Duplo vs small world toys

[ArriettyMatilda]

Dd (19 months) has a couple of Duplo sets that she is starting to really love, not just building/pulling apart but for small world play too. Is there any benefit to getting some small world sets too? I like the look of happy land but the Duplo allows her to use her imagination (or mine) to build things and then act out scenarios, whereas it's all done for you in sets like that.

I'm just wondering whether it's worth getting more Duplo sets or something else? What do your dc play with? When did they outgrow Duplo and what small world sets are their favourites?

[Notso]

ArriettyMatilda try the other toys first, it's cheaper!

[Artandco]

Get some sylvanian families. I love them
More than my children I fear! Again they come with small pieces also but actual figures large, so you can just keep small bits away another year or so whilst she plays with main pieces. Mine had from around 18 months, and eldest still plays with daily at 5 1/2

[Anjelika]

We have an older version of this <a class="break-all" href="//www.amazon.co.uk/Lego-Duplo-10505-Play-House/dp/B0094J3AZA?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21" rel="nofollow noindex" target="_blank">//www.amazon.co.uk/Lego-Duplo-10505-Play-House/dp/B0094J3AZA?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 which kind of combines the 2 products - Lego Duplo and small world. The house can be built in different styles and it comes with furniture and people. My 3 DCs have had hours of fun with this - it was bought when DS1 was about 2 - and although they are now 8, 5 & 5, they still play with it regularly. I hasten to add that I paid nothing like the price quoted on Amazon for it though!

[ArriettyMatilda]

Ah YouMakeMyDreams I now distinctly remember playing with the surgeons tools in my playmobil set, but I could have just been setting it up as that was my favourite part

Notso that sounds fab, your dc obviously have developed a great imagination. Do I need to produce another child to really enhance dds play or will she be equally happy playing alone

[Notso]

We have both. My younger two are 4 and 3. I find they use the duplo to enhance the other small world. So we have the Happyland bus and they will build bus stops and a bus station with the duplo.
Recently we have had a fantastic Jurassic World that my 10 year old helped them build with duplo, plastic dinosaurs and Happyland cars and people.
They adore the Happyland and little people figures, we have hundreds of them.

We didn't have much success with PlayMobil. DS2 got the campervan when he was three he loved it but got frustrated when he couldn't put it back together. I got rid of it and bought a wooden campervan from Wilko which is a bit more robust.

[YouMakeMyDreams]

We have a mix of both the 123 still gets played with and ds2 did just play with the normal stuff without the wee bits. Tbh a lot of the tiny bits never get played with anyway so they wouldn't be missed if they were removed. I'm sure they only put the knives and forks and little dog leads in to make the adults feel impressed with the attention to detail when they unpack the box.

[ArriettyMatilda]

Is it worth getting the playmobil 123 aimed at younger ones? Or just removing smaller parts of the usual playmobil? She is not two yet and occasionally still puts things in her mouth. Whatever we get I will try to.be relaxed about playing with it together and mixinf sets up!

[YouMakeMyDreams]

I do kind of check it all back into the box make sure it all goes back and use use smaller tubs with lids for littler bits nut I have 3 Children and was actually giving myself a near breakdown trying to keep the zoo together, the campsite together. Now it just all gets lumped into boxes specifically bought for that type of toy so it doesn't get lost in amongst other stuff. Sometimes I do sort it out but it never lasts.

[yallahabibi]

I bloody loved Playmobil as a child .I have bought numerous sets off eBay and Amazon to indulge myself , though my children are also fans . Virtually impossible not to lose bits . I store in all in the three drawers under a Hermes day bed.
It is a bit fiddly, so I'd take some of the smaller pieces away from a 3 yr old but we have 10 year old visitors who play with it , so it has longevity.
Happyland never hit our house . I didn't think mine would have had much use out of it for long .

[ArriettyMatilda]

That's how my mum stored it in the toy cupboard and how it's still stored in the loft Does that mean you don't check that every bit is still there when it's tidied away? Sounds like small world is a must as well as Duplo, I better go through her toys and get rid of the baby ones...

[YouMakeMyDreams]

Sorry I'm a small world toy where. We have happy land, little people, generic non brand and Playmobil [ashamed]

However you store it don't put it all in separate boxes and try to keep each set and all its pieces together. That is where insanity lies. I ended up caring way too much. Now they are stored in ikea cube boxes.

[ArriettyMatilda]

pretend I hadn't thought of that, I do play with Dd when she is playing Duplo but thought perhaps she would prefer to play alone at some point.

YouMakeMyDreams mix and match how can I keep her brand loyal? I'd forgotten about Playmobil and didn't know about the 123 sets. Where am I going to store it all?

[YouMakeMyDreams]

The dc have had both. Playmobil is always popular and can always be added to as well. Every child that has come to the house to play has loved the Playmobil.
Like Bike said with things like Playmobil and little people there are so many different scenes an characters. It really is limitless and my three have always used other toys along with their games. Ds2 is particularly fond of loading up the Playmobil caravan with dinosaurs and taking them on holiday.
He is 5 now and still plays with the 1,2,3 version in playmobil that has larger pieces for smaller kids as well so it really has been worth it. Don't feel you have to restrict yourself to one brand either they are more than happy to mix and match as well.

[ArriettyMatilda]

Forgot to mention that there is a Dolls house already stored for Christmas.

BikeRunSki I'd thought there was a good variety of Duplo sets so could just expand these but I am guessing there are many more varieties in the little people. Glad to know it is all still played with!

[pretend]

DD is three and loves Happyland. She plays with it more independently than the Duplo, I suppose because it is more set up for her.

It seems to be helping a lot with her language as she chatters through the different scenarios to herself.

[BikeRunSki]

My dc had Duplo and Fisher Price Little People - they are different. Duplo obviously encourages building and "remodelling", but there are a lot more characters/scenarios in the Little People stuff, which sparks off different imagination. We had loads of it and the people from the different buildings go and visit each other; Noah goes to help on the farm etc.

DS is nearly 7 and plays with both occasionally- dd is nearly 4 and plays with both most days.