Toy ideas for 2.3 year old please!

[OwlOffshore]

My DS is 2.3 and seems to be rather bored of his toys. I haven't bought him anything new for ages - mainly as he was given so much for his 1st birthday by well-meaning friends and family that we held a lot back and eeked them out over time. And he mainly had clothes and books for his last birthday.

When he gets bored, he starts to throw, so time for something new I think.

But I am a bit stumped as to what to get him.

He has a toy kitchen and does play with it for a little while most days. Loves toy cars and fire engines. Seems to dislike crafts and couldn't care less about the aquadoodle he has...

We have a postage-stamp sized garden but plenty of space inside so could cope with toys that need space.

Ideas would be very welcome!

[Hardtoknow]

Just to re-iterate what others have said about Duplo and either Happyland or Little People.
Melissa & Doug do an excellent "latches" board which DS loved fiddling with. He also began to enjoy doing jigsaws, dominos & snap.

[isittheholidaysyet]

My boys played most with duplo, wooden trains (eg brio or thomas or bigjigs, they all fit together) happyland, (things like the rocket were played with more than the town type things in our house). metal die cast cars (such as hotwheels), a small ride on trike with a trailer (no pedals).

My eldest ds liked Thomas toys and bob the builder, the next was a tractor fan, the third still loves octonauts. They all liked to play with the toys from their favourite TV programmme whilst watching it. I'm not sure what the 'in' TV theme is now, but go with his interests!

[DoveOfPeace]

Oh, even more suggestions.

I'm loving this thread, op!

[Bellebella]

My ds is obsessed with Happyland. He plays with it every single day and it wears well so is worth the money. I did buy loads second hand but they also put happyland in the sale often.

[BrieAndChilli]

Ds2 is nearly 5 and still plays with his wooden train set and Thomas trains every day as has been since he could walk (it was originally ds1s)
He also still plays with his Bob the builder toys.
We ha a huge happy land collection complete with the roads etc which he probably would stil play with now but I sold it as needed the room!
He also loves his octonauts and as a plus most of it can go in the bath. Even the older ones play with the octonauts in the bath.
Duplo is also still played with although he is moving on to his brothers Lego.
My friends little boy has been obessed with dinosaurs since he was tiny and the good thing is all dinosaurs can mix together from 50p tiny ones to massive robot ones so you aren't stuck buying just from one collection.

[ThinkIveBeenHacked]

Dolly and a stroller
Big floor jigsaw
Water play stuff - even just a bucket of water a sponge and some stuff to "wash"
Musical instruments (Wilkos do great individual stuff)
Dressy ups.

[DoveOfPeace]

Oh, no! Are Mega Bloks really awful? I know that Mil has gone and bought some.

[tea4two4three]

We have a small garden so filled a long garden planter with sand for a sand pit which has been successful especially when filled with plastic dinosaurs and fits up against the wall and is only about a foot wide.

As others have said, a train track, my DS plays with his everyday for hours.
He also loves his books and drawing - we got a roll of lining paper an he doodles for ages, especially if he also has stickers to put on there.
He is also playing with his baby doll, buggy, potty etc a lot at the moment, although it usually involves ramming the buggy into things.
And balls, any kind are a fav here. Bouncy balls provide hrs of entertainment especially when our dog joins in. Oh, and balloons!

[RobotHamster]

Mega blocks are pants, btw. Don't waste your money, just go straight to the proper stuff

[RobotHamster]

Duplo. Duplo. Duplo!

If they like it, (not much for a small set) then it's worth it. Easy to add to with birthday presents etc.

It lasts. 8yo DS has obviously moved on to lego, but still loves building enormous structures with the Duplo (we have a lot)

[Alanna1]

My 2 yo and 3 yo play with duplo lots, their buggies with babies, shells they have collected. The 2 yo likes putting things in "her" bags.

[DoveOfPeace]

Just place marking

[Kiwiinkits]

Little People also gets played with regularly. Again, it's a volume thing. There are enough Little People 'activities' that they can create whole stories/cities/scenarios.

[Kiwiinkits]

Our duplo has been the most popular toy here for about a year now. Most popular by far. My girls (now 3 and 4.5) ask to play with it every day. They love it. You do need to have a big enough collection to make it versatile - i.e. not just a few pieces. So start building your collection now.
Don't buy small lego if you think you might have another baby because it is the first thing that will go into a baby's mouth or up its nose.

[TenPinkFairies]

Lego. Normal sized. Ds has loved it since turning 2. And dh's old playmobil.

[OwlOffshore]

Ooh, that city skyway thing looks fab! Jigsaws also worth a try.

Many thanks all.

[slightlyconfused85]

What about jigsaw puzzles? My dd is a few months older but loves these and can provide a lot of entertainment. Also happyland/small world, a picnic set for picnics with her toys, toy baby and accessories, books?

[purplesnail]

Hi, after my ds had his 2nd birthday he had so many toys he didnt seem that interested in a lot of it so I split it into 3 sets and started rotating them every 2 weeks which helped lots and also helped me see what he was really interested in.
he gas an aquadodle which he likes but loves it if I draw things for him, I got sone cheap cookie cutters and use some if those to draw round which he loves.
Do you go to a playgroup? After taking my ds I discovered he likes playfood and has no interest in happyland.
he also loves playdough and doing threading beads which he also likes sieting in coloured bowks or a egg box. He also loves posting things so have used empty boxes/plastic tubs and puts holes in to post various objects into. If he like doing things like that search toddler busy bags on pintrest/google for some great ideas.

[Thegreatunslept]

Have a look at fisher price little people products we have the city skyway and it gets played with daily.

[shitebag]

I was just about to ask this too, my DD is 2.4yo and is not interested in any toys that we have but she does play with her brothers Minecraft figures

I'm looking at trying some threading beads and maybe some Happy land stuff.

[meglet]

duplo is very durable. I think we had one cracked green base plate after it was crushed under something but the rest of it is fine after 5 yrs.

[whiteagle]

My DS2 loved small world toys - happy land et Al. The ElC garage was a huge hit too.

[MyNameIsSuz]

Yes, our childminder has lots and they all play with it, even the school age kids if it's out! Especially if you get the kits with car parts, house bits and people, they can use it for imaginary play too. We have a fire station set which has been played with loads, but most of the time he likes to build the tallest tower he possibly can... it's versatile.

[OwlOffshore]

Thanks all. Really helpful. Does duplo last a few years? It seems quite expensive, even second hand.