Author Topic: What age did your LO start to enjoy...  (Read 2509 times)

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Offline anna*

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What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« on: February 23, 2013, 20:11:45 pm »
Been up to the attic today and we have up there an Ikea play kitchen (plus loads of accessories/food). Leftovers from a job we worked on a year ago. Our play area is NOT big and I am pretty rigorous about keeping it decluttered/toys in rotation so I don't want to get it down til I think they're both going to play with it. Thinking another six months at least for Audrey?

The other one is a dolls house. This was mine (my mum MADE IT while she was pregnant with my little sister, three story townhouse completely with staircase, bannisters, etc. Amazing). All the furniture is gone (eaten by mice  :'( ) and it needs an overhaul/refurb. When I do get it down it will need to be fitted out with new furniture and dolls so I can go as simple or complex as I like. Stan has shown no interest at all in playing with his friend's doll house so I think this is going to be an Audrey one, probably 3 or even 4 years old? Playing with a doll house means they need to be able to make that 'small world' link, right?





Offline We Three

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2013, 20:17:35 pm »
 Awww....fun.  Amelia started playing with her kitchen at about 18 months....she loved to "feed" us.   ;D  I have to say that the kitchen and the food got played with just about every day for about 4 years.....a great thing to have!!!  Why not bring down some toy dishes and food and sit some stuffies around for a snack.....see how Audrey likes it? 

 The dollhouse....yes I'd say about 3ish.  Depending on how she will be with fragile things, yk? Amelias dollhouse is plastic, nothing very fragile, and she was never rough with things. So for me it would depend on what kind of furniture....yk?

Offline michaeljacknnugg

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #2 on: February 23, 2013, 20:19:37 pm »
I'll be honest - still not yet at 5yo!

But it must depend on the kid. Mine rarely indulges in character play - apart from the occasional octomauts adventure in the bath. Much more into building Lego, k'nex etc and making endless craft projects.

Maybe you could treat the doll's house refurb as a family activity, not caring too much about the quality of the job and more about the enjoyment of the process? Could then be repeated if and when A gets into it?
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Offline anna*

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2013, 20:22:31 pm »
The dolls house I am going to do the most basic refurb possible. Unscrew one wall, paint over all the old/peeling wallpaper with white spray paint. I can't repair the staircase - too fiddly. I'll put plastic 'glass' in the windows where it's missing but that's it. So it is going to be very basic. I will buy/make the simplest 'youngest' furniture and dolls I can find - I want it to be played with, and then as the kids get older if I want to we can upgrade some furniture sets.





Offline anna*

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2013, 20:23:09 pm »
Why not bring down some toy dishes and food and sit some stuffies around for a snack.....see how Audrey likes it? 

That's a great idea!





Offline *Liz*

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #5 on: February 23, 2013, 20:38:19 pm »
We have a vast set of Sylvanian Families (from me and my sister) and from about age 2 DD would sit the people round the table etc, but she doesn't play with it fully yet iyswim. But at 4.5 DS has little interest. He is only really starting true small world stuff now with Lego men etc.

The kitchen - yeah - pretty early really. I got mine when DD was about 18 mths and it gets played with a lot. I have rotated it into a bedroom and back out again, but she does love that kind of play. DS plays kitchen as well still.

So I guess I would say 18 mth ish for the kitchen, 3+ for dollshouse. I am trying to decide when to get one for DD. There is one that needs a refurb at my parents, but although she is great with imaginative stuff, I still think not quite yet.

Plus it is so easy to move them through the toy stages isn't it?? And kind of horrid to think of them outgrowing prematurely as well. I was about 11 when I stopped playing with my Sylvanians  :-\.

Offline clazzat

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #6 on: February 23, 2013, 20:44:31 pm »
We got a kitchen for Christmas, officially for all 3, but mainly for x as he does love that. Sometimes he is happy to play with it for ages, but it is not a sure-fire hit at the moment. E does love it, though, so it does last a long time if you do get one.

