Best Toys and Playtime Materials for Kids Age 3-And Their Parents

Visions of toys and playtime materials at first thought may still hold images like sugarplums, dancing across the mind. Sweet and wonderful toys bounce across the mind’s eye such as loveys to touch, bears and dolls to hold, drums to bang on and trucks and bikes to whoosh. But, at a second thought, toys and playtime materials of today probably brings other things to mind. In our cacophonous world there seems to be no toys around that don’t burp, giggle, beep, dance or sing. And with the mindboggling array of toys underfoot, toy catalogues, stores just for toys, toys in your supermarket, how do we choose the best? Parents, educators, and toy design experts would agree that the best toys and playtime materials WOULD vary for each year or age of the child. One special childhood age is 3. Age three is a momentous, magical age, a huge step from an infant or baby into being a child of our world. At age three a child is more discriminating with toys and playtime materials, and not every toy will be accepted, or acceptable!

For age 3 kids there are really two forms of “best” toys or playtime materials: make it yourself toys that can be constructed from home with no purchase necessary materials, and those that can be purchased at affordable costs.

Make It Yourself Playtime:
They say that all the world’s a stage, and at age 3 kids already have a storehouse of experiences and imaginary plots in mind to enact on or in a stage. Stages can be made of a huge variety of toy box or closet stuff-building blocks of all sizes, train tracks, and boxes. Using the skills the child has already mastered of constructing and putting together “long” buildings or “big” towers, and using whatever materials are around, a small stage can be put together with some kind of sheet or cloth or blanket as a curtain. No perfection is ever required here, and the configurations may change each time a stage is constructed. The best toys to complete the stage are exactly the ones that might be lying around or even at the bottom of the toybox – -animals, characters, big and small. Bring toddler chairs or pillows up in front for watching. You will want to demonstrate the idea with any of his/her stuffed animals, or character dolls, and make up a minute or two “performance” of any silly thing. Don’t be afraid to be silly! For example, Woody (from Toy Story) keeps dropping his hat, or doing a song or a dance in which he can also invite other “guests” to the stage. Stages can be built higher or larger using backs of chairs in a 4-corner arrangement to hold up a large cloth sheet. Then, this stage can be a circus! At age 3 the circus is also a new favorite along with Dumbo. Imaginative play is important at this age, and this is a great activity for play dates as well.

Purchased Toys:
Even before age 3 a toddler of our world today can often say, “how it work?” when any doll or toy is handed to him or her or, in pointing out all household machines. Isn’t it a great thing that toddler toys that “work” offer the best experience and preparation for our buttons, and gadgets, and our necessities of today!

Of the toys for playtime that are purchased, I have consistently found the V-tech toys to be the most involving, the most durable, the most interesting, the most educational, and the most likeable by kids and parents. Just the other day during a quick trip to the department store, what did my 3-year-old stop and not want to leave? A new V-tech toy! The V-tech toys all seem to have enough possibilities for exploration and separate functions to keep stimulation going. We’ve bought several different used models from our local thrift shop, and despite wear and tear, all were excellent in functioning just needed new batteries to keep them going. Whether used interactively with parents, or by themselves, the V-tech toys DO seem to hold interest longer than other toys, especially for those children with the shortest attention span. Their buttons easy to manipulate, lights and voices all give enough congratulatory success to the child to keep them going and learning while enjoying.