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Baby Toys, A Guide to Keeping It Simple and What?s Worth Buying?Advice W/O
I took a look at the toys offered for infants at Amazon.com. The number of toys in the birth-12 month category is astounding. It’s also becoming more and more common to promote “educational” toys for babies not even walking. Do you really need all that? No. Do your babies want all of that? Again, I would say no, they won’t miss it.
I’m on my third baby (now 9 1/2 months), and I think I have a pretty informed opinion on what types of toys are best for infants and what you don’t need to bother with. I’m going to look first at types of toys I recommend (along with similar non-toy items your babies will enjoy), followed by the ones I wouldn’t bother with. You don’t have to agree with me, and most will probably have a differing opinion on at least one item. These are my personal opinions being shared here.
Infant Toy Safety
Toys for infants should not have any small pieces that could come off and choke them. You should also make sure there are also not any sharp edges that could hurt your baby.
Recommended Toy Types
Toys that are easy to hold onto
The first major toys for your baby are those that are easy to hold onto. As they’re first learning to hold onto things, babies will just wrap their whole little hand around an object. Toys that are difficult to grasp will be dropped and will frustrate your baby. Toys with long somewhat thin rounded sections are easiest to hold onto. Some examples are baby keychains (the ring section), rattles, or my babies have a little plastic squeezie giraffe with a long neck just perfect for tiny hands. Infant spoons are non-toy items that also serve this function very well.
Toys to chew on
Babies like to put things in their mouth, especially when they’re teething. Only one of my children would even use a teething ring; part of this could be because they got their first teeth at 5-6 months. Those teething rings were hard to hold onto at 3-4 months, and didn’t fit in their little mouths well! For little babies, make sure it’s something easy to hold onto, and it should have a portion that will fit in the mouth well. Teething rings, baby keychains, plastic blocks, toy plastic tools, and playmobil people/animals will all fulfill the chew function. As will anything that will not hurt the baby or be hurt by the baby. Non-toy items that will also work are spoons, sippy cups (rigid mouth piece), and raw carrots. The carrot is recommended by a family doctor we know, as little teeth only leave little gnaw marks. Perfect to hold onto, and nice to gnaw on.
Toys that make sounds
And I’m not meaning ones where you push a button and all kinds of electronic sounds spew forth, but ones that your baby can actively make sounds with. Some examples are xylophones (my baby’s favorite toy), rattles, infant keys, and squeeze toys that make a sound (either squeak type ones or little battery operated ones). Non-toy examples are measuring spoons looped together, metal mixing bowls, and pots and lids. You can also play music for your child to listen to, and not just children’s music. My children are used to hearing hymns, praise choruses, gospel music, and classical music played from birth, and they’ve continued to enjoy it as they’ve moved through the preschool years. They’ve picked up the words to quite a few songs too.
Toys that are soft
Sometimes your baby will just want a toy to cuddle with. A soft-bodied baby doll, stuffed animal, or cloth book will serve this function well. Note, it’s not recommended that you put these items in bed with your baby because of suffocation concerns. Non-toy examples would be a soft blanket or a little pillow.
Baby books
As your baby starts to observe you or older siblings, she’ll be interested in the books you read. I like to have several cloth or board books that are the baby’s and are kept with the toys. These are more durable, and I’m not frustrated with the wear and tear over time.
Overview
With these categories, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of potential overlap. The infant keys are easy to hold, good for chewing on, and make sounds when shaken; cloth books are soft and a book item. You’ll also notice a lot of non-toy items mentioned. That’s because babies are often happier with non-toy items like measuring spoons, and they’re things you already have on hand and won’t take up any extra space or cost any more money.
Toys You Don’t Need to Bother With
I’m not saying that some babies won’t enjoy these toys. I’m not saying that you must agree with me. But, these are toys that I didn’t find very useful with my children and thought their good points were better found in other toys or in non-toy items. Most of them I don’t consider to be bad, just unnecessary.
Toys for newborns
I don’t worry about buying toys for the newborn set. They’re more interested in being held and fed and sleeping. For their entertainment, talk and sing to them. The only toy peculiar to this age is the strap-on rattle, and none of mine cared that much about it.
Bath toys
It’s not that these are bad things, just not necessary. Little cups, measuring cups, spoons, funnels, etc are all things that children will have fun with in the tub
Mobiles and other musical crib toys
I want my children to associate their crib or bed with sleeping. Sleep experts advise that adults can avoid problems with insomnia by using their bed for sleeping and doing other things like reading, listening to music, etc elsewhere. Why would children be any different? We keep toys of all types out of the crib/bed. Our older two children are both good sleepers that go to sleep quickly at night. The same is generally true at naptime, but if they’re not tired, they lay in bed quietly resting. I cannot promise the same for your children if you avoid toys in the crib, but this is one factor that helped with our children. I leave our baby out of the picture, because she sleeps in our room in a playpen and still wakes up twice a night to nurse, but she does fall asleep well and stay asleep in between feedings.
