Which Tool Bench?

We got my son the Black and Decker tool bench like this one http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Power-Workshop-Toolben... We paid $35 for it at Sam's Club, but the price has obviously gone up since then. He will turn 5 in November and it is still played with regularly. And he and his 22 mo sister love to play with it together. We have added to it little by little. I took an old tool belt of my hubby's and cut it down to fit my son. We find tools and hard hats at garage sales sometimes. So his collection is a little larger than this one. I was in Big Lots the other day and they had pretend Black and Decker tools for a very reasonable price. This toy is absolutely loved in our house.

My son has a click start computer in his room. And he got that at 3. It has always been a great tool for him to practice computer skills and play learning games. But my daughter is unable to play anything. She winds up banging the keyboard or turning the monitor (an old tv) on and off. This upsets my son. So as of right now it is not a good toy for them to share.

When my girls were one they loved the Playskool Ball Popper that my brother gave them. It has a large, easy to press "button" to start the action. And it plays the music and "pops" the balls for a good amount of time. My girls still play with theirs and are two years old now. They like to chase the balls that dont fall right back into the ramp. Also, the Little People sets are a hit. I got a bunch of them from a coworker when my girls were about 1. They can play with them for years and their 3 y cousin plays with them when he comes over.

our oldest kids are 3 years apart and we bought a power wheels 2 seater jeep. It was the greatest thing. The oldest would drive the 1 year old around and they would ride that thing for hours, usually ran the batteries down everyday when the weather was nice. It was their favorite toy. They hardly played on the swing set and other toys.

honestly, my age is showing! That's a lot for children to have at home! That's more like what a daycare would have. If you start out giving your children sooo much, how do they decide what to play with & how much is actually sitting idle or never touched??!!

That said, since you have dramatic & constructive play covered, & you have lots of books & craft supplies.....how about focusing on music? Get a simple keyboard, some drums, noisemakers, etc. Or introduce nature to them by giving them pets: a bird, some fish, a lizard, etc. Since they have so many toys, maybe it's time to think outside of ToysRUs!

We too got my son the balck and decker tool bench from Sams. He still has it. We got it over two years ago. It gas held up well!

What about starting a Brio Train Set. A little more boy oriented but both can (and will ) play with it.

I'd suggest Little Tykes or Step 2. They are easy to clean and very durable. My four sons had the Little Tykes one and loved it!