Product Spotlight: Toys

rivercitynik

This is a place for FTMs to ask questions about, S+TMs to share their prior experience with, and everyone to share what they're eyeing in the world of maternity, baby and postpartum products. Each week we'll spotlight a new category of product to help streamline and make it easier to refer back. This week we are discussing toys! Since there isn't a separate spotlight for play mats, activity centers/mats, stroller toys, etc. we can include thoughts on those here too!

To view past Product Spotlights or the upcoming schedule, see here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DzmfbSu7toufv3p1VWNu1XOXDaU-tbI5FEfV8av46pc/edit?usp=sharing

sarah0985

I don’t know if my daughter was an anomaly or not but she could not care less about toys for a LONG time! She was just as entertained by keys as she was by an expensive “best toy.” She also kinda hated all teethers. She liked toys but didn’t have particular attachments and was more interested in people. 

Once she was older, she loved a push walker though. 

If you are planning to buy/request a stand up walker/bouncer, do research on hips and their development and what positions you have them in and how long. 

WishesSheCouldCook

We opted for a bouncer that converted from a playmat to bouncer to walk along table. We also had a doorway bouncer she liked.

She loved black and white crinkle blocks and sensory balls after 6m or so. She was also a fan of mirrors later on. 

roo_baby

get a really cute playmat even if it’s a bit pricier because all of your early pics will be on it. I regret that we used an ugly hand me down one. 

The jumparoo is key around 3-4 months, but I would wait to get it unless you have lots of storage. Plus you can get them for cheap or free from other people since you only need them 6 mo or so and no one wants to store them. 

People will give you toys because they are a cheap way to bulk up a gift or decorate a present. I see people giving used ones away all the time, too. I wouldn’t bother registering for or buying any myself. If you want to get a few things for when they are older (6 mo+), an oball, silicone teethers and anything with a mirror would be good. Toys become a much bigger deal around 9 mo, so plan to get a bunch for Christmas or Easter. 

[Deleted User]

I have enjoyed seeing how DD is growing developmentally by what toys she is interested in and intrigued by.  So plan to have a bin in another room or closet where you house the toys they aren't quite ready for yet, and don't be afraid to swap out and give them more variety.  I think they do better with access to fewer toys at a time, rather than a whole toy explosion.  If you really end up with SO MANY that you want to swap a couple out every week, great!  But otherwise like about a quarterly or 6-8 week rotate and you should be good to keep their interest + meet them where they are developmentally.  You can do similar with books, as well.

coldlife2

We've stayed fairly minimalist with toys. A super popular one is stacking blocks that they can knock down. Something with wheels. Right around 9-12 months, my girls both really got into cars and pushing them around while they crawled. 

We didn't have a lot of teething stuff. We had some of the "key" refrigerator ones. They worked fine, I guess. I don't know how teething stuff is supposed to work. My girls would just gnaw for a minute and lose interest. They liked them for chewing on or playing with just as much when they're not teething. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Crinkly/taggy toys, my kids didn't care about too much. My hope was that a crinkle toy would keep them from shredding and eating any paper they could get their hands on. Nope!

There are so many things that can be toys other than buying lots of toys. Now, at 2+, my older daughter will play with puzzles and dolls and Little People and all sorts of toys. But prior to that, she liked to get into things. She'd rather get into something she's not supposed to like play with all the hair clips in the drawer or the spice jars in the cabinet or the stuff in the dishwasher or the canned goods in the cupboard or pull all the DVDs off the shelf over playing with her actual toys. Toys lose their interest and get old so fast! I find it's better to just let them play with some "adult" things. They can't hurt canned goods. They can't really hurt DVDs until they figure out how to open the case. Personally, I find books are a better investment than toys. Those hold their interest a little more. 

@roo_baby, haha, we never had one! We just used a blanket or even our area rug (I really liked the pattern). 

roo_baby

@coldlife2 we have hardwood floors so we needed something soft for her to lay and roll on. We have a gathre mat, too, that’s very photogenic but not that padded, but she was a bit older when we got it. If we had carpeting, just a blanket would have been perfect. And same, most of her favorite “toys” now are just normal household items. 

I just remembered there are also some Montessori toy subscriptions that are pretty popular but we haven’t tried them. If this were my first I would consider doing one because those toys are supposed to hold up really well. But since it’s our last and we already have so much stuff, I don’t think we’d get as much value out of it. 

