Hi moms! I would like to purchase a train table and set for my son for xmas. He will only be 1.5 yrs old but my daughter who is 3 will also play with it. I am looking for suggestions on tables and sets - what do your kids love? Any special considerations I should be thinking of when making my selection?
Thanks for the input!
My son had Thomas Take N Play trains and sets. Those are the die cast trains with the magnets that go on the gray plastic tracks. I didn't buy a train table, but would buy the sets that go with it. We have the train station, sheds, you name it, we probably have it! They held up very well. My son played with them daily for about 2.5 years. They still look good.
My kids loved train tables that weren't at home. They would spend forever playing with the train table at Toys-R-Us, Scholars Choice, the YMCA, the childrens museum, Chapters or at friends houses, but the one we had at home ended up covered in a thick layer of dust before I sold it They never played with it! Anyway, the storage drawers underneath are great. Ikea has really great prices. We also had a Geo Trax set. They loved to play with it when it was all set up, but we rarely took the time to set it up. Of course, we never spent a lot of time at home either...
Be sure and get one with drawers that fit underneath. The extra storage is a life saver. Also, keep in mind that kids will climb on it, sit on it etc, so it's worth investing in one that is sturdy. We spent a bit extra and I'm really glad we did as it held up for several years and we are now passing it on in almost like new condition to another budding locomotive engineer :-).
This is what I have.
http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Wooden-Multi-Ac...
I wanted something that wouldn't JUST be a train table. It is a basic green and nothing is fixed/attached. So it can be used for puzzles, blocks, legos, dollhouses, crafts, etc. and will take us beyond the preschool years.
Brio! My son's brio table came with an attached track, which I loved. Five years later, it's still in great condition and my son is still playing with it.
I would look at Craigslist for a table at the very least. I know a lot of people around here sell them that way. Sometimes people sell tracks with them, other times not. But I agree to go with one with drawers if you can! I will also say that my kids can spend hours at the Barnes and Noble train table and we have some trains at home (although we don't have a table) that I spend forever setting up and then they play for 5 minutes. Not saying you shouldn't do it, just consider it carefully because if your kids aren't super into trains, maybe you should put it off until your son is older.
Imaginarium City Central Train Table and Kidkraft Boys Metropolis Train Table Set are awesome and have storage.
Melissa and Doug. We bought the set (no table). However, I know you can buy the matching tables. We got ours about 6 years ago for our now 9 yr. old. Our son who is now 4 yrs. old plays with it. There have been no broken pieces in all these years. The set was $100 then and worth every cent! :)
I"m glad you asked this question cause I'm looking for one for my son too!! Was wondering if any of these train sets have pieces that make noise or light up? My son loves anything that does this. Thanks!!
we got the melissa and doug table with out the set.
But the best set we found was the Thomas Take A long I think they are called Take N Play now. But my kids played with them until I put them away last year. My son almost 8 asked me to get them back out last week. Not until they get their playroom cleaned up lol.
Someone gave us their old Imaginarium Train table, it's great because it has the drawers for storage underneath.
We bought the Melissa and Doug train set, it just doesn't quite set up as shown on the Imaginarium table, we had to adjust it. If we hadn't gotten the table for free, I would have purchased the Melissa and Doug table to match.
My son has 5-6 of the Thomas trains and the rest are the ones that came with Melissa and Doug. He likes to hook the Melissa and Doug trains up to the Thomas engines.
The other train set they love is the GEO TRAX. Great toy and good quality!
I bought a great train table from Pottery Barn Kids. It is very sturdy with 2 large drawers underneath for storage. They have high quality furniture so it held up well. Make sure you go with quality for the train table because it will get a lot of use and the kids will end up on top of it since they are lower tables.
We bought the Thomas wooden trains. They are pricey but now my son has them to hand down to his children. We added to the set every birthday and Christmas for many years.
