finding the right riding toy when they are not quite walking yet

[ellairiesmom]

nak

dd2 will be almost 11 mos at christmas...as of right now (9.5 mos), she crawls & pulls herself up to stand, but falls often & doesn't seem close to taking steps or cruising yet.  she recently played on this at a friends & LOVED it.  it was in the rocker w/ railing mode.  but some of the reviews i am reading make me nervous about tipping issues later.  the price is nice but it's also typical crappy plastic-not sturdy little tikes plastic...or wood & pretty.   we tried her on our old school little tikes riding horse that dd1 still plays with inside & she has no balance at all & fell right off.  

i want something she can play with right away at christmas, so i guess i feel like i need to be looking at items with some sort of railings or "containment" & i don't want a trike or wagon type toy.  more like a traditional riding toy. 

any ideas?  should i just go with a 4 in 1 type like above or this one?  

TIA!

[tzs]

ugh, i am so glad i get to rave on about riding toys now!!!!

dd got this (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4199299) for her 1 yr birthday. she also wasn't walking or standing but she took right to the thing and climbed right on without having to be shown. she's small so her feet don't really even touch the ground so she sits kinda "side-saddle" and pushes with one foot. it is our all time favorite toy. she even uses it as a walker.

to be honest i would have preferred something wooden or metal but i figure this one isn;t soooooo obnoxious. radio flyer makes a cute one (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2650924)

the one you want to avoid for balance reasons is the little tykes one that looks like a tractor. it has two wheels in back and one in front and for some reason it makes it pretty unstable. they have them at dd's school and she tips over all the time.

yea for riding toys!

[toughcookie]

we just got this for our 11 month old who doesn't yet walk either.  it's expensive, but i think we will get lots of time with him enjoying it....  i think it'll be easy to sell eventually too, as it's kinda heirloom quality,.

[ellairiesmom]

great suggestions. thx!

we put her back on the old little tikes horsey on wheels thing yesterday & she held herself up better & even kind of pushed it backwards a little with her feet.  

i love that rocking horse (and it comes in girly colors too!) but i want something with wheels.  

[hakeber]

mamasandpapas.com make AMAZING colorful, safe and fun riding toys that last ages, reselll beautifully and even play music and store toys and convert into walkers...SO great.  We had Stanley the snail for DS and I am hoping to get the ladybird for dd. (we moved country when ds was 2.5 and had to sell it (got 80% of the retail price when we did)

[ellairiesmom]

Wow!  Thx Rebekah!!!  I LOVE that rocker/walker called Lotty-sooo cute.  No prices listed yet-I wonder how much it will be?  I don't see the walkers you are mentioning-I guess they are just getting some stuff ready for US sales.  I am off to google around & see what else I can find from them & more about them etc. THX!

[colemom]

My dd is getting this for Christmas

http://www.magiccabin.com/product.asp?pcode=327

Looks like you need to be careful with the plywood base while assembling, but beside that it's a well rated, sturdy product.

[cocoanib]

Good ideas Mamas! I like the winnie the pooh 3 in 1, but I'm really trying to avoid so much plastic.

I wish there was something like that, but wooden.

I think DD would really enjoy something like this.

[beebalmmama]

We just got ds (turning 1 year next week!) the Radio Flyer scoot about that tzs linked in her post. I wanted something he could hopefully use now, but also a ride on toy that would last for a couple of years. I would have loved a great wood one, but this was the best one I found in my price range without getting the real cheap plastic ones. Ds 1 had a Little Tike ride on that was given to us and it wasn't worth keeping for another babe. It always tipped in the front and really didn't last him until he was ready for pedaling. So I'm hoping this Radio Flyer one will.

Ds is just starting to walk. He still falls quite a bit though. I'll let you know how he does when he gets it next week!

Edited by beebalmmama - 11/26/10 at 8:34am

[LeaPea]

We asked for this: http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Flyer-Classic-Walker-Wagon/dp/B002KKCNHQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2G8UQNFUXR3YR&colid=132VCBGLLSOCW

It's all wood!

[hakeber]

Originally Posted by ellairiesmom 

Wow!  Thx Rebekah!!!  I LOVE that rocker/walker called Lotty-sooo cute.  No prices listed yet-I wonder how much it will be?  I don't see the walkers you are mentioning-I guess they are just getting some stuff ready for US sales.  I am off to google around & see what else I can find from them & more about them etc. THX!

Lotty costs 79 GBP http://www.mamasandpapas.com/product-rocking-animal-talking-lotty-ladybird/644982701/type-i

There is also this one: http://www.mamasandpapas.com/product-rock-ride-horse-gulliver-/666191801/type-i/ for 80 pounds. 

It says they covert to a push along walker...am I reading it wrong?

I think more with shipping.

[carmen358]

Wheely Bugs are really popular around here http://www.wheelybug.com/. They make 2 sizes. My DD is almost 11 months old, cruising and standing without holding on but isn't walking...she played with a friend's wheely bug for ages the other day by just pushing it around. We will likely get one for her for her 1st birthday.

[cocoanib]

Originally Posted by LeaPea 

We asked for this: http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Flyer-Classic-Walker-Wagon/dp/B002KKCNHQ/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2G8UQNFUXR3YR&colid=132VCBGLLSOCW

It's all wood!

Love this! I think I'll get this one for DD.
 

[ellairiesmom]

Originally Posted by hakeber 

Originally Posted by ellairiesmom 

Wow!  Thx Rebekah!!!  I LOVE that rocker/walker called Lotty-sooo cute.  No prices listed yet-I wonder how much it will be?  I don't see the walkers you are mentioning-I guess they are just getting some stuff ready for US sales.  I am off to google around & see what else I can find from them & more about them etc. THX!

Lotty costs 79 GBP http://www.mamasandpapas.com/product-rocking-animal-talking-lotty-ladybird/644982701/type-i

There is also this one: http://www.mamasandpapas.com/product-rock-ride-horse-gulliver-/666191801/type-i/ for 80 pounds. 

It says they covert to a push along walker...am I reading it wrong?

I think more with shipping.

Great suggestions & links.  The Lotty from Mamas & Papas is what I want.  She can rock on it or ride it & it will look adorable in the house.  We decided to wait till Easter to get her something for outdoors...maybe the 30th Anniv edition of the Little Tikes Coupe since it has a floor you can put in if you want.  

I can't find Lotty anywhere in the US though.  FAO had her but it's out of stock.  Can't find info from BRU on when they will start getting more of M&P stuff for US dist.  Emailed M&P direct to ask too.  

Rebekah-

[hakeber]

I'll ask my dad whre he got Stanley.  He lives in the States.

[ellairiesmom]

cool! thx!  i need to be more careful when nak...my post didn't really make sense lol.  but you figured it out...