Reader’s Favorites 2010

It’s back! Last year I asked my facebook readers to submit their children’s favorite toys for a gift guide that wasn’t about what’s trendy, but about what toys have been tested tried and true. Here are our picks for 2010.

Rockin’ Robots Balance Game

This game looks like so much fun, you build and learn with robots! Reader Amy said “We’ve had them for over 5 years, and my 8, 5 and 2 year old all love them ( so much so we got a second set).” Sounds like a winner to us. I have already bookmarked this for my son’s list this year!

Melissa and Doug Role Play Set

Many of my readers said that their children love dress up. Reader Alexa said ” Dress-up clothes, especially open-ended pieces like capes, wigs, wings, playsilks, etc, are without a doubt THE BEST playthings for my two kids – since they are a girl and a boy with a 4 1/2 year age gap, not every toy idea works well for both of them together. They will play “pretend” for HOURS, in all kinds of different pretend worlds.” This made me so happy to hear, imagination isn’t just fun it’s a key element to problem solving and mastering social skills too. Here are a few fun choices for your dress up box.

For more open ended pretend play Reader Jessie from The Education Of Ours suggested these playsilks from Beneath The Rowan Tree, don’t they make you want to dance? Also great for impromptu capes!

Candyland
Another common theme among my readers suggestions were preschool games like the classic Candyland . Reader Katie said “…it’s fun to have things we all can get involved with!”

Little Librarian
I was immediately in love with this suggestion from our contributing writer Kim from Mom Tried It. This is what she wrote “I love that it promotes reading and love for books without batteries or being too expensive.”

Fisher-Price Geotrax Rail and Road System Grand Central Station

Another popular pick were Geotrax.  Reader Alicia wrote  “Geotraxx train sets are a HUGE hit for my two year old son. My four year old likes building and setting it up for his younger brother. The pieces are easy to put together and the trains stay on the track. You can buy a motorized train for it too.” Gayla added this about her 7 year old son ” …has had it since he was two and still loves it!His big thing now is taking down and changing the tracks .” I think that is a pretty telling review any toy you can use for 5 years deserves a spot on a gift guide!

Toysmith Volcano Making Kit is such an awesome addition to this list , fostering a love of science and the world around us is a great gift to give our kids. Reader Dara says “… science kits of any kind. He has a volcano kit from Chapters/Indigo that he uses all the time”

Another toy that was mentioned by more than one reader were Fisher Price Little People. This playset Fisher Price Little People A to Z Learning Zoo was mentioned by Tara from Feels Like Home who said her daughter has been asking for it over and over for months. Can you blame her ? I loved Little People and my son did too. I like that the people and animals can be used with the playsets but are great alone too.

Many parents mentioned Lego as well, what stood out for me was how wide the age range for Lego was. Jess from Playful Learning said her sons who are 2,4 and 5 all love Duplo and reader Melissa said that Lego is still the go to toy for her 5 and 10 year old sons. I love toys that can last as well as be played with my multiple kids at once.

The last toy I am including are Playmobil playsets. One that reader Shannon said “Playmobil Pet Clinic has been played with almost daily for the past 6 months. I love the quality, the fact that it closes up and can be neatly stored (or traveled with), and most importantly how many hours of imaginative play my daughter has gotten out of it.”

Please note none of these products were reviewed by No Time For Flash Cards for profit or provided free in return for a mention either.  All these were suggested by our facebook readers who did so without compensation, simply to pass info from one parent to another.