Homemade or Creative Toys for 18 month old Toddler?

Rebekah

I care for my 18 month old niece regularly, and sometimes have her for overnight. I do not have many toys for her to play with and cannot afford to purchase any. My child is a teenager and her toys are long gone.

I need some ideas for "toys" that I can make from common household stuff, or stuff that can be "re-purposed" as toys.

Thanks!

Answer
You can make little shakers (kids love making noise!) by filling any small container (that has a lid) with lentils, rice, or pebbles. Just make sure to secure the lid tightly and always supervise in case she manages to get it open.

Or what about hand puppets from old socks?

toddlers favorite toy?

Sexy Ma

what is your toddlers favorite toy? my 3 yr old son loves his potato head and his men and cars

Answer
Both my kids, my son 3yrs and my daughter 18 months, LOVE their Playskool Busy Ball Popper: http://www.hasbro.com/playskool/busybasics/default.cfm?page=Products/Detail&product_id=13031

They can spend hours playing with that thing. I don't get it myself. You would think that it would get old. But for some reason it doesn't. My cousin's daughter has one and when we visit they get really excited with her's. Like they have never seen one before in their lives. Its priceless.

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What toys are a must for a toddler on a plane?

best toddler toys 18 months image

March

If you flew with a toddler ( 18 months ), what kept your little one occupied for a while? We have a long overseas flight ahead of us.I expect he won't sit for 8 hours, but I would like to find out what are some best little toys to pack. Thank you so much for the tips!

Answer
Portable DVD player.
Stickers.
Play-dough.
Colouring books but be prepared to have to keep crouching down on to the floor to pick up the crayons.
Etch-a-sketch is handy.
Little story books and her favourite teddy.
A good idea is to wrap up little toys in gift-wrap and put them in a bag and every half hour or so let her choose one.
Bring plenty of drinks and snacks.
His little ears might hurt so make sure you have a bottle or soother or something similar for him to suck on when taking off and landing.
It can be a nightmare travelling with babies so just ignore anyone who tut tuts about his making noise. It seems like a long flight but you'll get there in the end! Good luck.

What is the best way to discipline an 18 month old who bites?

Caryn

My 18 month old son is bitting at Day Care, What can be done to stop this?

Answer
Unfortunately this is a common behavior for toddlers so don't feel bad. You are not a bad parent and you're son is not a bad kid. The first thing to do is find out why your son is biting. Chances are he's frustrated. Someone may take his toy or he can't verbalize how he's feeling. There is often a time where he's more prone to biting like at the end of the day or before nap time. Once you figure out why he's biting the next step is to eliminate the triggers if possible. This is difficult when he is in child care but try to do it at home.


Time outs work well as long as they are age appropriate. 1 minute per year/age.

never bite your child. It's abuse and you're only teaching him that biting is ok.

I always told the kids at my daycare that your teeth are for chewing your food not your friends. I got them to help me figure out good things to put in mouths. It became a game.

Good luck and hang in there. It's just a stage.

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What are some good learning toys to buy a toddler for Christmas?

best toddler toys 18 months image

lysistrata

My son is 18 months old and I am not sure what to get him other than what I already have. I wanted to get him something specifically aimed at learning, not just fun time.

Answer
It may sound weird, but at this age - EVERYTHING is a learning toy. Your child will be able to learn from anything. Kids are sponges at this age and absorb everything from how something feels, to the noise it makes, to the way it moves, etc.

My son always loved things with wheels. He would flip cars over just to play with the wheels - especially ones that you could pull back, and then they'd go forward on their own. You could see the excitement in his face when he figured out how to do this on his own. =)

I've read articles that said constantly giving your baby toys that are teaching, and learning things can actually be detrimental. They say it limits a child's imagination. If a toy is telling your child that something is a bear.. then it's a bear. Nothing more. It's not a magical bear with super powers.. or a bear that loves to eat vanilla pudding.. it's just a bear.

My son does have some learning toys, but I've found he doesn't like them that much. (He likes cause and effect toys like keyboards/pianos.. those pop a shape things, etc where you have to do something to make something happen)

Here's a list of the top 5 educational toddler toys :

http://toys.about.com/od/learningtoysbyage/tp/learningtots.htm


*monkey*

How do you know when your baby is ready for the toddler bed?

Amanda

My daughter is 18 months old, just wondering when or how you knew when your child was ready for the toddler bed and how it worked out? Did you put up extra rails on the sides of it?

Answer
They're ready when they start trying to climb out or they rattle it or jump harder than the crib can handle.

My son is 2.5 and just switched to a toddler bed. He wasn't trying to climb out of his crib and I'm actually sad that we switched. I used to lay him down for a nap in his crib and he would feel like he had no choice but to go to sleep. In his toddler bed, he tries to get up a few times after I lay him down. I have to stay close and make sure he actually goes to sleep.
Mornings are weird too because they get up and sometimes it's earlier than you do. If baby gates still work for your daughter, I'd suggest putting one across her bedroom door so you'll know where to find her in the morning.

