A Gift Guide for the Difficult to Buy for Third Baby
Poor third kid. Always getting the leftovers. Wearing clothes on their third cycle through (sometimes more if they were shared with cousins.) Forced to go along to all the activities the big kids want to do.
And when it comes to toys, what do they need? Nothing really. By the time he came around, we had it all. Well, certainly not all, but just about all we need for a baby to grow into learning and play. He is certainly expressing any particular love of anything other than whatever his brother and sister are playing with at that exact moment. Our kids multiply enough trouble in this home; we don’t need to also multiply the toys by three.
I imagine I can’t be the only parent with a subsequent child and this struggle. So I thought today I might share some of my ideas for the littlest guy in our house this year. It' won’t come as a surprise to you that there are books in this gift guide. Lots of them. But a few other things as well to keep it interesting.
Add more of what you already have and love.
If you told me I could only choose to keep one toy in our home, I would choose magnet tiles. Everyone loves them, they look pretty, and the play is endless. But because of their versatility, this also means they have to be shared amongst three sets of hands. I’m sure you see how that goes.
What’s the answer? More of the same!
Building toys are my most favorite gifted item for my children. In fact, I have an entire gift guide devoted to this coming soon. There are so many options out there to choose, none better than the next, just different. While you could keep adding new and different building materials, I think its a better idea to just add to what you already have. Choose a few of your family’s favorites and add to those sets. It will send a message to the always forgotten third child that they are invited to play with the big kids too.
Something bigger everyone can enjoy.
Often we think the item we choose for a baby needs to be specific for their age. We look for toys marketed just for babies or toddlers, forgetting those babies and toddlers grow into bigger kids. They will outgrow those baby toys before you get a chance to throw away the box in which they came. This is why I think it is important to remember it is okay to choose something they can grow into. Obviously you wouldn’t want to give them a box of micro machines, or whatever else is an obvious choking hazard. But a big outdoor swing is something the whole family can enjoy (an idea I would put on our list if I could figure out a place to hang a big swing.) Leo received extra large building blocks and a tent for his birthday and everyone has had fun with those. Nothing is sweeter than seeing all three children playing together with the same activity (for at least those sweet couple of minutes, anyway.)
This year, I am making Leo something I have always admired but never felt we had enough room. I am putting together a light table. While I know he will love the lights and colors and a table just his size, I imagine the other two will be drawn to it just as much, especially on those dark days of winter. There are also great manipulatives to add to its enjoyment, like these fillable shapes and transparent letters. Does he need to know about his shapes and letters yet? Absolutely not. But the other two will enjoy it and he will grow into them too.
Board books that won’t bore you.
When you once made a career of working with young children, and then you have a child of your own, and then you have three children of your own, you rack up a few hundred reads of the same board books over time. Perhaps you don’t tire of the Sandra Boynton or Eric Carle or Leslie Patricelli books you have memorized by now, but I find I am getting a bit bored. So I have been on a hunt to spice things up in our house. And I have discovered there are so many charming not to mention beautiful board books available. Here are some that we either have or are on my wishlist.
If it has to be a toy, make it pretty.
Okay, okay, okay. So you don’t want to buy more blocks, and you don’t want something big, and you already have enough books (impossible!) These new to me toys caught my eye and I thought I might share. I love beautiful toys. I use them as art in my home. The anger that comes from seeing toys strewn about is lessened when the toys are pretty. Toy marketers love me. But if you are on the hunt for something new and different for your too often neglected third child, here are a few ideas.
