My daughter will be 2 soon & many friends & family have started asking for suggestions. Since I buy most of her toys at yard sales & get books from the library, I am not well informed with the toys popular in stores now. What toys or books are favorites with your young kids? Her interests vary from airplanes & trucks to princesses & stuffed animals however, she does not have a long attention span (which I'm sure is normal). Thank you in advance!
My son's favs which go for the girls too that I would recommend are:
Mega Blocks (you can even buy them in girl colors)
Leap Frog DVD's (my son @ age2 knows his ABC and even the sounds they make due to these videos!)
and wooden puzzles! Even some that seemed to old for him he quickly mastered!
Happy Birthday Little One!
My girls and my two yo neice all at that age love(d) movies like Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. Also, stickers and sticker books, which can just be a photo album.
Right now, DD (wil be 2 on Tuesday) loves "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" and books that have things she can count. Her party was yesterday & she was very excited about drawing/coloring supplies (including the color wonder stuff mentioned below), plain wooden building blocks, a Wonder Pets toy (that's her favorite show, though), and a big Tonka dump truck. Other things she's excited by lately are anything musical and things she can put on & take off by herself like hats, necklaces, etc.
in my daycare, the kids love the kitchen set. It's the kind which is basically a wall unit with a frig, sink, microwave, & cabinets below. From age 1 1/2 to KG, they use the kitchen daily!
I also have a doll bed, lots of babies-blankets-strollers/carseats, & some extra doll clothes. Dress-up is a pain at age 2, but I still have purses-jewelry- & hats/aprons available daily.
Mega blocks, doodlepads, board puzzles, & any beginner computer toy ....are all used daily. Playdoh, art supplies, & projects are used occasionally to promote being able to sit still & focus in on the activity. At this age, it's more about social skills & learning to play both independently & in a group setting...along with that all important learning to share.
& as for books, I still prefer board books for age 2. The kids love any book with a kick to it...either something funny or something to sing!
Oh, & outside play equipment is very important!
I would go with educational toys. Things that help her interact with the toys,look up fischer price and Baby einstein toys. Let her look and see if she has an interest in any of them. Dolls and strollers. tea sets, table and chairs. blocks that will teach her to build, phones that she can pretend with. DVD movies. check out Sesame street also, Elmo is a big fav. Happy birthday early to her....
ride on toys are great at this age. just make sure they aren't too big.. the ones rated for 18 months-3 or 4 years.
We LOVE the little criters books and berienstein bears, we still read them and my son is 4. The other great thing I had when I was a little girl and my son LOVED was a kitchen set...we actually mentioned that we wanted to get one to a friend of mine, and they all got together, donated $15 and bought it for us, he still plays with it (we got the one with the kitchen on one side and grill on the other). When he was 2, I kept it in the kitchen and he would cook his snack while I cooked a meal, I would give him an apple slice or cracker, whatever and he would cook it on his kitchen then eat it while I cooked and do his dishes in his sink while I did mine (then his dishes went into the dishwasher every so ofter to really be cleaned). Not only did he love it but he could help/participate without having to be by the hot stove. Good luck and happy early birthday!
puzzles, play food, dress up clothes
If you already have lots of toys and such, why not ask for savings bonds or even a deposit to a savings account in her name. Or if your family is into helping others, make a donation to your favorite charity....
My favorite gift to give a 2 year old is a Fisher Price Magna Doodle/Doodle Pro, whatever they are calling them these days. Great for in the car for long rides; I also have the small version that I take in for Dr's appts or restaurant waits. Entertains for quite a while and builds small motor dexterity!
Some of my girls liked dolls and others weren't as into them. The baby doll kind are good is they are into mothering and strollers and dishes to feed them and kitchens and table and chairs. My girls loved to dress up too and they used my old stuff but they do sell nice dress up clothes at Toys R Us, etc.
They liked play jewelry and perfume, etc. nail polish ( all for little kids of course).
They loved vacuums, and push toys even around two that were like grown up appliances.
Coloring, books, music DVD's or CD's, kids stories. So many really good books out there, and many not so good, but quite a choice.
I loved shopping for them at this age but it gets so much harder the older they get, or at least for me it did. Have fun thinking and take her shopping just to look and pick things without telling her what it's for. She's show you by her eyes if not by telling you she wants it.
good morning
We just gave my 2 yr old great neice and big box (we go from the applicance store) that a stove had come in, we made a roof out of another box and cut our a door and window, hot glued fringe around the window and door top, glue a small blackboard on the wall and hot glue copies of her family on the wall. This was in august and she is still playing in it, it helps there imagination and pretend. Also dress up clothes we got from garages sales she love it. Anything that helps them use their imagination, so many of the toys no days don't leave room for imagination and role playing. hope she enjoys whatever she get.
Well, at that age my daughter loved everything, so suggest things that wont overcrowd can be used as she's growing. If your daughter is anything like mine she's been a diva since day one, dress-up clothes never get old!!
We love the Crayola markers that only work on Color Wonder Paper. They come in a little package (they are a little pricey 7 dollar range) with a pad of plain paper and 5 markers. I uncap them all and let my daughter color away, then when she seems uninterested, I put it all away for later. Playdough is also great, don't know how you feel about that, if your daughter still sits in a highchair its awesome, if not, you can put a plastic cutting board on the coffee table and she can play with it there.