RedBaramid

I don't think my DD cared about toys at all until we hit about 3 months. She's actually really recently went through some of her toys and picked out some that she wants to put away for baby sister so I have a good handful of soft toys and such for this little one set aside.  I've picked out a play mat for the little girl on the way but otherwise I just want some new board books and crinkly books because those were the big things I remember that my DD got on with early. I figure by Christmas this baby will be ready for some toys and at that point I won't be able to stop family from sending them.

I never got any teething toys for DD though... honestly I just did for her what my momma did for me and froze whole wheat bagels for her to gnaw on when she started reaching to chew things.  I do acknowledge I got pretty lucky with my big girl though, she never was one to stick things in her mouth besides her binky, the bagels I gave her, or her hand. 

samsonator

My DD liked rattles a lot before 6 months. Before she could grasp, she just loved to watch us rattle them. We would go up, down, side to side and she was mesmerized haha. We loved the sit me up around 3-4 months (I think - times are foggy) which has some toy attachments on it she would "play" with. Other than, she liked soft blocks and crinkle paper. While not a toy, she loved being read to from a very early age (a couple months), especially during tummy time. I would recommend all the Sandra Boytan books! She would start smiling when she saw the cover of Barnyard Dance. So cute. 

samsonator

Which play mats did you guys like best

rivercitynik

@roo_baby are you thinking of the Lovevery kits? I have them on my babylist registry. They are quite pricey, but I like the idea of getting toy updates occasionally and then not needing to think about it much outside of that. I am also registered for their play gym. It looks pretty and I like that it converts into a mini tent once they are a little older. 

I'm also curious about play mats. I have hardwood floors and have rugs in most of the rooms, but there is one room w/o a rug and so I'm thinking down the line of getting a play mat for that space so would love something both pretty and with a bit of cushion. 

Also, any tips for dealing with family members who like to give lots of gifts for holidays and birthdays? I don't want to come off too demanding, but I don't like having a lot of extra stuff around. I think birthdays might be easier, but holidays can be tough when grandparents want to make it seem like everyone got an equal amount of gifts. 

roo_baby

@rivercitynik yes lovevery is one of them! Also montikids. The lovevery playmat is supposed to be awesome. There are also some cute skiphop ones. And ikea has just the thing that hangs over if anyone wants to use a blanket or mat they already have (ikea also has a plain mat but I can’t remember what it looks like). 

You can do an amazon wishlist as well for holidays and birthdays. When they are a little older, you can suggest larger gifts like zoo memberships to grandparents so they aren’t just buying crap. And set up a 529 they can donate to instead of physical gifts. But it’s still a struggle for us. I’m trying to use quarantine to get rid of stuff and the grandparents are sending us random toys so we don’t get bored. 

riatortillaxo

Mom's in my other BMB were just raving about lovevery! 
A 529 is a great idea. My son's birthday is in January, so he got a ton for Christmas. We encouraged that family just give money to the 529 if they insisted on a gift because we have a small house and if fills up quickly with all these toys! 

We have this play mat 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072MQYXPG/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_9RoLEbW939Z1W

I liked it a lot because it came with some stimulating toys and I liked that I could pull all the sides up and it kept him contained and safe in there. It's especially nice with big dogs. As he got older, I would open the sides and he played on it for a pretty long time. 

emiliadkay

We have the same playmat as @riatortillaxo and it's worked great for us! The lovevery playmat got popular right as DS was born and I was a liiiitle bit jealous of everyone who had it, but this one was really all we ever needed. When DS outgrew it, we got a foam playmat from tokimats that served us well for another 9-12 months or so.

For the true baby stage, our favorite toys were the noggin stik and winkel. Most things those two companies make for babies are really solid, but these I cannot recommend highly enough. My mom also sewed us a ribbon blanket that made a delightful crinkling sound and that was a big hit early on, too. Plus sophie the giraffe. I don't get it, but babies love her.

For around 6 months I also highly recommend some sort of activity toy that you can suction to the table at restaurants and keep them busy. The window where you can go out to eat with baby before they grab everything and cause a ruckus is so very short, and this toy can really help extend it!

riatortillaxo

Yes the winkel!!! It was a favorite of my other BMB. All the babies loved them! Once they were a little older and actually able to hold on to a toy.