We have a dolls house as well - a 3rd birthday present for e - and it really doesn't get played with very much at all - I just don't think that it their thing. They do play with it if they have the right friends over, though. I had a dolls house as well - my dad sweated blood to make it for me as he is not really very handy (was the one your mum made a readers digest one?) - and I just never knew what to do with it. We went up to visit in October and my dad got it out for the girls and they did play with it quite a bit - and he disinherited me in favour of them as a result! :D

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #7 on: February 23, 2013, 20:50:29 pm »
Adora is almost 17 months and plays with our toy kitchen a lot. she pretends to feed us and her dolls. It probably helps that her big sister, Kate, who is 5, plays with her, but she also plays with it by herself. She also enjoys the doll houses, we have the Sweet Streets collection, but I don't think they make them anymore. She doesn't really "get it" yet though. If Kate wasn't with her, I don't think she would really know what to do. But yeah, try the play kitchen for sure!

Offline *Becky*

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #8 on: February 23, 2013, 20:53:08 pm »
M got a kitchen for xmas and she plays with it most days...I was wondering about a dolls house too...




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Offline creations

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2013, 21:13:13 pm »
I'm finding it hard to remember exactly when we got DS's kitchen but it was around Audrey's age and he LOVED it.  He was already used to playing in the kitchen, he had a busy box with a speaking crock pot, some toy fruit and veg, a real egg box filled with toys eggs (bought in the sale just after Easter, they are plastic craft ones that are intended to be filled with something and used on a hunt, they 'crack' open with a hinged side.  Easter is just around the corner so get ready to pick some up in a sale!), a tea set with tea pot cups etc.  And some regular kitchen stuff like cookie cutters, a whisk, wooden spoon etc  I also popped in an empty mixed herb tub (plastic not glass) which he loved taking the lid off and sniffing the inside, it was so successful that time to time a make others with strong scent but empty pots.  So I totally agree with trying her out with a small set right now.  Initially DS didn't do a lot of feeding his toys (developmentally I think this came later) but he did enjoy the toys and pretend cooking, and I created a 'box monster' which he liked to feed so long as I was speaking as the monster/puppet.  A bit later he started to feed his toys and baby doll.  he also loves to make us all a cup of tea.
I wouldn't say he's played with it every day but most days it gets a look in.
I've extended the set (and limited it with rotating stuff) with a small shopping basket, a fabric shopping bag and some empty food cartons go in there for a while before being binned.
Just recently at 2yo he did some 'shopping' from the kitchen in his little basket, took it into the living room and used his cash till as shop keeper, then transferred all the food into the fabric bag and proudly announced he was off on a picnic  ;D
He put a blanket out on the living room floor, got a few character toys out and dished up the food.

Dolls house he was given at 12 months but I didn't get it out until I saw how much he loved the lego hospital and all the happy land houses and shops at play group.  He isn't SO into the dolls house but I think it's the style of it because he does still love to play with those things at group.  he does ask for it time to time, puts all the furniture in, gets his little character people to go in it etc.  it's good for a day really then we put it away again.


Offline Roseii

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #10 on: February 23, 2013, 21:36:50 pm »
Kitchen is a total hit here, we had it before dd2 was born so can't remember exactly when she started playing with it but she was pretty young and they both still play with it now at 2.5 & 4, absolutely love it. I'd love a dolls house but I'm honestly not sure how well it would go down (after the novelty wore off) as mine aren't all that interested in the happy land toys I got them :-\
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Offline shivi

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Re: What age did your LO start to enjoy...
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2013, 21:50:27 pm »
kitchen here when Emma was 1yr and Ozzie was 3.5 (wasn't his thing).
Oz got a Peppa Pig house at that age, or perhaps younger, and he never really played with it. Emma loves it since she turned 2 but since 3 is playing with it appropriately. She also has a castle now with furniture etc and its soooo fun to see her play - as these were my kind of toys when I was little!

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