I would go along with the idea of getting the Brio type wooden trains. Electric trains aren't really for children much under the age of 6-8, and can be really dangerous due to choking hazards for children under 3. I don't know if they have an Ikea near you, but my wife and I were there yesterday and surptised to find a wooden train set that runs on track like the Brio. I bought my 2 year old grandson a set of the Whittle Shortline Railroad wooden trains with a basic set of tracks for either Christmas or his Birthday in Jan. we haven't decided when to give them to him, yet. The train set at Ikea was only $12.00, and a set of additional tracks was only $6.00, so I picked up one of each so that he will have a bit more track to play with when he gets the Whittle Short Line train. The quality of the train in the Whittle Short Line set is much better then the inexpensive Ikea set, but the track looks like it will interchange easily.