Toys that Grow with Your Child -- Fisher Price Learning Home

For a toy to be inducted into my personal 'hall of fame,'  it's gotta give a good bang for the buck.  By that, I mean a toy that your child plays with day in and day out, one that holds their attention so well, and/or they play with for such a long period of time that you are completely grateful you paid every cent for it. 

Behold, the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home.  One of our family's favorite toys EVAH.  My daughter got it for her first birthday.  She's 3 1/2 now, and still plays with it.  In fact, right now it's teamed up with a chair and a blanket to make a house/barn, depending on what she's pretending at the moment.

This thing retails around $85, give or take.  To me, that's a lot to shell out for a baby toy.  However, the Learning Home has proved its value many, many times over.   Here's how:

• Every time we have kids come over for playdates, they all gravitate toward it, whether they're still crawling or they're in kindergarten.
• It's big enough for several kids to play with at once.
• There's a lot to entertain small toddlers/bigger babies.  There are lights to turn on, songs that play, buttons to push, dials to dial and balls.  Balls are always a big winner.
• Pretty much everything on the Learning House lives up to its name...your child is learning colors, numbers, cause-and-effect, opposites (open/closed, on/off, day/night, etc.)
• It's sturdy enough for pre-walkers to pull up on, and there's a lot of incentive to do so...some of the fun features of the home are higher up.
• There are two different sound settings (learning and music) as well as a 'sound off' mode so your child can explore with different sound 
• There's enough sound and song variety to have less annoyance potential for parents.  I know some toys my daughter had as a small toddler only played a song or two, and it drove me nuts.   The songs are pretty appealing, at least to me.  My husband found the singing voice a little syrupy, but I think it's just a generally cheery voice.  
• You can make up a lot of games to play with your toddler using the Learning House.  Our favorites were hiding something unusual in the mailbox for Li'l Girlie to find, having her stuffed animals pop out from behind the closed window, and playing 'knock, knock, who's there?' with the door.  

I've even got a video of Li'l Girlie demonstrating the Learning Home on my Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months website.  This toy is pretty much a home run for that age, and it lasts way beyond that too.

Bike!

Yes, after all my talking about the Strider Running Bike, we finally got one for Li'l Girlie.  Her Grammy and Grandpa gave her one as an early Christmas gift, and boy has she taken to it.  She knew what it was immediately, signed 'bike', did a little happy dance and threw her leg over it.

The folks at Strider say that most kids walk with the bike between their legs first, then gradually learn to trust the seat and their balance and start zooming from there.  That's pretty much the pattern we've seen with Li'l Girlie.  She's just starting to coast for a second, so we can see the real speed coming just around the corner.

We've been extremely pleased (as has Li'l Girlie) with the Strider so far.  She's learning balance that most kids don't learn for another couple of years, and she's so confident riding her bike.  She'll never use training wheels (the bane of my learning to ride a bike experience), and will transition straight to a regular bike once she gets big enough.

The bike's adjustable enough to fit a child as young as 18 months to your average 5 year old, and as an added bonus, it's a whole lot cheaper than the other leading pedal-free bike brand.

Here's Li'l Girlie in action. Look at her go!

Top toys for 12-18 month olds

Fun with the Fisher Price Learning House
Originally uploaded by bunnyfabulous

How did it get to be halfway through October? I haven't seen a Christmas ad yet, but I know they're coming; lurking out there in the way-too-near future. Usually I'm trying to get gift ideas together by now so that I don't feel pressured to think of something at the last moment. Does it always work? No, but at least I get my gift shopping list somewhat organized. :)

I know I appreciate idea lists for different categories of people for whom I'd be buying presents. So this year, I put together a list of top toys for 12-18 month olds for you. I know, it's only one age group, but I've got to start somewhere. This is the most recent stage that Samantha's gone through, so it's fresh in my mind. So, if you're doing toy shopping for a young toddler this will hopefully give you a bit of a head start in thinking of a fun, age appropriate gift. 

Have another toy that your 12-18 month old has loved to play with?  Let me know!