Presents for toddlers

[mizarchivist]

I can think of a lot of useless ideas for what to get Crime Fighter for his birthday next month, including a puppy, a big vat of sugar, squealy toys.... All of those ideas are, of course, duly considered and shunted off

Comments

[gosling]

Stackable hollow blocks of graduated sizes. Sold commercially with cute pictures on them, also possible to make oneself if one has sufficient boxes of appropriate sizes.

[mizarchivist]

Blocks are a favorite.

[dani_namaste]

If he likes blocks, these are pretty terrific: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/e5f7/

[mizarchivist]

Hah. Dorbs

[catness]

Bubble wrap.

And get yourself some ear plugs, while you're at it. :)

Or get the app

[drwex]

Yes, there are bubble-wrap apps for most smart phones. Bonus: no extra plastic in the environment and much harder to swallow the phone. Drawback: baby+phone = requires attention

Re: Or get the app

[mizarchivist]

Noted. I'm minimizing all screen time as much as possible still. He'll have screen time for the rest of his life.

[mizarchivist]

I'll save the good stuff for next year when he's less likely to ingest it :)
The stiff plastic vacuum seal packaging is some of my favorite plastic thus far, since the destruction/ingestion is low/slow. We were at a party yesterday and he found stuff from H-Mart: lots of that packaging. It was THE BOMB.

[mizarchivist]

So, recycling bin it is...

Is he a stuffed-animal boy?

[drwex]

Those are kind of the canonical present, imo. Failing that, a big cardboard box he can crawl in/out of.

Re: Is he a stuffed-animal boy?

[catling]

This. At one, K loved stuffies. And boxes. (Well, at almost five she still loves stuffies. And boxes.)

Re: Is he a stuffed-animal boy?

[mizarchivist]

His household adults seem incapable of resisting getting him stuffed animals on what feels like a monthly basis. Today's was a black and white kitty. I was a fool, and let him pet the stuffed bunny that was 3x larger than him. My hope on getting him to let go was to distract with the cat. He didn't let it go again for the rest of the shopping trip. I could tell by the grip and the lack of eye contact he was gearing up for a shriek to rend souls if I took it away. So, lesson learned.

Re: Is he a stuffed-animal boy?

[drwex]

Pygment suggests that if you think the large cardboard box is too simple (or awkward) they make brightly colored caterpillar-like crawl tubes. They're composed mostly of fabric and spring plastic or metal so they squish up well for storage.

[catling]

There are books that wee ones enjoy a lot. They generally have really cool pictures, textures, etc. K was a HUGE fan of all things Sandra Boynton, but at that age, especially "Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy" if you don't already have it, which has bumpy, fuzzy, smooooth, etc.

I tried pop-up books at one for K and it was a bad idea, though enthusiastic she tended to tear 'em up.

Art supplies! Finger paints. Crayons. As messy as you can tolerate. I recommend a tarp on the floor, a pile of finger paint paper and a lot of finger paint.... in these warm months with that much mess, I recommend that no one be wearing much in the way of clothes for this sort of fun.

How does he feel about baths? Bath toys are also awesome. Rubber duckies in different fun outfits. Boats that float. Squirty toys. Spinny toys. Anything fun that is safe to play in the tub with.

[mizarchivist]

I suspect my best bet is to make the paint from edible stuff, because that's what he'd do. Eat it. Knowing him, he'd dump a whole pot in his mouth given half a chance.
Definitely loves loves loves the bath.