Most toddler beds are very low to the ground so you don't have to worry about them falling. We got a beautiful one at Toys R Us that's made of wood and has small rails on the sides. My son has been sleeping in his for a week now and not fallen. Put a pillow beside the bed where she could fall for even more peace of mind.

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When did you move your LO to a toddler or regular size bed?

best toddler toys 18 months image

Mrs. Z plu

With our first he went to a toddler bed when he was almost 3 years old. We moved in to a new house and decided -new house, new bed-

Our LO is 18 months old and tonight was VERY close to jumping ship out of his crib. I never had this problem with our first.

I am up for tips and suggestions. He has a 4 step convertible crib right now.

Answer
My kids are both top of the charts for height. At 15 months, my son was too tall for his crib. We took out his mattress and put it directly on the floor. We felt a little badly about it, but he just wasn't big enough for a toddler bed and may have hurt himself if he fell out.

Since then, we have found out that tons of parents do this before transitioning to a toddler bed.

Our son absolutely loved it as we had some safe toys and books, plus his cup of water. He would wait until we left the room, hop out of bed and read himself to a drowsy stage before climbing into his bed and falling asleep.

What are some good learning toys to buy a toddler for Christmas?

lysistrata

My son is 18 months old and I am not sure what to get him other than what I already have. I wanted to get him something specifically aimed at learning, not just fun time.

Answer
It may sound weird, but at this age - EVERYTHING is a learning toy. Your child will be able to learn from anything. Kids are sponges at this age and absorb everything from how something feels, to the noise it makes, to the way it moves, etc.

My son always loved things with wheels. He would flip cars over just to play with the wheels - especially ones that you could pull back, and then they'd go forward on their own. You could see the excitement in his face when he figured out how to do this on his own. =)

I've read articles that said constantly giving your baby toys that are teaching, and learning things can actually be detrimental. They say it limits a child's imagination. If a toy is telling your child that something is a bear.. then it's a bear. Nothing more. It's not a magical bear with super powers.. or a bear that loves to eat vanilla pudding.. it's just a bear.

My son does have some learning toys, but I've found he doesn't like them that much. (He likes cause and effect toys like keyboards/pianos.. those pop a shape things, etc where you have to do something to make something happen)

Here's a list of the top 5 educational toddler toys :

http://toys.about.com/od/learningtoysbyage/tp/learningtots.htm


*monkey*

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

What are some good learning toys to buy a toddler for Christmas?

best toddler toys 18 months image

lysistrata

My son is 18 months old and I am not sure what to get him other than what I already have. I wanted to get him something specifically aimed at learning, not just fun time.

Answer
It may sound weird, but at this age - EVERYTHING is a learning toy. Your child will be able to learn from anything. Kids are sponges at this age and absorb everything from how something feels, to the noise it makes, to the way it moves, etc.

My son always loved things with wheels. He would flip cars over just to play with the wheels - especially ones that you could pull back, and then they'd go forward on their own. You could see the excitement in his face when he figured out how to do this on his own. =)

I've read articles that said constantly giving your baby toys that are teaching, and learning things can actually be detrimental. They say it limits a child's imagination. If a toy is telling your child that something is a bear.. then it's a bear. Nothing more. It's not a magical bear with super powers.. or a bear that loves to eat vanilla pudding.. it's just a bear.

My son does have some learning toys, but I've found he doesn't like them that much. (He likes cause and effect toys like keyboards/pianos.. those pop a shape things, etc where you have to do something to make something happen)

Here's a list of the top 5 educational toddler toys :

http://toys.about.com/od/learningtoysbyage/tp/learningtots.htm


*monkey*

How do you know when your baby is ready for the toddler bed?

Amanda

My daughter is 18 months old, just wondering when or how you knew when your child was ready for the toddler bed and how it worked out? Did you put up extra rails on the sides of it?

Answer
They're ready when they start trying to climb out or they rattle it or jump harder than the crib can handle.

My son is 2.5 and just switched to a toddler bed. He wasn't trying to climb out of his crib and I'm actually sad that we switched. I used to lay him down for a nap in his crib and he would feel like he had no choice but to go to sleep. In his toddler bed, he tries to get up a few times after I lay him down. I have to stay close and make sure he actually goes to sleep.
Mornings are weird too because they get up and sometimes it's earlier than you do. If baby gates still work for your daughter, I'd suggest putting one across her bedroom door so you'll know where to find her in the morning.

Most toddler beds are very low to the ground so you don't have to worry about them falling. We got a beautiful one at Toys R Us that's made of wood and has small rails on the sides. My son has been sleeping in his for a week now and not fallen. Put a pillow beside the bed where she could fall for even more peace of mind.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers