Seeking a non-muktza toy for 3 year old

sunlight

Sat, Oct 11 2014, 11:53 pm

I'm a frustrated single mom of a 3 year old that lives alone in an apt with my son. He needs constant attention.

What's a good non-muktza toy that will keep my son busy on shabbosim/yamim tovim? Preferably a kind of toy that he will be able to play with on his own without needing me to help him build/play with (or is there no such thing?).

I am exasperated with the toys that he has. So many of them are muktza and I can't take out those toys nor put them away... (nor help him play for that matter)

So ladies, what toy is best to invest in? Legos, clics, megatiles...

Thanks for your help (and hugs lol) in advance.

seeker

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 12:11 am

Duplo is great. Get one of the sets with people/animals/wheels and then in addition to building they also spend time doing pretend play with them.

But really it sounds like what would help most is a good playdate. Are there no potential friends around? Nothing like kids to keep each other busy so the moms can chill a little.

mommy1108

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 12:12 am

My 3 year old son loves mitzva kinder! We got him the shteibel set and he enjoys setting up the shul and putting his mentschies in to daven. He also loves mega blocks (even though they can be for young kids too). You just don't need so many in order to build big structures. My son also loves the Tallis and tefillin set by JET. We got it at our local seforim store

amother

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 12:18 am

If ur three year old has no other brothers to learn how to at with then you might have to teach him how to play in order for him to play alone.

My three year old son can play with lego for hours all by himself. That is unusual but he had an older brother who used to love Lego so he copied him and followed his brother. For his upsherin that's all the presents everyone bought him was adult lego because that's what he loved and really played with. Also my kids all have big imaginations.

What is your three year old like?

Another amazing toy is magna tiles. My kids would build stuff and then pretend play like use lego people to play with and this would keep them busy for hours.

Playmobil my boys loved too but I think lego is better.

IMHopinion

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 12:28 am

Dishes! And more dishes! And a kitchen corner if you can afford the price and space.

Mitzvah mentchie sets are a great idea too.

justmarried

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 12:28 am

I agree with the magna tiles. I have a 5 yo and a 2.5yo. They are both obsessed with it! It is definitely my most played with toy. Although it's expensive I feel like I really got my money's worth.

miami85

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 12:37 am

My 3.5 year-old loves this simple loop track that he can affix to a bookshelf (I.e. gravity powered) and loves to "race" his hot wheels cars on. The track we have was around $10--it's a little broken now so we have to keep reconnecting the loop, but we have a younger son who is partly the reason it broke, but if it's just the 3 year-old it should be fine.

momX4

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 12:40 am

my boys loved train tracks at this age. The other posters are correct, work on finding a friend as well.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 7:11 am

Just ask yourself what kids used to play with before the invention of electronics. I think we're way too dependent on things that light up and talk. Kids are forgetting how to have an imagination!

When DD was 3, she had a lot of toys, but her favorite toys were rocks from the yard. Seriously! That kid LOVED rocks.

If you're short on money, let him stack and restack piles of cans. Tuna, veggies, fruit, anything in a can makes a great stacking toy. Tupperware sets are a big hit, too.

rachel6543

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 11:53 am

Wood train tracks and toy cars and trucks. My son loved playing with those at age 3. He's 6 yrs old now and still spends hrs playing with them. Also, we have 2 kids carpet that has roads on it, my son loves playing with his toy cars on them.

At age 3 my son was not very interested in Legos or blocks. More like age 5 before he showed real interest in them.

The wood train sets can be expensive. IKEA has better prices on them. Also, you can often get a good deal buying used toy train sets (Craigslist).

The kid carpets with roads you can get for about $20 at ikea or homedepot.

amother

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 2:46 pm

Thomas wooden train tracks and trains are a fortune. My collection is worth over $1,000 after all the years I bought stuff. But my son played for hours and hours and a lot of boys don't have it so it brought over a lot of friends because they wanted to use his trains.

seeker

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 4:44 pm

Train sets can be expensive, yes, but the wooden ones are also extremely durable and easy to find used - think Craigslist, thrift stores, yard sales, even freecycle. They're a great little-boy magnet, as amother said. There are also cheaper versions that are pretty good, scout for sales over the next month or two aimed at holiday shoppers.

amother

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 4:56 pm

We have the cheaper version of magna tiles, called playmags ($80 on Amazon) and my 3 year old does really play with them on Shabbos, and he incorporates his little play people, cars, or animals into what he builds.

notme

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 9:22 pm

My three year old twins are really into the lego sets. They sit and build on their own for the most part.

http://www.lego.com/en-us/dupl.....icnic Web Page Name

imasinger

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 9:42 pm

The most played with things in our house are magna tiles and mitzvah mentchies. It's been that way for years; my youngest is now 8.

A good Thomas train set is also a lot of fun. I bought mine used from Craigslist, and it has lasted really well.

chocolate fondue

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 9:59 pm

my kids also love playing with MagnaTiles and mentchies (together).

My kids have the HappyLand 'mentchies' from Early Learning Centre in England. They are not 'Jewish' but they come with really cute houses, castles, farms etc. Some of the houses have batteries, some don't. the ones that do, I just didn't put the batteries in.

Having said that, I think they play more with the MagnaTiles. They are practically indestructable and are not a hazard for babies.

Bitachon101

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 10:17 pm

Ds almost 3 spends hours building things with good old sets of blocks. First he found a game of jenga that we had and decided it was his blocks. Then we got him more from a legit blocks set. He loves building towers and knocking down.
Also Lego trains with animals and numbers he has a great time with.
Trains and cars also keep him busy - we only have a short amount of track but he builds roads out of blocks for the cars and trains to drive thru and snakes it down the hallway.

bookworm10

Sun, Oct 12 2014, 10:17 pm

Magna Tiles hands down. My 5 and 3 year old play with them ALL the time, and never get bored. They use mentchies with them and each day build something else.

lylac

Mon, Oct 13 2014, 9:49 am

I like the magna tiles, but the magformers brand is much better, the magnets are stronger, and my 3 yr old can put things together that don't fall apart. they're more expensive, but they are great!
I also like the Melissa and doug puzzles that are dress-up dolls. They do have boy ones too, and a 3 yr old can make all different kinds of outfits, and play with the mentchie as well.
books are also good, if you go to the local public library, they usually have tons of hard kid books and you can get new ones every week and it's exciting each Shabbos, and maybe you can read one or two and he can just look at the rest himself?