Crafts Toys

Baby toys?

Since my baby was born I'm looking at baby toys and thinking of what I should buy him. But I can't help noticing that so many toys seem like they are designed to be 'replacement parents' You get toys that 'read stories' that light up to 'soothe the child to sleep' and I can't help feeling that that is the mum or dads work! Not some battery operated toy! My husband and I are not rich, but even if we were I'd like to think that the job of reading stories and teaching ABC or numbers are OUR job and our baby will be much happier to have our attention to him rather than buying expensive bits of plastic while we devote our attention elsewhere! Maybe I'm being old fashioned here, but I can't help thinking that it's MY job to teach my son to read and count and soothe him to sleep. What are your opinions on this? thank you

Public Comments

1. You have a great point. I never thought of it that way. I agree with you. i don't like those toys anyways, they seem too overwhelming. Talk about ADD
2. your right, you are babies best toy, but other toys like you describe are not replacement parents as long as you are there playing with these as well, you can then all interact
3. I agree with you about the kinds that read stories and stuff like that. The best toys are usually the traditional ones. Having said that, toy phones have been popular in this house.
4. They have their place - but not to replace you!! |Stories and songs are great so long as you do it with them as well. Lovely for bedtime, but they need you to interact with them too.
5. Its entirely up to you. My daughter was 15months when she counted to ten and I never taught her and I still dont know how she learnt. I think kids pick up a lot from toys and kids need 100% attention at that age or the devil makes work for idol thumbs!! Get a few toys and do the rest yourself.Buy educational things like music instruments (early learning centre do a great range) building blocks (for motor skills) a few cardboard books and a few cars etc. I would be old fashioned in a way too as I dont want my kids to have tv's etc in their bedroom until they are a lot older.
6. Your instincts are correct. Go for, where possible, non light show, traditional toys. There is nothing wrong with the occasional 'light up toy' but they musn't be a mainstay of your childs education. Incidentally. I bought Early Learning Centre magnetic letters - the type you put on the fridge, in little letters when my daughter was 1 year old. She now knows almost all of her alphabet - I would say... m for mummy, d for daddy, p for peter (a friend she loves) ect... they are tactile and maluable - (before you all start abusing me for spelling I can't bloody remember how to spell that.) Best of luck Ps remember not to get to caught up in the organic parenting thing. You can be bullied into spending FAR too much money...
7. i agree and you find they will prefer a story from you anytime to them books they dont be long about getting bored with them
8. amen!
9. my kids don't play with half of what they have, and they don't have a ton of toys. and i agree with you on them being "replacement parents". plus children that have too many toys tend to have a much shorter attention span, cause they don't stay satisfied doing one thing for long.
10. best toy has always been the wrapping paper and box! Time with your baby is the best present you can give him - definitely agree!
11. Dont buy toys - use nature and household objects. eg muslin cloth - you can make knots in it and it can be a doll or you can get really clever and make animals when your baby gets older. Plain cloth - silk, velvet, muslin etc. A soft ball. sanded and oiled bits of wood. pots and pans, wooden spoons, plastic bottles filled with sand for skittles. Sand, bowl of water. empty bottles and containers for in the bath or bowl of water. bowl of leaves. You are right - its your role as a parent to meet your childs needs. I remember learning about the 5 senses when I started school and loved learning about them - if you use simple items you can stimulate your childs senses in a natural way before they start structured learning. Eg. touch - various textures sight - colours, family photos, sound-pots and pans, paper, leaves, music, taste - meal times at this age, smell - probably not necessary to stimulate this unnaturally he will be using his sense of smell and recognise you and your home etc already. Theres a really good toy catalogue I saw called Myriad Toys (i think) they sell natural material toys and a lot are based on Rudolph Steiner's Philosohies. Very simple, organic leaving loads to the childs imagination and not over stimulating them.
12. I do agree with you but its nice to have a little helping hand weather it be a soothing light or a help with ABC it also makes things a little more interesting for them
13. I think that babies need far less toys than they have. When I think back to the number of toys my children had and how they played with a select few.. My children's favourites were a ball that they could roll themselves and grab back, a toy that had different boxes that popped up when you pushed them and some wobbly eggs ! There is so much commercialism attached to babies and children in general that we as parents are made to feel that our babies are missing out if we don't buy certain items.