Best Toys for 2- and 3-Year-Olds

The best toys for 2 and 3 year olds don't have to be expensive, my son is amused by things that are very cheap and simple. Stop wasting your money on the fancy toys because they rarely play with them anyway. My son has a room full of toys that we bought because we thought that he would like them, but he hardly plays with them.

He would rather read a book, go outside, or play with a dinosaur or a toy car. Even with all the new toys with a ton of gadgets and bells and whistles he still plays with simple things that every kid plays with. The same stuff we played with when we were young. He loves trains and airplanes and kids don't care how much you paid for something.

Simple things like a coloring book and some crayons or some bubbles keep him entertained for hours. However, he does love the cartoon toys that they have now for Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob, and Blue's Clues. But don't shell out hundreds of dollars for these things because chances are they won't play with them for very long. He loves these things but he is content playing with blocks or some simple toy that makes music or animal sounds too.

They also have expensive toys for the bathtub too, please save your money. Give them a few bowls or cups and would stay in there for hours if you let them. I think at this age they start to develop an imagination, so let them use it! It's not about how much you pay for something that matters, think about things that you can play with together that teach them something. At this age they love to stack blocks up and make towers then knock them down.

My son loves animals, we enjoy reading books together and he will point to all the animals and knows what they are and what sound they make. Take time while they are young to teach them, they love to learn but they also need a teacher.

Girls don't have to be expensive either, they have really cute dress up clothes at the dollar stores now, something that most every little girl loves to do. Dolls, books, barbies, and playing house are all things that are great for little girls. Stuff that lets them pretend is fun for boys and girls.

Consider investing in a play kitchen or house or maybe a little doctors kit for kids to play with. Forget the silly gadgets that are out there, they are such a waste of money. It's really easy to feel overwhelmed by all the things babies need so make sure that whatever you buy you are actually going to get use out of it. When I had my first son I thought all the baby stuff was so cute, but you really don't need half of it.