Starting out...best toys to buy?

[mrsp14]

Hi everyone,

I'm just starting out.... have courses booked but thats it so far. Anyway, i'm trying to spread costs out so am trying to buy little bits and bobs now. Cananyone suggest the best types of toys to have? My little girl is only months so at the mo we only have a few rattles and bears!!! I've ordered some duplo sets off ebay as I remember loving that at my childminders when i was a kid. I'm also going to get various story books in. BUt obviously will need more toys!!

TIA

[swindonminder]

Hi there

How about a childs kitchen, I got mine free off a site on facebook. Most of the toys I have brought are secondhand.
Have you thought about what multi-cultural toys you will be wanting to buy. I have some Dora the Explora toys, puzzles, Dora laptop, Dora Easel. I also want to get a black boy doll. I have barbies and ken dolls some are oriental looking so I guess that would be classed as multicultural.
I have loads of craft bits that I get from my local scrap store, I paid a membership for a year and I can go in and get as much as I like throughout the year, maybe there is something like that around your area.
When I first started out I was unsure what to buy so I have tried to accomdate all age ranges.
You dont need to buy everything at once you can just add bits as you go along.

:)

[jumpinjen]

Boot sales in the summer would be good, as well as NCT sales. Go for a good mix and build up as you go:
dolls, blankets, clothes, pushchair.
toy garage and cars
farm and animals
puppets of animals and people.
jigsaws and pegboard puzzles, starting from 2 piece and getting harder.
games.... orchard toys ones are good.
dressing up for boys and girls
play kitchen/food/pots and pans
craft materials... paint/glue/paper/scissors/playdough cutters
small table and chairs
both happyland and little people have multicultural figures in
a builder's tray for messy play/outdoor play.
ride on toys/slide/rocker etc for outdoors
toddler toys... pop up things, hammering toy, things where the child has to work out how it works.

HTH. Jen x

[xdirtydancerx]

The lo's at my house only ever want to play with the dora mega bloks, elc whizz around garage and the tea set. Other than that they like crafts and colouring!!

[clio0602]

Favourites for 2-7yrs here is playdough and craft and 1 to 3's role play, kitchen, dressing up and prams x

[Monkey26]

My kiddies love 'chatting to mummy' on the phone! So i went round a few phone shops and asked if they had any ex display mobiles going spare... one trip around our local town (4 or so phone shops!) got me about 14!!! A good saying is "the kids keeping eating/dropping mine!" :D

I have a BIG box of teddies in storage and a smaller box in the play room - every so often i rotate the teddies in the smaller box and that gets them all excited.

Colouring, drawing and stickers are popular with kiddies aged 2+

They also cost a bit of money but my Vtech kiddie cameras are one of the best things i ever 'splashed out' on - even the little little ones carry them around and take photos - mainly of the floor LOL but hey its all KUW and ICT work :D

I have lots and lots of boxes of toys (dolls, transport, sensory, duplo etc), in my storage sheds, and i bring them out on a rotation basis - keeps all the kiddies excited - its like new toys every few weeks!

Good luck and welcome to Childminding xx

[Aimi-jo]

My kiddies love 'chatting to mummy' on the phone! So i went round a few phone shops and asked if they had any ex display mobiles going spare... one trip around our local town (4 or so phone shops!) got me about 14!!! A good saying is "the kids keeping eating/dropping mine!" :D

I have a BIG box of teddies in storage and a smaller box in the play room - every so often i rotate the teddies in the smaller box and that gets them all excited.

Colouring, drawing and stickers are popular with kiddies aged 2+

They also cost a bit of money but my Vtech kiddie cameras are one of the best things i ever 'splashed out' on - even the little little ones carry them around and take photos - mainly of the floor LOL but hey its all KUW and ICT work :D

I have lots and lots of boxes of toys (dolls, transport, sensory, duplo etc), in my storage sheds, and i bring them out on a rotation basis - keeps all the kiddies excited - its like new toys every few weeks!

Good luck and welcome to Childminding xx

Thats brilliant about the ex-display phones, im gonna try that out :)

[Doofuz]

I have been doing the same, I don't have children of my own so I had to start at the bottom. I have been going to car boot sales with a list and only getting what is on the list unless it is something I know I can use and it's a bargain. All of which other people have previously mentioned in the posts above. I am a fan of the wooden toys so have concentrated on these, and also multicultural toys The only new thing I have bought as I couldn't see them in car boots was a family of black dolls for the dollshouse I haven't got yet :D the website I got these from is my all time favourite and I could spend a fortune on there :blush: At the weekend I bought a dolls highchair and some dolls accessories. It cost me all of £1.50.

Wooden inset puzzles, small box of rattles, play kitchen equipment, handbags, shoes and hats, small diecast cars and larger plastic/wooden ones and a wooden train set.

I really, really want a persona puppet but am looking at £30 - £60 so am waiting for that :D

The best toys are cardboard boxes, wooden spoons and anything else that goes into treasure baskets. The children at nursery all love the tea strainer :idea: :laughing:

[Rmead]

NCT sales, car boots and ebay is where my toys are from as well as Freecycle. Freecycle is amazing! I've got dolls and buggies, toy cars, an amazing Galt storage cupboard, a big water tray, children's chairs. Also netmums site has a local board for your area with people selling toys cheap.

[dolly12345]

It is always having a look around the Freecycle site and tabletop sales. These are your cheapest options. NCT is great as well, good tip is to to search out the ones in more affluent areas, better class of products tend to be up for grabs.