what toys do your 2.5-3 year olds currently play with and enjoy?

[*Becky*]

jeez - me again...

I would really appreciate seeing what other kids of this age like to play with. Part of our issues are that H finds it very difficult to play with anything by himself but I am wondering whether what we have is age related - maybe too young for him?? Getting a bit desperate as he just wants to put the TV on constantly.

I am starting to think that I need to back away and almost make him play by himself as otherwise we just go through about 20 activities, none of which he sticks with and I end up exhausted and fed up...like today.

Yes he might be bored but I do not have endless supplies of money or space and even when I do buy something new the novelty wears off so quickly and we are back to the same situation.

So any ideas for toys/activities your lo's like would be great - fed up

[Mum-of-Two]

My son is recently into monster trucks and matchbox cars.  And I found he likes ramps so you can make your own ramps for him to drive the cars up and let them slide down, seems to keep his attention a fair amount.

Stickers... he spent a half hour putting a page of stickers on the couch the other day.  I bought him a $1 notebook and told him next time he has stickers he can put them there.

It might help to know what you tried that does not hold his attention so we can see if our kids do anything different.  Like, if he doesn't like to color then maybe he'd be more into building a fort to play in with blankets?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Yes, it would be helpful to know what you are currently playing with that doesn't hold his attention.  Our favs here are Fisher Price little people sets, trains/cars etc, shape sorters, wooden puzzles...and all are where Spencer can get out herself and choose what to do. 

[Mama2boys]

painting DS loved that at that age also lego blocks and trains

[*Becky*]

well he has a garage and a train set but not interested. He has a sticker book but 5 mins tops is all we get with that and that is with me helping. Play-doh he likes but again short lived.
I am sure he would like ramps for a bit and I could try that, same with building a fort but I am kind of looking for just a few things he could maybe do by himself. I bought him a play tent and he had it up for the first time yesterday but again not bothered unless DH or I instigate a big game with it and tbh I really need him to do just a few things a day by himself - even 20 mins would make me happy.
I am more than happy to play with him and I do a lot as I am at home but it is starting to drive me crazy that at 2.5 he still rarely just plays with anything for more than about a minute.

[Mum-of-Two]

Puzzles seem to have a big pay off, you put in a lot of time up front helping them but if his personality is "me do it" then soon you might find that he'll want to do it without your help.  I'm thinking interactive stuff, something with a payoff.  Even the ramps sort of provide a payoff of some kind in being able to step back and watch what happens and how he can affect what happens.

He probably needs something to do inside the tent, if that makes sense?  My child likes to poop in his but thats another story 

My nephew took his train set and turned it into a home for his dinosaurs.  Sometimes toys take on a new meaning.

I totally get what you mean about independent play though.  I like to play with my LOs and see their creativity but sometimes I'm just not into pretendingand make believe if that makes sense.  My 2 year old is pretty demanding too.  He'll play alone from time to time but most of the time he's going from one behavior that needs supervised (or stopped) to another without a break inbetween.  He is why baby proofing was invented LOL.  It is fun, and exhausting, depending on the day and how recently you had a chance to have an adult conversation.  Plus, its good to find new creative ideas for the kids regardless.

So, my son has discovered the computer.  There are safe sites to visit where he is able to do some simple point and clicks to find a song or video to watch over and over and over and over and over... you get the idea.  I think he's more impressed he's figured out how to make it play by himself then he is about the song.  The problem is he asks to do it all the time so I actually had to turn the computer off for a few days until he lost interest, he was quite insistant for awhile and while he's independent with it I still needed to be with him to make sure he didn't accidentally crash the computer LOL.

[KathrynK]

Becky, my friend's dd is spirited and sounds just like Henry in that she too had an attention span of about 2 minutes. What the toy or activity was made no difference, she just couldn't stick at anything.

My dd Sophie is her best friend and it used to cause clashes as Sophie would be playing happily with something and her friend would be ready to move onto something else all the time. Neither could understand the others point of view!

I think this age was the worst time for it, it has definitely not been so pronounced as she has grown older (5years now). I think the structures activities they had at preschool really made a difference. Does H go to nursery?
Hugs, it would drive me mad too. xxx

[*Becky*]

yes he goes for 2 short mornings thank goodness! I am so worried about what he is going to be like when this baby arrives as it takes full on parenting from me just to manage a day at home. I think you are probably right in that whatever we had he would lose interest but I end up feeling so guilty that he has so little he is really into and it does not help that some of our friends kids just seem to have 'everything' and we really do not have space or money for it all. Having said that I would be more than happy to buy a few extra bits IF he was going to get use out of it.

