18 Month Olds

[Francine]

Do yours play with toys? I'm having a hard time finding anything that they will play with...****n around and act crazy yes, they do that. Scatter the toys around, throw them, stand on them, yes, they do that too. I guess I am out of practice with this age but I am finding myself at a lose. What do you do with this age? In the past when I have had this age I also had older kids so the little ones would follow them around etc, but now these two are my oldest.

Also one of these little guys is teething, I get that even at this age he needs to chew on things but I HATE him chewing on the baby rattles etc. he has lots of teeth already and is distroying the rattles. Every thing that he picks up goes right into his mouth, doesn't seem to matter how big it is. Plus I seem to be passing a cold around and around, even with cleaning the toys every day he is a very heavy drooler, it gets on everything. Can you teach and 18 month old to close his mouth and swallow? When do you start teaching them not to put toys in their mouths?

[BentleysBands]

its totally normal as you described...i love this age

i just remind when i see things in mouth, it doesnt belong in their, yucky i say...
my one lil guy will 'play' when i'm down with him but most times he just wanders and thinks lifes great ::

my biggest struggle is the whole covering the mouth when coughing

[Unregistered]

I have both boys around this age-they both love playing with cars and trucks, they also love the little ride on toys. One does still put EVERYTHING in the mouth so we are working on that!

[Francine]

I know that running in the house is "bad" but did it really need to be *****'d
out::

[Lilbutterflie]

I know that running in the house is "bad" but did it really need to be *****'d
out::

That's wierd! Why would that be beaped out?

Anyway... all of that seems perfectly normal for that age. I agree that you want to discourage him chewing on ALL toys, but I do think he should be given an outlet toy or teether that he is allowed to chew on. My DS had a problem with biting others at this age, but if he was provided with a "chewey", it helped with the biting behavior ALOT. I would ask the parents if there is a special toy at home that he loves to chew or teethe on, and when you catch him chewing on your toys, replace it with his. Maybe even just some washclothes kept in the fridge or freezer.
And the part about not playing with toys but instead scattering, throwing, standing, etc... Well, that IS their way with playing with them at this age!! LOL Try to teach him the appropriate way to play with the toys, and definitely don't allow throwing or standing on them. He'll eventually learn the right way to play if you are consistent.

[DCMomOf3]

Some toys yes but not for a long time. They play with my trains/track, cars, I have some ball ramps, board books, my play kitchen and musical instruments and little people.

[tenderhearts]

The last 18 mo old dcg I had didn't play with anything really. She would follow the kids around and "watch" them or she would always steal their chairs, but I was the same way at that time wondering what they play with?

[Francine]

Well I guess we are okay then, I was thinking that I might need to invest in some new toys but since nothing gets played with anyway I was reluctant to go shopping for more. Thanks everybody.

[Live and Learn]

The 17 month old I have here likes moving things around in the toy kitchen,
Digging through and examining baskets filled with different plastic animals,
And especially the fischer price little people barn, house, castle, bus and it's people and animals.
no running in the house & no standing on toys.