A little table and chairs for her room where she can have her own little place to sit and color or be busy with something, they range in price very much, you may be able to find something reasonable that can be ordered online. My daughter absolutely LOVES the Fisher Price Doll house that my mother bought for her when she turned two, its so cute to watch her roll play with that, a baby doll with a bottle, perhaps a stroller for the doll, a toy car that you shake up and put down and it 'crashes' when it hits something, my daughter could play with that thing forever. Oh, perhaps the best idea of all is a tent, they really like having their own place to go, we have not gotten one yet, but we make one at home with a blanket and chairs lol, anyway hopefully I helped!
I bought my daughter a tea set plastic of course and it's musical cups and saucers she loves it all goes on a tray for under 20.00 I think by Fisher Price.Also her theme was MY Little Pony I have bought her almost all of them for X-mas and her B-day since it's only 2 weeks after x-mas.
My kids both really love Leapfrog's refrigerator alphabet magnets. THere is a base, also magnetized, that the kids can put the alphabet letter into, and it says "B says "buh"", for example. They know all their letters and the sounds those letters make. It's awesome for them, fun, not annoying, and it gives them something else to do in the kitchen besides pull your pants leg!
At two my daughter loved the snap n style dolls that have clothes that snap on. Took her a while to figure it out but she STILL plays with them at age 4. They have babies and then they also have little girls with long hair. I got all of hers at Target I think but you could probably look online too. She also loved board books.
I'm surprised no one mentioned Little People! My 2-year old son LOVES them and plays with them daily. Other favorites, most of which have already been mentioned, include cars/trucks/trains (he loves putting these down our plastic slide); his kitchen/shopping cart (we also have a cash register so he can imitate the whole shopping experience); balls; puzzles; blocks. Favorite books right now include Jamberry; Brown Bear, Brown Bear; color/counting books. For Christmas we're going to get him a subscription to Highlights High 5 magazine. He also receives Wild Animal Baby magazine (you can Google both). With so many interests, I'm sure your daughter will love whatever gifts she receives! Happy Birthday!
how about clothes? i know most people want to get her something "fun" too, but whenever people ask me, i say clothes. whatever he needs is what i ask for. also how about coloring books, play doh, etc. chances are if you don't know what she wants it's because she's not into one particular character or theme. which is great, means she's not picky! which means she'll be pleased with whatever people get for her. in my experience people love shopping for small kids...i'm sure she'll get lots of fun toys. happy early birthday!
hey, i dont have a girl, but what i did this year for my 2 year old sons birthday was told the people that were coming to the party that instead of toys and clothes, my son was wanting to become a zoo friend and a member at the magic house. we got enough money to purchase both! and its a way to get out of the house and be outside a little and learn some new things. just an idea!
I would tell your inquirers exactly what you typed here. Let them know her interests and I'm sure they'll find something perfect.
Something a little different that can really make a difference in a child's life is the music they listen to in early childhood. Those songs become a part of what we think and feel the rest of our lives.
Having worked with children for many years and spending nine years writing music and teaching music and movement programs for preschoolers, the best children's musician I have ever come across is Red Grammer. He has a collection of songs specially designed for 2 to 6 y/os called Can You Sound Just Like Me. But, my son was learning songs from other cds of his at 3 and 4. I was amazed at the complexity of ideas and understandings my son learned from Red Grammers' music. There is a song titled See Me Beautiful on his Teaching Peace CD. Any adult hearing a child sing that song is brought to tears. His music is the by far the best I know of for children (and for the young at heart).
I used to be able to find his music at Borders Books & Music and at educational toy stores and teacher's stores. I know you can find what you need at http://www.redgrammer.com/. This is a perfect age to introduce a child to great music. My son started listening to his music at age 2 and is still one of his favorite childhood memories. Mr. Grammer is not only a gifted musician. We got to meet him last year. It was no surprise to see how genuine his love for children is. My son is now 23. It was moving to see how much my son still admired the musician that filled heart with music as a child.
Another wonderful vocalist for children that has become difficult to find is Linda Arnold. Her website is http://www.lindaarnoldmusic.com/. You can find both Grammar and Arnold's CDs on Amazon.com.
I would recommend looking around at what you have and comparing that to what you want. At 2 I gave my daughter a Little Tykes kitchen so any play food, utensils, aprons/hats, etc. were really appreciated! If there is something that she likes then give them those specifics (mine was totally into princesses!). Dress up clothes (including beads/jewelry) are always good at this age, ride on toys or simple remote control toys (my kids loved the GeoTrax and that would include her love of airplanes and trucks/trains PLUS it would help her creatively in building things), puzzles, or any role playing/modeling type of games.
My kids have so much they don't know what to do with most of it...I found that the things they get that are to "entertain" them last only as long as the batteries do...for me, I'd rather my kids get stuff that would make their brains work in problem solving or creative thinking. I'm sure at 2 your daughter will be happy with whatever she gets but you could also take her through Wal-mart or ToysRUs for a sample of what might be interesting her now...I find it's always enlightening to see what they see. Good luck!
Little Critters and the Berenstein Bear books (morals/values), and anything that mimics something mom and dad have (remotes, phones, ect with educational benefits were always big hits for both them and us! And, as weird as it sounds (and as long as you don't mind the peices getting lost!), my two year old loves to "play" connect four! Just putting the peices in and getting to "dump" them back out keeps him occupied forever!
