Infantino Giggle Ball; Cute Toy, But I'm Not Giggling

My husband is grateful every day that our nearest Babies R Us store is fifty plus miles away. He could recount numerous horror stories centered around prenatal shopping trips, and shudders when the store is mentioned to this day. Suffice it to say then that when I needed to visit BRU recently in search of a particular item, he was none too happy.

We put our five-month-old daughter into the shopping cart, baby carrier and all, and he followed me through the store, sulking all the way. After finding what I needed and throwing it into the cart, he turned tail and ran, pushing the cart, as fast as he could go to the other side of the store. Where was he going? Why, to the toy department of course! (And he was running to avoid the clothing section in the middle of the store, in case you were wondering...)

~* Who's the Kid Here Anyway? *~
Like lots of Dads, my husband has never been particularly interested in cuddly stuffed toys, tiny pink outfits or discussing the features of Huggies versus Pampers. But one area in which he truly excels is that of toy shopping.

We wandered through the toy department for about ten minutes while he examined the various toys appropriate for our daughter's age. After examining several sets of blocks and high-tech baby toys, he settled on the Infantino Giggle Ball.

This "ball", recommended for babies aged six months and older, isn't your typical ball at all. Rather, it's a ball inside a network of wiggly tubes - it rattles, squeaks, slides and (according to the red open-faced box it came in) is perfect for teething. We paid $12.99 for this toy, despite the fact that it doesn't light up or play music. Were we way off base?

~* A Ball Is A Ball...Right? *~
I'm assuming that a detailed description of this toy is in order, although it's rather hard to describe. To begin with, the center of the "ball" is a large red and yellow plastic ball - that's easy enough. It's the craziness surrounding this ball that gets complicated.

Six clear hollow tubes protrude from the top, bottom, and sides of the center ball. Inside two of these tubes are small brightly colored beads that rattle when the ball is shaken. Inside another tube is a red 'squeaker' that, when shaken back and forth, produces the "giggling" sound that gives this toy its name.

The tubes are capped at the ends with large, round plastic caps in orange, blue and green. If the design stopped there, you'd have what would rather resemble a plastic atom. But it doesn't. You see, extending from these end caps are wiggly plastic tubes. Four of these (hot pink and purple in color) run along the length of the ball. They are smooth to the touch, and each holds two plastic shapes that slide along the length of the tube. There are circles, squares, and triangles, each of them in a vibrant color to attract baby's interest.

Running in the opposite direction - around the width of the ball, and therefore perpendicular to the other four tubes, is yet another wiggly tube. This one alternates pink and purple in color, and is textured with raised stripes and circles. These textured tubes 'connect' four of the end caps together are much more rubbery and flexible than the 'inner' tubes, which are positioned just beneath this one.

Now that you're thoroughly confused, scroll to the top of this review and look at the picture. There, the world should make sense again...

~* Wait...Infantino? *~
I had never heard of them either prior to purchasing this toy, even though a gold seal on the box proclaims that it is an "award-winning developmental toy". According to the packaging, "Infantino toys are specially-designed by child development professionals to encourage learning and healthy development through three distinctive types of age-based play activity: Explore 'n Play (ages birth plus), Discover 'n Play (ages three months plus), and Imagine 'n Play (ages six months plus)."

The Giggle Ball falls under the category of Imagine 'n Play, a line which is supposed to "encourage the early development of cognitive skills by providing babies six months and older with problem-solving and memory challenges through the act of play, a vitally important activity during the first years of life."

Specifically, the Giggle Ball is designed to promote sensory exploration through sight, touch and sound, help develop dexterity and hand-eye coordination, and teach cause and effect relationships.

~* Play Ball! *~
I couldn't wait until we got home to see my little girl play with her new toy, so I didn't. Instead, I happily let my husband drive and climbed in the back seat with her. After undoing a reasonable amount (two!) plastic twist ties, the Giggle Ball was free and ready to play. While her movement was somewhat restricted due to a rear-facing carseat, I placed her new toy on her lap within easy reach and let her go.

Because of the array of wiggly tubes sticking out all over the place, this toy was simple for my daughter to grab - in fact, I imagine that an infant as young as four months or so would be able to grasp it effectively, although it may be a bit too large for babies younger than six months or so. (Although my daughter was five and a half months when we gave her this toy, she's rather large for her age and had no difficulty manipulating it at all.) She quickly found that her new toy rattled when moved - no matter how subtle the movement. Between the beads inside the clear tubes and the shapes sliding along the outer wiggly tubes, there's simply no way to move this toy in the slightest without making noise.

"Giggling", however, was another story. Part of the appeal of the toy was the "giggling" feature when shaken (come on, it is called the GIGGLE Ball), but making the ball "giggle" during play isn't as easy as just picking up the ball and shaking it. Instead, the ball must be shaken in just the right direction - and I have yet to figure out what that direction is - to produce the squeaky giggling sound. Squeaks are random at best during play, and my daughter has yet to make it squeak on her own - only vigorous (and sometimes frustrated) shaking by Mommy and Daddy are successful.

Once freed from the confines of the carseat, she was able to play more with her new toy. We've found it to be a great 'tummy time' toy as it's easy for her to grab and hold on to even with limited mobility, and since the ball doesn't roll well because of all the protruding bits, it has never rolled away from her reach during play. We also put the ball on her high chair tray occasionally (as in, when we need to eat but she isn't) to keep her occupied; the bright colors and assortment of 'stuff' that make up this toy can easily keep her amused for ten minutes or so at a time, plenty reasonable for a toy that doesn't really do anything.

This isn't a quiet toy by any stretch of the imagination - certainly not one that we occupy her with during church services and such. Not to mention that the ball is so large (approximately 6.5" in diameter) that it's not exactly conducive to shoving in the diaper bag for travel anyway.

~* Overall *~
Like most first or only children (or heck, most children), my daughter has a staggering amount of toys already, and not all of them can be her favorites. This one isn't - in fact, I probably wouldn't place it in her top five. Maybe she'll appreciate it more as she grows older - after all, she is just below the age recommended by Infantino for this toy. She doesn't have the manual dexterity yet to slide the shapes along the wavy rods, for instance, and this will surely add play value to the toy in the near future.

Despite her occasional lack of interest, this is an excellent "sometimes" toy, one best brought out occasionally when she's bored with the toys she plays with on a regular basis. The bright colors, fun shapes, different sounds and ease of play usually distracts her from a playtime slump. Worth $13? Well, maybe. Some babies will be more attracted to the Giggle Ball than my toy-overloaded baby, of course. But even as a "sometimes" toy, it's a choice that I am happy with based on the developmental features and number of ways to play.

~* Contact Information *~
Visit Infantino online at www.infantino.com, call toll-free 1-800-840-4916, or write to:

Infantino, LLC
P.O. Box 1007
Watford, WD23 4WF, UK