What are your thoughts on the age recommendations on toys?

Wondering about train tables - I would like to get the boys one for Christmas but most of the boxes I see say 3 years+ one of my boys tends to still occasionally put stuff in his mouth and the other doesn’t.

 

I've usually taken the recommendations with a grain of salt. My kids stopped putting stuff in their mouths before age 3, so if I felt reasonably sure something wouldn't be an issue, I went ahead and gave it to them. If you have one who's still putting stuff in his mouth, though, I would be careful. Maybe you could take a look at the actual pieces of different train sets and see if there's a set where you could take out risky parts and still have a usable/fun toy?

 

I agree with Holly. I only use them as guidelines really. Kids mature at different rates and what might not be appropriate for one kid at 3 might be just fine for another. I like Holly's idea of just taking out the parts that might not be appropriate for the one who puts things in his mouth.

 

I think it's two different things really - the sticker that warns you about small pieces, and the age recommendation. Just because a toy is 3+ doesn't mean it will have tiny pieces, and if it does and you think your child is ready for it, you can just put them away most of the time. For train tables my kids didn't have much interest in them until last month, and they'll be 34 months when they get theirs... mostly I didn't want them to get bored with it before they are really ready for it. Small pieces are not much of an issue with those either, as far as I know. My kids have been playing with play food for a year though, and most of it says 3+ too, so it really depends on the toy and the kids. I've heard of 2.5 yo playing with leapsters for example, but I won't get one for my kids until their 4th birthday probably.

 

For me it depends on whether or not it seems to be a safety rating or an ablitity rating. For example the 3+ rating is usually safety. That almost always means the toy contains small parts. I generally do follow that one, but for games that have ablity ratings or baby toys, I go by the child. Lots of baby toys with a 12 month rating are aimed at early walkers, so if your baby is walking at ten months go right ahead.
I agree you could take the small pieces out of the train set. Or try to use it as learning experience give an--if I see you with part of this in your mouth it will get put away--warning and be serious about it.

 

I find a lot of the things that are interesting/fun for my DD's are 3+. I still buy them, but I do give them a little more supervision when playing with those items, or maybe put those items away so they have to ask to use them. It's hard to find toys in the 2+ range that aren't babyish...

 

TBH I think that the 3+ rating is just to protect the companies if something goes wrong. I have seen toys that are suitable for small children and they still have 3+ on them. I go on what my children are likely to do with them. ie: I have a 2 year old that will destroy everything in his path so I choose extremely robust toys. My older DS was very gentle and loved focussing on joining small objects and pulling apart and rebuilding things. My vote is for a HUGE grain of salt on those ratings!!!