Two- and Three-Year-Olds

Hi all- I was visiting the Playskool website (it's just www.playskool.com) and they have videos showing how playing with certain toys triggers a child’s developmental growth. For instance, the Busy Basics Form Fitter (my sister is considering buying this for her goddaughter) helps a child understand sizes and gain problem solving skills.

Do you only buy toys that will help your child learn and develop? Or do you buy a mix of learning toys and fun/ no educational value toys?

We buy all kinds. Mostly we have puzzles, match games, legos,blocks and tonnes of crafts. I cannot think of any toy which doesn't serve any purpose. We are not fans of barbies or cindrella. She has one doll of each and thats it. Otherwise, with playing balls and similar toys her hand eye coordination has improved a lot. Playing with her kitchen makes her remember what mommy cooked for dinner or lunch so she prepares the same for me, she also uses her fridge,dishwasher amazingly well.

At the age of 3, I think getting them toys which will be fun and at the same time has some purpose will be good.

                                                               Beautiful siggy by Meghan (lovetoday)

Sounds like you have a fun house for your 3 yr old :) I completely agree that 3 yr olds should have toys which will be fun and at the same time have developmental/ educational purpose.

The Playskool website has a section about ages and stages of play. They say this about the 3+ years... "At this age, children are all about "Let's pretend." They’ll use their imagination to create worlds and learn more about their own. And the more they learn, the more they’ll ask “Why?” Children at this point are able to engage in cooperative play, keep a fantasy game or an activity going for a long time and see another person’s point of view."
http://www.hasbro.com/playskool/en_US/discover/ages-and-stages/ages-3-years.cfm

Does your little one create worlds of their own yet?

Oh yes, absolutely. ITA with you on the pretend play..She does this 80% of her playing time, feeds her babies, take them shopping, comes and tells us hush...my baby is sleeping..if you talk louder she might wake up and much more. She even says baby has got flu, so taking her to doctor's office :-) Isn't it so lovely to watch them while they play? My LO often pretends like a mother to all her toys!!

She is also into building tents and houses for herself. She will keep her table and chairs and make them like doors and houses and will ask us to knock knock..To make it more fun I often put a comforter above our stairs (like a tent) and I cannot measure her happiness.

                                                               Beautiful siggy by Meghan (lovetoday)