toys in the crib - yay or nay?

mrspresley · May 2010

what are your thoughts or experience with toys in the crib?? i am not sure what the popular opinion on this is but i was wondering if the crib should be reserved for sleep only.... like if i start putting toys in there for her to play with when she goes down for a nap or so she can self entertain when she wakes up in the morning, will she not associate the crib with sleep as much? she has a small blanket/lovey that she already plays with but i'm sure she'd like to play with other things too....i just don't want it to take her longer to fall asleep at nap time if toys will be a distraction.

ETA: for instance, i have heard lots of parents rave about the cloud b twilight turtle...the manufacturer says it helps babies go to sleep....well she LOVES staring at lights so i am sure she would love to stare at stars on the ceiling but i wonder if she would stare contently until she drifts off to sleep, or if she would stay awake longer b/c she was so enthralled w/the lights?

sanae78 · May 2010

Hmm...I have no idea. Yeah, I think they might be a distraction. Maybe you can put them in there after she falls asleep so that she has them when she wakes?

mrspresley · May 2010

sanae78:
Maybe you can put them in there after she falls asleep so that she has them when she wakes?

that's a great idea I still wonder if even playing with toys when she wakes up will cause her to associate the crib more with play than sleep? I am hoping some mamas of older babies will chime in here

mie · May 2010

I've never had an issue with toys in the crib. We use the Cloud B turtle and she likes the lights and it doesn't keep her up. Of course sometimes there's the issue of the game of throwing toys out of the crib

Married2MrWright · May 2010

I think quiet/sleeptime toys like a lovey and twillight turtle or soothing sounds seahorse would be fine. You might try the later as it only plays for 5 minutes when activated and not squeezed again whereas twillight turtle stays on for 45 minutes or so and longer if you keep touching the buttons.

That said, we fall asleep every night to twillight turtle and Libby's eyes are closed long before it turns itself off...she really like to stare at the stars that shine on the fan blades, will giggle and coo at them for about 5 mintes and then she's done.

As for sleep associations...there are other things besides the crib itself which LO will associate with sleepy time...the routine before bed/nap, etc. You might reserve the toys for only nighttime sleep since I'd think that if they were going to interfere with sleep it would be during daytime naps moreso than end-of-the-day sleep. If you do get a twillight turtle you could try it out at first with it not being in the crib, maybe on a nightstand, etc. and then you can turn it off after 5-10 minutes if it seems to have made her more wakeful. If not, then you can leave it on for longer until she's used to it and then can have it in the crib with her.

myday1708 · June 2010

Hmm. I put toys in her crib when I want her to hang out while I shower... I have a basket next to the crib with toys and I just launch them in there. But it's when she's already awake, not when she's going to sleep.

When she's going to sleep, she has 2 extra pacis in her crib, so they are like toys to her... She crawls around and finds them and plays with them until she goes to bed.

MrsZiz · June 2010

We don't put "toys" in the crib with Bella but she has a bunch of little 'love bugs'... or that's what we call them. There's a small stuffed carter's monkey, a little minnie mouse doll, a small carters stuffed duck, her glow worm and 2 receiving blankets. She likes to curl up and cuddle with the receiving blankets and she holds any number of the animals next to her at night... she's not too picky

I think it's more comforting because she has something to cuddle... With B I think 'real' toys would keep her awake.

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toys in the crib - yay or nay?

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