Gyms and playmats
We had one for our first baby, but barely used it, so we got rid of it. I personally don’t see much need for this and would rather not have it taking up space. If baby is down on the floor on his back, I usually put a toy to either side of baby and one in front (if on tummy) or on chest (if laying on back). I make sure baby is down on the floor some each day, but much of the time baby isn’t sleeping, nursing, or being held, the baby is in a bouncy chair or infant carrier moving around the house with me.
Nesting, stacking, sorting toys
We’ve had soft shape sorters and hard plastic container ones, and our children didn’t use them very much as intended. They’ll put objects in containers all by themselves, and they’ll figure out sizes just by exploring their world. I’d rather get out measuring cups or metal mixing bowls if I really wanted them to have this sort of toy.
Push toys
I’m talking about the toys that are promoted as encouraging your children to walk, where the child holds onto the handle and pushes as they toddle along. My children enjoyed them a time or two, but they didn’t get that much use. Early on, babies don’t have the balance, and the toys tend to start going too fast as the baby struggles to keep up. Then later on, when they can use them competently, they’re just being taught to lean forward and put their weight on something when walking. I wouldn’t bother with these toys. If you want to do anything, let your child hold onto your fingers and walk. It’ll be of more benefit and probably enjoyed more.
Flashing lights and sound effect toys
In this household, we are not big fans of battery-operated, flashing lights, loud noises sorts of toys. Amazon may have an entire category for “electronic learning” for the 0-12 month-old, but we’ll stay far from it. We prefer basic, simple toys. We believe that a lot fewer children would have problems with attention span, learning, weight issues, etc if they weren’t so often in the mode of television, video games, etc. We see the flashing light toys as often being baby versions of the same. I’d keep toys in this category to a minimum, if you have them at all.
In Summary
Overall, I recommend toys be kept to a minimum for this age range, and really for any age. Infants will appreciate a few carefully chosen simple toys just as much as a slew of everything the toy store has to offer. Infants are also quite happy with non-toy items that are easily found around the house.
This is part of mmcphee's advice write-off.
I’m on my third baby (now 9 1/2 months), and I think I have a pretty informed opinion on what types of toys are best for infants and what you don’t need to bother with. I’m going to look first at types of toys I recommend (along with similar non-toy items your babies will enjoy), followed by the ones I wouldn’t bother with. You don’t have to agree with me, and most will probably have a differing opinion on at least one item. These are my personal opinions being shared here.
Infant Toy Safety
Toys for infants should not have any small pieces that could come off and choke them. You should also make sure there are also not any sharp edges that could hurt your baby.
Recommended Toy Types
Toys that are easy to hold onto
The first major toys for your baby are those that are easy to hold onto. As they’re first learning to hold onto things, babies will just wrap their whole little hand around an object. Toys that are difficult to grasp will be dropped and will frustrate your baby. Toys with long somewhat thin rounded sections are easiest to hold onto. Some examples are baby keychains (the ring section), rattles, or my babies have a little plastic squeezie giraffe with a long neck just perfect for tiny hands. Infant spoons are non-toy items that also serve this function very well.
Toys to chew on
Babies like to put things in their mouth, especially when they’re teething. Only one of my children would even use a teething ring; part of this could be because they got their first teeth at 5-6 months. Those teething rings were hard to hold onto at 3-4 months, and didn’t fit in their little mouths well! For little babies, make sure it’s something easy to hold onto, and it should have a portion that will fit in the mouth well. Teething rings, baby keychains, plastic blocks, toy plastic tools, and playmobil people/animals will all fulfill the chew function. As will anything that will not hurt the baby or be hurt by the baby. Non-toy items that will also work are spoons, sippy cups (rigid mouth piece), and raw carrots. The carrot is recommended by a family doctor we know, as little teeth only leave little gnaw marks. Perfect to hold onto, and nice to gnaw on.
Toys that make sounds
And I’m not meaning ones where you push a button and all kinds of electronic sounds spew forth, but ones that your baby can actively make sounds with. Some examples are xylophones (my baby’s favorite toy), rattles, infant keys, and squeeze toys that make a sound (either squeak type ones or little battery operated ones). Non-toy examples are measuring spoons looped together, metal mixing bowls, and pots and lids. You can also play music for your child to listen to, and not just children’s music. My children are used to hearing hymns, praise choruses, gospel music, and classical music played from birth, and they’ve continued to enjoy it as they’ve moved through the preschool years. They’ve picked up the words to quite a few songs too.
