covered with sand and I need to re-purchase sand a few times a year.  Also, abandon any hope you have of the sand and water being sides staying separate.  If your child is anything like Baby M you will have 2 sections of muck within minutes of setting it up.  That being said, I highly recommend this toy.  It would be my desert island toy, if desert islands didn't already come with ample amounts of sand and water.




Animal Planet's Big Tub of Dinosaurs
Baby M loves dinosaurs and this set comes with 9 plastic dinosaurs,  a play mat, trees, rocks and volcanoes that you can set up to create a prehistoric world.  Baby M always wants to know the names of the various dinosaurs (actually by now he knows more of them than me!) and I like that this set prints each dinosaur's name on its belly.  Baby M and I set up the volcanoes and have the dinosaurs play hide and seek, look for food, play soccer, etc.  I also enjoy eavesdroping on Baby M when he plays with this toy alone.  His dinosaurs have all kinds of conversations, they usually go something like

T-Rex: Hey!  Are you a hungry, hungry herbivore?
Stegosaurus : Yes, I am
T-Rex: Roar

Crayola Sidewalk Chalk
Baby M likes to draw and I just send him outside with this chalk so he can color all over the driveway to his heart's content.  I like this set from Crayola because the chalk is nice and thick, doesn't break easily and there is a good selection of colors.  If we're feeling like being active we'll draw out a game of hopscotch.  If I think Baby M needs some intellectual stimulation we'll practice letters or draw a rainbow and talk about colors.  Sometimes we just draw squiggles.  I think because we can draw things on such a large scale and because we're doing it while we're outside he finds it more interesting than sitting at the kitchen table with a box of crayons.  (And I don't have to worry about crayon ending up all over my table, walls and hardwood floors)



Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway
So yes, it does seem every little boy loves trains and Thomas in particular.  We never really watched the show, but all it took were a couple Thomas and Friends books and trip to Travel Town to get Baby M on board.  We started with this oval set and then bought a few other pieces (a tunnel, some additional tracks, a Rosie Engine and a singing caboose).  Now our set up is still pretty simple but Baby M is seems happy with it.  I actually wouldn't mind having a few more pieces since I'm the one who usually ends up constructing the track and I'd like a little variety.  Once the track is built, Baby M is content to push the trains around yelling out "Uh oh, Rosie derailed!" every so often.  The wooden pieces are sturdy and go together easily, although I do know some parents who have spent a small fortune building out their sons' collections.


Bristle Blocks
We actually have a 50 piece Bristle Block set by Lakeshore Learning, but I'd love to have a larger set like the one shown here.  Baby M has several building toys that he enjoys playing with and they all have their merits, but the Bristle Blocks are my favorite.  Baby M can put these blocks together without any help from me and because you can connect them on nearly every surface it's easy to build complicated structures.  Baby M builds cars, airplanes, helicopters, robots, etc.  Also, unlike many of the building sets, the blocks do not specify what he is supposed to build, so they encourage his creativity.