[~inbalance~]

Are you looking for strictly indoor stuff or would outdoor work too?  Right now the sandbox is the best thing ever.  T will play in that all day if I let him.  But he really likes sensory things, so for inside sometimes I do a small tub with some water and cups (just put towels down, everything does get wet but it's only water!), or bowls and spoons with dried beans/pasta for scooping. 

Cars and trucks are always a winner here for both boys.  I think ramps is a great idea!

[clazzat]

Neither of mine particularly plays with anything, and they are rubbish at independent play and concentrating.  They play with each other a lot - although that's not much use to you for another couple of years!

A couple of things which hold E's attention for a little bit: colouring (or scribbling, to be perfectly accurate), play doh, dressing up, puzzles and books.  She will play with water for a long time, though - we have a water table outside, and sometimes when I am feeling particularly strong I will let her play in the bathroom! - and the trampoline keeps her going too.  In all honesty, though, I don't expect her to entertain herself for more than a few minutes at a time - M never did at this age either, but she is much better than she was.

[~inbalance~]

Hmmm, both my boys will entertain themselves for long periods of time!  Are they weird I wonder?

[Mashi]

With the TV one thing I have had to say here is that if I am not going to play WITH him and am allowing him to choose what to play with and how to amuse himself, then I have to accept that TV is probably going to be the choice.  If I don't want him watching TV then I have to work to keep him suitably amused and interacting with me.  I think it is a lot to ask of a 2.5 year old to choose something to do but then rule out TV, kwim? 

Like Jill we also have the computer here as an option!  Doesn't matter what I say, he pulls out my laptop turns it on, opens the internet, clicks on the bookmarks and does what he wants!  It did not take long for him to learn!  I have youtube bookmarked in the bookmarks bar and he knows to click on it. For the longest time i had to get him started (trains, bin trucks, police cars, etc) and then he chooses one from the list of what is available next.  He can go in a stream for a good 15-20 minutes before the questionable videos start appearing (ie train crashes, and the other day he was watching with DH and I heard him say "mama says no watch this one" - he knew that was one I said no to earlier because it is a crash one, so he has learned quickly!)  He also plays kneebouncers, which is no longer free but for 12 quid per year very much well worth it here!  Sesame Street is another one he plays on.

Ditto to Martina with the texture play - I put out a large bedsheet and dump some rice and lentils on it, get out some yogurt pots and spoons, some of his cars or his sand toys and he will play quite a while.  I do have to play with him to start him out, and go to him every few minutes and drive a few trucks around but I really think that is what you have to do with this age.  And after we are done, yes there is rice ALL over the room but it just takes a quick vacuum and it is worth it for the play he got.

I stand him on a chair or his high chair at the kitchen sink with a sink full of water, some pots, some cups, a wire whisk, the pasta collander and flour seive and he will play for ages (30-45 minutes).  I can cook dinner, get things done in the kitchen or sit and read the paper.  Free

[15milner]

Duplo. 

[*Becky*]

With the TV one thing I have had to say here is that if I am not going to play WITH him and am allowing him to choose what to play with and how to amuse himself, then I have to accept that TV is probably going to be the choice.  If I don't want him watching TV then I have to work to keep him suitably amused and interacting with me.  I think it is a lot to ask of a 2.5 year old to choose something to do but then rule out TV, kwim?

absolutely agree Mashi but I am not expecting him to entertain himself when the TV goes off, I am happy to play with him but he is the same if I try and instigate something. YES I do think learning to play by himself is an important skill but I really do have alternatives when I say no TV. This is a double sided problem, there is the lack of ability to play independently but also the lack of interest when I play with him. Guess I need to be more imaginative but I can't do that all day. We go out a lot, we do a lot of things, he is not expected to sit at home and self entertain. I just need to find a balance. TV is fine but not all the time.

[Mashi]

What happens when you let him watch TV? Do you think some of it is jut for the sake of the fight? I mean, you tell him no TV and so it makes it more enticing?  I find that DS gets bored of TV after 15-20 minutes, too, which then makes him all the more willing and able to focus on whatever it is that I am playing with him, because he has had his alone time, his boredom time and is now wanting to be interactive iyswim?