It just seems that buying a birthday present for a child is as easy as shelling pears as the shelves of children's stores are literally bursting with a variety of all kinds of toys, books, sets. In practice, choosing a present is not an easy task even for mom and dad, let alone other relatives or family friends! After all, I really want the child to not only like the gift, but also be useful as long as possible!
In this article we will try to understand the question of what to give a child for his third birthday.
Age features
3 years is the first crisis period of a growing man. He begins to demand independence, distinguishes himself from the world around him and demands that his “I”, at least, be respected. It is at this age that previously affectionate and docile kids become capricious, stubborn, touchy. This craving for independence can be turned into a big plus by choosing a gift for a three-year-old child that will help the baby to self-actualize, become more confident.
Stubbornness can be turned into purposefulness by giving the baby something that will require consistent actions from him, for example, a very interesting construction set. At the age of three, children need to be given the right to choose, and this need should also be taken into account when considering a gift.
Rules for choosing a gift for a birthday
When choosing a present for a three-year-old baby, it is worth remembering the "golden" rules of gift etiquette:
- Buy well in advance. It is better to buy a present a couple of weeks before the celebration than to grab the last one in a hurry in a hurry that comes to hand, or what the seller in the children's store advises. Haste is a bad helper, and the seller, even a very good one, does not know a particular child, his character, interests, and developmental features.
- Draw a line between the floors. HDespite the fact that the baby is only three years old, it is very important that he feels like a boy or just a girl. And therefore, you should not give a guy pink ponies, even if he watches cartoons about them with pleasure. A girl, even a very fighting one, should not be given a toy machine gun or a set of toy soldiers.
- The gift should not hurt the child "for a living". This rule should be well remembered by those who are very fond of giving gifts "with meaning" for edification. If a baby in his three years, for a number of reasons, still pees in bed at night, in no case should you give him a beautiful musical pot, this can hurt and offend the baby, he will unconsciously feel uncomfortable, because he already knows what to write bed is not good.
- The gift must be safe. 3 years is the age at which children are trying to gain a certain independence, but they are still quite young, and they will definitely want to promote everything that does not hold up well. Your present should not injure the baby, it should be made of high-quality and non-toxic materials, not have small parts, sharp elements.
The best educational toys
Modern children spend a lot of time at the computer, with gadgets in their hands. Now the playgrounds, even on weekends, are not as crowded as they were 30-40 years ago. And the need for physical activity in a growing child is great. Based on this, you can give your child a sports simulator: a bicycle, a scooter, a balance bike.
A diligent and calm child can choose a constructor, but not consisting of simple geometric shapes of different colors, but one from which you can assemble a city with streets and buildings, with figures of people; zoo with aviaries, animals and visitors. This construction is a great way to develop fine motor skills, logic and artistic thinking.
For three-year-old children who are developing quickly, you can choose training kits that will introduce the child to letters and numbers, names of objects, weather phenomena, animals. Now the selection of such games is quite large. There are even interactive toys that in an accessible form will help you master the alphabet and learn to count.
Without exception, all three-year-old children, regardless of temperament and upbringing, love role-playing games. Therefore, you can buy a set for a finger puppet theater for your child so that he can stage his own performance. Also, children like to try on different roles, and therefore sets of a doctor, a builder, a cook are very suitable.
What animal to buy for a three year old baby?
Only parents can make such a gift, because a 3-year-old baby is not yet able to take care of the animal on its own, and it is mom and dad who will take care of the pet. At this age, the child still does not always understand that the kitten or puppy may be in pain, and may simply squeeze the animal out of great love for him.
From the point of view of the safety of both the child and the pet, it would be better to postpone the idea of such a gift for a few more years, when the baby realizes the sense of responsibility.
If you still really want to buy an animal, then for a three-year-old it is best to purchase a small aquarium with a goldfish (after all, he has probably already heard a fairy tale about it), or a small unpretentious bird in a cage. However, parents will still have to make sure that the inquisitive "zoologist" does not pull the fish out of the aquarium by the tail and does not let the bird go "to hunt."
Popular toys and play sets
- Lego. These sets, which have not lost their popularity for several decades, can be chosen for boys. Constructors are sold in series, you can choose a set for a child who is very fond of cartoons and stories about pirates, or a set that allows you to build an entire police station, hospital, fire department. Popular "boyish" series - Lego Duplo, Lego City, Lego Nexo Knights, Lego Ninjago, Lego Technic, Lego Creator.
- Interactive dolls and robots. Girls will appreciate the Baby Born doll, which is very similar to a real baby: you also need to feed it, change its diapers, walk with it, bathe it and even treat, develop it. The doll will "grow" together with the little mistress, the girl will play it until at least 5-6 years old. Boys will love the interactive robots that dance, shoot, fly and drive. The choice of robots in any children's store is the broadest.
- Subject sets. Girls will love sets for role-playing games - small kitchens with miniature furniture and utensils, clinics where they can “really” treat their bunnies and bears. Boys also love to play in an environment close to the real one, and therefore you can choose sets for them, from which you can design an auto track with bends, along which different cars are launched, as well as a real airfield with planes, a runway and a control tower. Adults who know well what exactly interests the child will be able to make a good choice.
