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Comment by BatFastard | Hacker News Reader

Boxes, my kids loved boxes! Often more than they toy that came in them. Plus brown boxes can be anything, encourage them draw on them, make fairy castles, forts, houses, spaceships. We took countless trips to the moon and planets with my kids in a box. Add in a few blankets and the possibilities are endless!

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Adding to this, go for simple toys, wooden blocks are great. Legos are awesome for slightly older kids. Encourage them to be creative, one of my sons friends would buy Lego kits, build them, and put them on self. I say build it, break it, combine it, create it.

I bought a case of 40 wooden blocks for my granddaughters. They're a versatile toy that doesn't impose tramlines on their play.

I haven't bought them many toys; I don't want to buy them tramline toys. The local toyshop is Hamley's; I couldn't see anything in that store that wasn't both a tramline toy, and entirely made of non-recyclable plastic. I had to import the wooden blocks.

When I was a kid, I got a lot of mileage out of Meccano. Even into early adulthood, I was still using Meccano to botch together some project or other. I suppose Lego is the modern alternative; but (a) it's all plastic; and (b) modern Lego is all tramlines kits.

lego though lasts forever. more than half of our lego is more than 30 years old and some of that was second-hand when we got it as kids.

what do you mean by tramlines? i am unfamiliar with that term.

I meant something like a script, where the toy or game tells you what you're supposed to do with it (because e.g. the blocks only make sense as parts of an X-Wing Fighter). Anyway, it's my term; I don't know if anyone else uses it. I thought it was clear; sorry.

well, i almost guessed that you meant something like that. and you are right. it's not quite as extreme yet, but it does tend into that direction, so you have to be careful which sets you buy.

fortunately, it's not just lego anymore. there are a lot of alternative brands that offer a wide variety of sets which offer a lot more flexibility.

Ah, good times. On the topic of boxes, if you start building things with them, the best way to attach boxes together is using a hot glue gun. Don't use tape!

Also, painters' tape. Comes off without staining or damaging things.

(Although, this is more for kids who are 3+, than newborns, of course.)

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