If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

How do you handle the age difference in toys and playing together?

Noah 80% of the time refuses to let the twins play with HIS toys ( yet will glady hoard theirs!) ...When they want THEIR toy back, he gets mad.

Also..he can really never play some of his toys unless they are napping. ( partially b/c he is a serious OCD child and when he wants to play cars for ex. He has to have all 7500 cars out and organized etc and theres no where in my house for him to go alone....although I have tried putting him in his room alone, it kitchen with gate closed, in playroom with door closed etc.. He says No, I need to WATCH him play?!?!)

Same with Art supplies, legos etc..

Any creative ways to handle this? Suggestions for making it easier on everyone etc?

Toy suggestion they can ALL play together?

TIA!

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

Maybe mine are close enough together, or because they're both boys - but honestly mine play all the same stuff now. There are some things I'd rather Colin not play with - b/c it's a mess or annoying to deal with, so when Ryan asks for play doh, painting, etc. we tell him it's an activity for when colin is napping. Coloring they do together.

Can you set some big boy stuff up in Noah's bedroom and let him play independently throughout the day?
My boys enjoy playing kitchen and cars together the most. Colin essentially just copies Ryan, but it works

ETS: Duh, ok my suggestions are what you said you tried. honestly I would push it on him - explain he can either "share" his cars, etc. or play at the kitchen table (some place higher) or in his room where the girls can't get to them.

Message edited 1/24/2011 1:30:40 PM.

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

same problem here. what i have done that has helped a lot is on hanukkah i bought "sharing toys". i actually gave half of josh's toys to his brother and half of his brothers toys to him and told him these are toys you must share. that way his brother had toys that were very appealing to him and if he wanted to use them he'd have to let his brother use his toys too. he also couldn't have a fit if his brother was playing with the toy, like he would have if it was "his". this has actually trickled down to all their toys and he is much better about sharing. BUT we still have problems with playing with board games and things the little one can't play yet and with that he only really plays when his brother is napping or when he is downstairs with my parents. maybe make a bin of sharing toys and just keep adding more.

i try to do things they both can do but there isn't that much. parade with instruments/dancing, tunnels/tents with balls, playdoh and coloring, shaving cream, arts and crafts, bean bin, imaginext toys, cars/trains, legos. i even shut the lights off and give them flashlights and that keeps them busy for 20-30 minutes. your girls are younger so i'm not sure if you can do most of these yet but maybe in a few months.

it's so hard when they can't play outside. we are going stir crazy.

oh when it snows i bring the snow inside in a cooler and but it in the bathtub for them to play with. you can add bath paints or food coloring to it. sooo much fun!

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

We don't seem to have a problem with toy sharing. Yael is VERY interested in anything Alex plays with, even if it isn't age appropriate, and thankfully, Alex is more than happy to share.

What is the age difference for your kids?

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

This is a great question and I am going to stalk your post

DS is 4 1/2 and DD 9 mos so this is becoming an issue. She is always "messing up" his trains and makes a bee line for anything he is playing with. He on the other hand wants all her toys only when she wants them of course.

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

Jack and Tyler basically play with all the same toys. I can't take out crayons when Tyler is up because he just eats them. Same with Playdoh. But every other toy they can play with together. Sharing it is another story though

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

Posted by Diana1215

Jack and Tyler basically play with all the same toys. I can't take out crayons when Tyler is up because he just eats them. Same with Playdoh. But every other toy they can play with together. Sharing it is another story though

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

I have 2 boys that are 23 months apart--my 1 year old pretty much plays with most of the stuff my 3 year old does. I keep toys with small parts in bins we only take out in the AM when the baby is napping. If there is an activity he really wants to do while the little guy is up he can't have, I set him up at the kitchen table. If he loves legos, will he still play with duplo legos? My 3 year old still loves them and so does my 1 year old.

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

We have the same issues. Matteo likes to build with his lincoln logs. The tornado twins like to destroy his houses. Matteo likes to build sodor. The tornado twins like to destroy his train tracks.

So, we do a couple of things. Matteo will sometimes go upstairs to play but, like Noah, he wants me to watch. So, I put up the superyard and created a twin free zone for Matteo. He can do whatever he wants and play with whatever he wants in there. The twins are so occupied with themselves and the other toys, they don't try to get in. I tried it the opposite, with gating off the twins but they got upset.

Also, there are some toys Matteo and I will play with when the twins are napping such as play do or finger paints. It helps Matteo stay quiet while they are napping.

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

you know i have the same problem!

right now the toys are all a mixed up mess. but Dom is like Noah when he plays....if he plays Cars, he needs to have every single car/mater etc out.

Certain things we save for nap time/after the babies are in bed time but the rest of the day I feel like I am always saying SHARE NICE

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

and you know Dom won't go up in his toy room for more than a fe mins without wanting me up there! we are working on that to

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

Re: If you have a Toddler and preschooler ( or any younger/older children)..playing/toys question...

My two are the same ages as your three are (3 1/2 and 16 months) and we have the exact same problems here. I am always saying share nicely. What I have done, is gotten DD some of her own cars and trains, i.e. the girl ones. DS of course wants them too. When they trade it makes it easier because she has something he wants and vice versa. DS also wants all 6354 million cars and trains out at once too.