- Developing tables. This gift option can be found both for girls (pink with fairies) and for boys (with Fixies, Batman and Cars). This is a small table with letters, numbers, abacus. If desired, it can be easily transformed into a table for creativity - with convenient grooves for a sippy cup, a sculpting board, an easel for drawing.
What can you give for outdoor activities?
It is always better to discuss a gift for physical development and active recreation with the parents in advance, it is important that they do not mind the child's sports activities, because there may be such nuances, for example, with the baby's health, which no one except mom and dad knows about.
If the go-ahead is received, go not to a sports store, but to a large children's hypermarket - there is a large selection of such goods and prices are lower than in small stores for similar gifts. The best option is a bicycle. Choose a model that has two additional removable castors at the back for stability. When the baby grows up, it can be removed from, and then the bike will turn into a two-wheeled one. It is desirable that it be adjusted in height with a sufficiently large range, because all children grow unevenly.
If finances allow the donor, and the parents - the living space, then you can buy a sports corner, which is easily mounted in the children's room. The most economical and always appropriate gift for a boy is a ball, and for a girl - a children's bowling with balls and plastic pins. You can buy a home trampoline for your child. But roller skates and skateboards are still too early to give.
Unusual surprise
Without exception, all three-year-olds are quite anxious about the process of falling asleep in the dark. It will go much faster if the baby is presented with a lamp-lamp that sends a projection of the starry sky onto the ceiling, there are even lamps that imitate planets of different colors. For a girl, a night light made in the form of a fairytale castle or a house will suit, and for a boy, a night light - a car, a night light - rocket. Many models are now equipped with the function of playing music from flash cards, and therefore there you can "pump" a lot of your favorite little songs and melodies that will allow him to calm down and fall asleep not in the dark, but surrounded by fairy-tale stars.
A dance mat that connects to a TV or computer will allow the child not only to have fun alone or with their parents (if the mat is double or triple), but also to develop physically. The essence of the game is simple - repeat the movements behind the character on the screen and hit the colored sectors and arrows on the mat with your feet.
All children love to blow bubbles. Therefore, you can buy a boy or girl a set for blowing huge bubbles with a table for solution and a large racket.
Both little princesses and little knights love electric cars. If the financial opportunity allows, you can choose a car, ATV or motorcycle, but it should be borne in mind that the footage of the apartment should allow riding them, ideally if the family lives in their own house with their own courtyard, where the child can practice driving from the heart.
Memorable gifts
It is rather difficult to give something to a three-year-old child as a keepsake, because they still have a “short” gift, and if the gift does not have an interesting and functional use (for example, a figurine), then it will not be a joy to the baby. However, a transparent ball in which there is a house and it is snowing, a photo collage with his funny photographs, beautifully dressed in a baguette, will suit the child.
Options for creatives
If the child really enjoys the process of creation, do not force him to throw pencils and forcefully put him on a bicycle. Give him something that will give him real pleasure. Now children's stores offer a lot of kits for creativity: kits for sculpting fridge magnets, finger painting, easels for drawing. A very fashionable toy - a plasticine factory, it will take the exact crumbs for a long time. In addition to the material for sculpting, the set contains a huge number of various sculpting machines.
The sand painting table is a table top with soft lighting on the bottom. The kid will be able to draw pictures himself, running his fingers over the sand, and then erase them and create new ones.
If a child loves bright colors, give him colors, but not ordinary ones, but glowing in the dark, then all his drawings will "come to life" if you turn off the light. Together with mom and dad, you can cut white stars out of paper, ask the child to paint them with such paints and hang them around the room. It will be very interesting in the dark!
Interesting ideas from dad and mom
If parents order in advance the same T-shirt-T-shirts for themselves and the child, then the baby will really like such a gift, because at 3 years old the baby really wants to look like adults.
You can order a cake for your kid with his favorite characters from fairy tales or cartoons.
On the Internet you can find several organizations that are engaged in the release of books - fairy tales for kids, where your beloved little one will become the main character. To do this, you need to send photos to publishers and briefly describe the character of your baby. You will receive a large, brightly illustrated book - a collection of fairy tales written about your Slavik (Petya, Nastya, etc.).
A warming toy bear, puppy or bunny will not only become a friend to the child, but literally will warm up when the baby is sick or cannot sleep. It is enough to put such a fluffy friend in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, it will become warm, and will give the child warmth for 2-3 hours. Lavender seeds, which are sewn inside the toy, will begin to exude a pleasant, soothing aroma when warmed up.
What can you do for a gift with your own hands?
With your own hands, you can do anything you want, if your hands grow from where you need to. If mom is good at sewing, you can make a great stuffed toy, a handbag for a girl, or a backpack for a boy. For your favorite birthday doll, you can sew a whole wardrobe. If at the same time dad makes a small wardrobe and hangers for mini-outfits, then there will be no limit to the girl's delight.
You can sew a soft cloth book, carve a real auto track with slides for his racing cars for the boy, and also make a kite.
How to make a kite with your own hands, see the video below for more details.
The main thing is that the season allows you to try the gift right away - children do not like to put off pleasure until later.
If there are no needlewomen and handymen in the house, then mom can just bake a delicious homemade cake for a crumb - the hero of the occasion will be happy!
