IKEA: It's Not Just Furniture - They Also Have Children's Toys

When the first toy recall list came out sometime last year for possible lead paint issues, my husband and I really considered the environment we had created for our children to learn and play. Most every toy we had was made in China and, honestly, this frightened us. Having had toys affected by the recalls, we decided not to wait for the next list to come out and just packed up all of the toys labeled made in China and moved forward with new toys manufactured by companies with better safety standards.

IKEA stores aren't necessarily a place you'd think of when considering adding new toys to your child's stash, but think again. IKEA has a lot of great and inexpensive toys that make learning fun in a safe way. We purchased almost all of the toys IKEA has to offer for roughly $400 and our children haven't complained once about the lack of sound effects and lights, battery operated fun or the characters they were so used to playing with.

For our three-year-old son, we first purchased the MALA easel. This two-sided easel is the perfect size for children, and it's lots of fun, too! One side is a dry erase board, so we purchased the MALA felt tip pen/stamp set. These markers have a regular drawing tip on one side and a fun shaped stamp on the other, allowing for designs of stars, hearts and circles. The other side of the easel is a chalkboard, so we also included the MALA chalk in our purchase. The bottom of the easel has an attachment for a roll of paper, which IKEA also sells. The MALA drawing paper roll adds an extra element of fun to this easel. IKEA also sells white board markers, paint sets, children's scissors and more! Be sure to pick up the MALA long-sleeved apron for clean artistic fun!

Other toys we picked up for our three-year-old include the LILABO train sets. We got the twelve-piece starter set, the twenty-piece basic set, as well as extra rails and cars. My son absolutely loves his trains and the IKEA sets coordinate with all other train sets on the market. My son also loves his play kitchen, so we got him some new accessories, including the DUKTIG cookware set, which includes pots, pans, lids and utensils, as well as DUKTIG baking set, which includes pie and loaf pans, a rolling pin and cookie cutters, which are also a lot of fun to use with PlayDoh.

For our one-year-old baby boy, we got the MULA stacking rings, which are a basic ring set, perfect for building hand-eye coordination. We also got the KLAPPER FISK pull-toy, as well as the MULA push toy, which are both a bundle of fun. We also got him some finger puppets as well as a few soft musical toys.

For them both, we picked up the MAMMUT children's table and chairs. They love them, they sit and do arts and crafts or have a snack at their little table. We also got them some toys to share, including the MULA crane with blocks, which is a truck with blocks and a crane. We also got them the MULA roller coaster, which is a medium sized bead maze and the MULA cogwheel, which is great for both fine and gross motor skills. They each got a set of MULA stacking/nesting cups for the bath.

IKEA isn't generally a store people would consider for toys and I highly recommend them for filling in the gaps if you need to upgrade toys as your children grow. They always have a good stock of toys because, again, people don't go there first for toys. You can find a lot of basic, no-frills toys that are fun and affordable!