I have a 2 yr old and a 11 mo old who I would like to have play in the same area. I have found it challenging to let my toddler enjoy his toys while keeping my little guy away from them. Every idea that I've come up with to keep them from my 11 mo old seems like it will prohibit my toddler from enjoying them. For the most part they nap and eat at the same time, thus their play time coincides, so I don't have the option of letting the toddler play with his "dangerous" toys while my 11 mo old sleeps or eats.
Any creative, innovative, bright ideas from any of you moms you have been there, are there, or can imagine being there? Thanks!!
fyi - choking is my main concern
After my daughter was born I had my son play with his little toys/sets (like legos) at the kitchen table. Other than that everything was safe.
Maybe you can weed out some of the "dangerous" stuff and just put it away for a while. I think it's more important that they play together or at least in the same space vs. what toys/how many are out.
I say throw the 11 month old to the tots!! They'll learn to defend themself. My son is the BIGGEST crybaby diva drama queen... but he's quickly learning to fend for himself when playing with his older sisters.
That's how kids learn, right?
Just remind the older kids that the 11 month old is still a BABY... other than that, let it play out. You're there watching, it's not like baby dolls... you can't make the older kids play gentle, and you can't keep the 'baby' out of there either.
You've really got to watch this movie. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1020938/ It's called "Babies" and it's a documentary which follows real babies from four different countries. It's so fascinating!
Parents are so paranoid about EVERYTHING. In the US, we feel the need to sanitize and protect our kids from EVERYTHING...but in some places, babies are learning to crawl and walk in the dirt and using stones for teething rings!
Unless your little one could choke on it, don't worry so much!!
what kind of dangerous toys does a 2 year old have? just wondering as most toys say age ranges of things like birth - 18 months and then 1yr -3yrs etc. i can't imagine that it will hurt a baby to play with a duplo block not judging just wondering as the age difference seems minimal. I think if the 2 yr old is playing with something the 11 month old can't have put him at the table or put the younger one in a highchair or playpen for that few minutes. your going to be better off to have them playing with the same toys so that as they get older they can play with each other.
No problem! Discovery Toys has got you covered. They have many 1 year old toys that are safe for baby: Measure Up Cups offer so many activities for so many ages, so does Playful Bath Shapes, Story Stacker, Baby Grooves.
www.toysofdiscovery.com
toddler can play with them on a table, in his bedroom, while in a playpen, in your bedroom, in the kitchen, anywhere you and baby aren't.
another idea, if your toddler self feeds, have him play while you feed baby in his high chair.
good luck with this.
I am just not sure what sort of toys you are talking about? I do home daycare and have a large playroom, just for daycare and all of the "out" toys are for all ages of kids (mine are all typically under School age). Nothing is in concealed and covered containers and if they can get to it, they can mouthe and play with it, dump it and drag it around. Puzzles, duplos, tons of "Little People", wood blocks, large and small, toy cars, dollys and clothes and stuffed things, etc.
And I have licensing "choker" standards to uphold.
Sorry, I am perhaps, no help??
this probably isn't a popular method--but i've never really taken small toys away from either of my kids, and neither of them have ever choked on them. My 11 month old plays with her 2 year old brothers' legos with him (the little star wars ones) and he has learned to say "not in your mouth, Nora" and she will pull it right out. Of course she puts things in her mouth all the time--babies do that! But the baby has always been in my sight so I can react quickly if she actually tried to swallow something (as opposed to just plopping it in her mouth to explore it a little). I am also "that mom" that has never baby proofed a thing and had my babies crawling up and down the stairs by 6 months
Two year olds shouldn't have chokable toys, but he'll be three soon enough and the little one will still be little. The fact is that the baby WILL eat those toys and they are not meant to be played with around him. The bigger one will need to have his marbles, tiny legos, etc in another area. That's the only safe way. I remember fishing Barbie shoes out of my one year old's mouth when he got into my 5 year old's (at the time) stuff, after that, Barbies in her room only, not in the family room, same for the polly pockets. The big kid can play in his room, at the table, the baby can be penned for a while or the bigger boy can be gated into another room
Well, the fact is that a 2 year old should not have ANY toys that will fit through a toilet paper roll. They should not have these toys until they are past the age of 3. So, if your older child is playing with toys that are his age then the baby should be able to play with them too.
Kids choke to death every day on toys mama thinks is okay, balls out of penny (quarter's now) candy machines, ping pong balls, balloons, hot wheels cars, crayon pieces, even puzzle pieces can be choke hazards.
You need to make sure each and every toy your toddler has is age appropriate, look them up. If they are small enough for the baby the swallow then I should bet money they are not age appropriate for a 2 year old either.
What toys are not good for the 11 month old?
A 2 year old should not have dangerous toys. They are very close in age
so they should be able to play with the same things. Mine were all a year
apart and they all played with the same toys. Any roadways etc that
someone wanted to play with were put on the kitchen table. Other than that
it was a free for all!!!!!