Toys that are soft
Sometimes your baby will just want a toy to cuddle with. A soft-bodied baby doll, stuffed animal, or cloth book will serve this function well. Note, it’s not recommended that you put these items in bed with your baby because of suffocation concerns. Non-toy examples would be a soft blanket or a little pillow.
Baby books
As your baby starts to observe you or older siblings, she’ll be interested in the books you read. I like to have several cloth or board books that are the baby’s and are kept with the toys. These are more durable, and I’m not frustrated with the wear and tear over time.
Overview
With these categories, you’ll notice that there’s a lot of potential overlap. The infant keys are easy to hold, good for chewing on, and make sounds when shaken; cloth books are soft and a book item. You’ll also notice a lot of non-toy items mentioned. That’s because babies are often happier with non-toy items like measuring spoons, and they’re things you already have on hand and won’t take up any extra space or cost any more money.
Toys You Don’t Need to Bother With
I’m not saying that some babies won’t enjoy these toys. I’m not saying that you must agree with me. But, these are toys that I didn’t find very useful with my children and thought their good points were better found in other toys or in non-toy items. Most of them I don’t consider to be bad, just unnecessary.
Toys for newborns
I don’t worry about buying toys for the newborn set. They’re more interested in being held and fed and sleeping. For their entertainment, talk and sing to them. The only toy peculiar to this age is the strap-on rattle, and none of mine cared that much about it.
Bath toys
It’s not that these are bad things, just not necessary. Little cups, measuring cups, spoons, funnels, etc are all things that children will have fun with in the tub
Mobiles and other musical crib toys
I want my children to associate their crib or bed with sleeping. Sleep experts advise that adults can avoid problems with insomnia by using their bed for sleeping and doing other things like reading, listening to music, etc elsewhere. Why would children be any different? We keep toys of all types out of the crib/bed. Our older two children are both good sleepers that go to sleep quickly at night. The same is generally true at naptime, but if they’re not tired, they lay in bed quietly resting. I cannot promise the same for your children if you avoid toys in the crib, but this is one factor that helped with our children. I leave our baby out of the picture, because she sleeps in our room in a playpen and still wakes up twice a night to nurse, but she does fall asleep well and stay asleep in between feedings.
Gyms and playmats
We had one for our first baby, but barely used it, so we got rid of it. I personally don’t see much need for this and would rather not have it taking up space. If baby is down on the floor on his back, I usually put a toy to either side of baby and one in front (if on tummy) or on chest (if laying on back). I make sure baby is down on the floor some each day, but much of the time baby isn’t sleeping, nursing, or being held, the baby is in a bouncy chair or infant carrier moving around the house with me.
Nesting, stacking, sorting toys
We’ve had soft shape sorters and hard plastic container ones, and our children didn’t use them very much as intended. They’ll put objects in containers all by themselves, and they’ll figure out sizes just by exploring their world. I’d rather get out measuring cups or metal mixing bowls if I really wanted them to have this sort of toy.
Push toys
I’m talking about the toys that are promoted as encouraging your children to walk, where the child holds onto the handle and pushes as they toddle along. My children enjoyed them a time or two, but they didn’t get that much use. Early on, babies don’t have the balance, and the toys tend to start going too fast as the baby struggles to keep up. Then later on, when they can use them competently, they’re just being taught to lean forward and put their weight on something when walking. I wouldn’t bother with these toys. If you want to do anything, let your child hold onto your fingers and walk. It’ll be of more benefit and probably enjoyed more.
Flashing lights and sound effect toys
In this household, we are not big fans of battery-operated, flashing lights, loud noises sorts of toys. Amazon may have an entire category for “electronic learning” for the 0-12 month-old, but we’ll stay far from it. We prefer basic, simple toys. We believe that a lot fewer children would have problems with attention span, learning, weight issues, etc if they weren’t so often in the mode of television, video games, etc. We see the flashing light toys as often being baby versions of the same. I’d keep toys in this category to a minimum, if you have them at all.
In Summary
Overall, I recommend toys be kept to a minimum for this age range, and really for any age. Infants will appreciate a few carefully chosen simple toys just as much as a slew of everything the toy store has to offer. Infants are also quite happy with non-toy items that are easily found around the house.
This is part of mmcphee's advice write-off.
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