Toddler gifts that encourage activity

[Fivefootoffun]

Have a 3.9 year old who is short for her age (90cm) - she can’t reach the pedals on her trike and is quite a ‘scaredy cat’ so won’t contemplate a balance bike.

She loves her friends mini trampoline but DH dead against them due to potential injury.

Any ideas for Santa presents that would keep her active. She’s gotten really sedentary over lockdown with no soft plays etc (still not open here) so would love things to get her back on her feet. Her little brother has some soft play indoor pieces which she enjoys using.

Have ordered a scooter already.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have.

@ritzbiscuits - these are fab, thank so much for the links.
@Bellesavage - your totally right, I probably do need to be ALOT more persistent! Balance bikes definitely
seem to be getting the vote.
@SinkGirl - thank you -the playroom is already so tight for space but I’m going to look here about a fold away one. Thanks a lot, much appreciated!

It took a little while for DS to get into his balance bike, but once he did he was off! Get a nice light one as that will be much easier to balance for her. We watched a lot of YouTube vids of kids on their balance bikes too to encourage him to have a go. Now at 4 he has a pedal bike but isn’t quite ready to take the plunge yet. But we got a tag along bike for the school run and he adores it.

This one does fold - pretty big when folded still but at least we can put it out of the way!

Those of you who have the pickler triangle (or similar), how do you find them?

I want to buy one for DS's birthday but DH thinks it will just lead to injury. It's not his birthday til March so got ages to try and convince DH it's a good idea

Don't mean to hijack the thread

I got a pikler triangle for my son when he was 1, he is now 2.5. He is a very confident climber and regularly perched on top to eat a snack or play with another toy. It’s one of the best toys we got. He has a wobbel board but has no interest except to occasionally use it as a tunnel for his cars

@Emiliemoo I've got the triclimb which I bought because it's got a high weight limit and it feels sturdy. It can fold up do would be similar to my clothes airer but it tends to just live unfolded. DS loves it and my friends 5and 7 year olds like to play about on it.

Would your dh consider a bigger trampoline. I agree with him on the safety issues of mini trampolines. And in a nazi about closing the zip, only having one at a time and absolutely no stunts. But I wouldn’t be without a trampoline now.
Before that, we had a bouncy castle which was also good. Ds was unsteady, but also sensory seeking. We found one with inflatable sides and a tiny opening we could pad out.
Some of ds’ balance issues came from his shoulder stability rather than his feet. We rigged up a pulley and rope with a bucket over the sand tray, and got a small wheelbarrow for the garden too.
When you go for walks take advantage of all the kerbs and low walks you can, and seek out low walls with railings for an extra challenge. Walk on grass too if you can as it’s not as flat and predictable as paths.
One of the best garden “toys” we had were some short, thick, stumpy logs from a tree we cut down. They were used in all sorts of games and made excellent stepping stones. Because they aren’t even and predictable like toys you would buy, they challenge the brain much more. They were a totally accidental find and obviously not much of a Christmas present

@thelegohooverer - that’s incredibly helpful, thanks so much. I’ll put it to him! The other info regarding stability etc is really useful and very much appreciated.