HELP! 18mo - 2yr toys/activity ideas & Q. re: toy rotation

[neveragainsept]

Hi ladies,

I'm a SAHM and am struggling to fill the day with DD. We try to do play groups x 2 mornings and she goes to nursery 2 mornings. It's the afternoons 3-7pm I need to fill! Any ideas for new toys (Xmas soon!) and activities for the next 6 months of winter where we may find ourselves indoor more often than not? I don't feel like she has that many toys so I'd love suggestions for interesting toys that might encourage some independent play. She enjoys scribbling with crayons but that can only occupy her for short periods. We read a lot and go for walks in the pram when the weather is fine. DD doesn't walk yet so it limits things like going out in the garden and discussing nature (she's heavy enough that I struggle to carry her for long and I don't want her crawling round the garden - stone not grass).

I'd like a CD to play and sing along to - we've never really done that. Anyone have a good one to suggest?

I really want to ensure I'm giving I her the best opportunities to develop as she does always seem to hit milestones on the very latest end of each range (e.g. walking!).

Also, does anyone do toy rotation? If so, can you tell me a little bit about what you do? We keep all her toys in one place in the lounge and although I don't think she has loads I do wonder if what she has is a bit of a jumble and overfacing?

Thank you!

My DD is slightly older - 23mo - she loves role playing cooking and will do this independently. At the moment she just has a load of wooden fruit and 'borrow' our pots and pans but for her birthday we are investing in a wooden kitchen.

The Happy Land stuff from ELC is a hit in our house - she has the fire station, the fisherman's boat and a family of people of pets. Good for role play and imagination.

She also has a couple of nice latch puzzles by Melissa and Doug which are nice to play with together.

Play dough is popular at the moment too.

And stickers.

We do a little bit of toy rotation - basically all her toys are in a big chest and every week or so I get a different batch out and put them in top of the chest instead. She can still ask for other stuff out of the chest if she particularly wants it though.

In terms of music, I'd really recommend Dan Zanes.

from 18 mo my DDs loved pretend food, with shopping baskets and bags, and a cooker. we didn't have room for a big cooker, so have this little hob - sainsburys do something similar for £15.

A pretend kitchen or pretend kitchen implements are always great. We don't have a kitchen but DD just uses the sofa and pretends to mix things up and make meals, especially if you allow her to use the Playdoh at the same time (finally appreciating the not very nice looking leather sofa I inherited!). She'll do the same in the kitchen, standing on a chair and playing with all the tupperware on the counter.

She's not a huge fan of actual toys at the moment (20m) so the toybox rarely comes out so no need for rotation, but I suppose I do pick out things she probably hasn't played with for a few days.

Cars and the street mat thingy have suddenly become a hit.

And I've started to get her to draw for a lot longer by giving her the Argos catalogue to colour in Also she does this at the table in a booster seat, which seems to keep her concentrating for longer than if she was just lying on the floor colouring.

Thanks ladies - these are great ideas.

The HappyLand stuff sounds ideal so I'll add some of that to my amazon wishlist! Miaow - the London Bus one would be perfect for my DD. She always points out buses now when we see them as they feature quite heavily in quite a few of her books. And Duplo also looks fab.

Miaow - we're headed into month 17 soon. She has cruised round furniture for ages and has been attempting to stand away from furniture for about 2 months. She can still only do it for a second or two before squatting back down to the floor. I just don't think her body is physically ready to hold itself upright on it's own. I know she'll get it soon enough and everyone says life's easier when they're NOT walking but I can't wait until she is!

Notadoctor - thanks for the reminder about the latch puzzle. I already have that bookmarked! It has such great reviews. I'll definitely purchase this for Xmas. I'll check out Dan Zanes!

Just seen the other responses - I love the kitchen idea. I'll have a nosy on eBay and see if I can find one second hand :)

I know the weather isn't great for it but one thing my now 21mo DD has loved for the last six months is her sandpit! It is just a small boat shaped pit with a lid so sand stays dry (and more importantly cat poo free) but she will sit in it for ages pouring sand into different buckets. We do tend to get a bit of sand in the house but it is no biggie to sweep up.

Other than that I agree on the toy kitchen, duplo, cars, drawing and play doh and would add dressing up stuff, doctor's kit and dollies with play pushchair.

Our older DD took ages to learn how to walk - we had a dog which she adored and would follow round the house - she just had no interest in walking on two legs when her best friend walked on four!

I always say the best toys for encouraging a child's development are from www.galttoys.com. They specialise in fun, educational toys and activities and have been a massive hit in our house with both DD's.

Thurlow I love the Argos catalogue idea!

Hello, are you doing 'normal' things too? My young man will spend 10 ,minutes playing with socks from the laundry? Or he loves wiping the floor with a wet wipe.
I don't tend to do many chores when we're together (2 days a week) but he enjoys minmicing.
I'd also recommend colouri g or glitter on sticky backed plastic.

K

My 21m old loves and has done for months -

Duplo
Farm animals
Zoo animals
Drawing
Painting
Stickers
Role play- ikea kitchen
Playdoh
Dolly/pram
Books
Trike

Oh and wet wipes!

ALso try your local toy library?

Happyland definitely. DC loved it from 12 months.

I've just joined the toy library and my son (ahem and I) totally love the story sacks. Sack with a book and lots of props (toys, games, cd) to go with it to act out the story. I can't emphasise enough how much we've enjoyed these. The library is at our local childrens centre. Also, it means we don't have to keep add more stuff to our house that we don't even know he'll like, so saves on clutter. He is nearly 2 and has also just got into stickers. His main favourite is reading books though or doing puzzles.

My 18 month old dd currently loves her happyland cottage most of all - putting the little people in their beds, chairs etc . She also currently loves her tea set, her shopping trolley, her IKEA rocking moose, her jack-in-the-box, and her six million cuddly toys. Anything musical, like her keyboard, goes down well too. And her ball.
I rotate toys, though certain favourites are always out. It does keep the house tidier, but basically she just likes what she likes, and certain toys are always largely ignored.

agree with many of these. we use cloth nappies and dd spends a lot of time playing with one and a wipe and putting her teddies to bed, in pushchair wrapping in blanket etc even more so now dd2 is here to be copied.

also peg jigsaws, musical instruments.

I hide rotate shape sorters that need both my hands to open, medical kit and anything else she gets too fond of like different jigsaws.

also I really like the tiny talk cds

Sticklebricks are a hit with my dd, but Yes, agony to stand on! I got a vintage set on eBay for about a fiver.