Q: Do you have any toy suggestions for the baby and toddler in my life? I have 2 girls, 8 months and 26 months, and they're just starting to really interact. Any good toys to foster that relationship early on? I think we're going to hold off another year for the big doll house stuff.
A: It's so fun when your Bunch begins to interact and eventually begins to play together. You're probably still a ways away from hours of play (where you can sit and read a magazine), but that time will come soon enough. For right now, your main thing will be teaching your kids how to play as nicely as possible. In another few months when your baby becomes a toddler the dynamics will change, dramatically. This is when sharing and taking turns kicks into high gear. Or should we say, takes you for a rollercoaster ride.
One of the perks to Baby Bunching is you needing to buy less stuff and that includes toys. Even if your kids are different genders, you do not need doubles of everything and toys in a million different age stages. When buying toys, buy gifts that both children will use/enjoy. That's not to say that we don't indulge in special requests from our (very different) children, but we try to focus on constructive stuff for them to do. Even better if they require interaction between the two of them and even better if said interaction can occur without my assistance --Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, art supplies, puzzles, games, etc.
But at this age when your kids are still small, I don't think a specific toy really matters. Even a book is great especially if your two-year old can "read" to your baby. If your oldest enjoys art, legos, trains, dolls or even a ball go with that. Your baby will follow suit because she just wants to be like the big kids. It was until our kids were about 3 that we really started to see preferance for actual toys and even then sometimes our younger ones just want to play with the older ones. (This is still the case.)
Our suggestion is if you want to buy toys, find things that can grow with your kids through different stages, like Fisher Price Little People sets or even some ride-on toys, and then focus more on the interaction and teaching your children the sharing concept once your youngest hits about a year.
Both of my babies (27 months and 11 months) love the Fisher Price Little Zoomers Raceway. It's a great toy that they both sit around and play next to each other with.
Posted by: Kristy | Mar 10, 2011 at 09:06 AM
Fisher Price is great, isnt it?
Posted by: Baby Bunching | Mar 10, 2011 at 11:25 AM