Baby toys- point a rookie in the right direction!

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Hi all,

I have an 8 week old DS, and at the moment when awake he's very alert, so when it comes to 'play' (as much as you can do with an 8 week old!), it's mostly face pulling and talking to him, putting him under his baby gym/in cot under mobile, showing him some black and white and brightly coloured books and playing him different music, and of course lots of cuddles. Guessing that's probably enough for now, but is there anything else I could/should be doing with him?

At what age should/can you start buying them proper baby toys? What I really want to know from all you old hands is what toys are a great investment and from what age (thinking toys for under 2 year olds at the moment), and what are a load of crap/waste of money? Don't want him to get bored, but don't want to clog up our home and spend loads of money on crap!

Help a newbie Mum please!

All sounds just fine to me .

I'd say when your DS starts trying to grab things, then you might start to think about light, easy to hold toys. You might find that at this stage, your DS might show signs of teething so if they can chew on it so much the better. Can't find a link but both DDs really liked this giraffe think that was basically a tube with an animal head that squeaked.

We've just bought DD2 (20 weeks) this and she LOVES it.

Can recommend the V-Tech walker too: the front panel comes off and they can enjoy that even before they use use is as a walker.

Those activity centre things like this are good but expsensive: we had one for DD1 and I'm quite pleased we'll get further use out it!

Vtech walker

Manchestermummy - funny you say that about teething- DS has been chewing on his hands the last 2 or 3 days and seems a bit more 'spitty' around his mouth, but I thought he was too young for teething yet! .

Thanks for your links to toys- just popping out so will be back later if any other posters have ideas too

Amazon do loads of great stuff just browse the baby toys. Lamaze have a great range on there, also search 'Baby books' you can get some great ones, black and white, and some which have recordings of 'Baby Giggles' which my dd loves! Her most favourite toy is definitely Sophie the Giraffe which I think is what manchestermummy was looking for....I just LOVE Amazon for baby toys, can you tell?!

Alternatively borrow my DD1: she yells "Spiderman" at the top of her voice at DD2 and for some reason DD2 finds this hysterically funny.

Health Visitors will tell you that it is not possible for a young baby to be teething but believe me, they can start with the symptoms early.

my DS loved the fisherprice jumperoo from around 3-4 months onwards and still plays in it and around it, he is now at cruising stage. was the best investment as it was the only toy which kept him entertained and meant you had a bit of time to do house chores as he's always been a baby that likes to be held or upright. he loved jumping and playing with all the toys in it. it also helped strengthen his legs.

The other was fisherprice crazytown, he got it when he could sit supported and interact with the blocks and spin thing! that was the other toy that kept him entertained and still does for a good long while!

we received the vtech ball from a friend and have found that toy to be a bit of a waste as its so heavy and doesn't roll properly or very easily and the sounds aren't very good.

we've had to be really selective with all the toys we have for him as we don't have much space so just have one or two toys which may help with each stage of development and a few decent pieces rather than lots of cheap plastic.

I recommend reading Penelope Leach 'Your Baby & Child'. Great to give you ideas of how to stimulate them in different areas at each stage of development.
If you're buying toys I found alot of what they sell are so big & complex they cant really lift them/manipulate them. Go for light & simple to start with..Mine loved wooden spoons, spatulas and stuff like this -
www.amazon.co.uk/BRIO-30052-Wooden-Toys-Rattle/dp/B00000IV6Y/ref=sr_1_6?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1301926199&sr=1-6

I know it is for older children but DD2 played with her big sister's Duplo from about 5 months. She likes tipping them all out of the box, bashing them together and at 9 months she likes putting bits in and out of the box.

Oh, and everyone should have this

there are two things that both my DS's loved from tiny (and they have more toys than any child should really have - its pretty outrageous how much 'stuff' we have. Everything else wasnt of that much interest.

• the wooden or plastic cages that you put brightly coloured blocks into (this www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Toddler-Toys-Rolling-Barrel/dp/B0019F8MXC/ref=sr_1_2?s=kids&ie=UTF8&qid=1301927781&sr=1-2 sort of thing)
• and the little tikes radio (www.shopmania.com.au/shop~online-toys~buy-little-tikes-pop-tunes-lil-rocker-rock-radio-suitable-for-6-months-up~p-10026072.html)

I also agree with the jumperoo suggestion for when they are a bit bigger.
Duplo usually goes down well (unless the big one makes a tower and the little one knocks it down, then its not a happy event)

These eggs have been a huge hit with every 6 -12 month old baby I have known.

I second the Sophie the Giraffe recommendation, it's brilliant and DS loves it as a teether and a general noise machine. Also Lamaze toys - we have the firefly, dog and knot and they are great. We were given this which is fab (once you find the volume control) - it's really coming into it's own now DS can wiggle around after it. The JellyKitten fabric books are great too.
Oh, and we bought this for DS for his first Xmas - it was on his cot for a while and now he loves playing with it on his mat.

I would also recommend a set of plastic links like this - invaluable for attaching toys to the highchair!

Oh and I agree about the early teething - DS has been drooling and chewing since about 2.5 months and now (5.5 months) the first tooth has broken through!

I was going to recommend the Hide n Squeak eggs but BikeRunSki beat me to it! They were DS's favourite toy from 6 months to about a year.

A set of stacking cups are also brilliant - bashing together at first, then stacking, then good for learning about colours and numbers, for sand and water play etc.

His other favourite thing was a shape sorter that I got for free from Vertbaudet! The plastic blocks were great for bashing and eventually he worked out that the castle opened and closed etc.

Sorry, and to answer your other questions - I think what you are doing for now is brilliant. Until they can actually hold toys, their ability to play with them is a bit limited. DS didn't really play with toys much until about 6 months. Before then, toys with different sensory bits were popular - he had a dragon with a crinkly tail and bits to chew.

Wow, thanks guys! Have started adding your suggestions to my Amazon wishlist, so can buy as DS develops God I love Amazon!

Keep em coming folks!

stacking cups definitely, At 20m DS is only now starting to actually stack them but has spent over a year knocking them over and whacking them around the room. If you have a toy library near you, go along and see what they have. DS loved a great huge round vtech thing that they sit in the middle of and play with all the stuff round the outside. Cost 80p a week to hire it and went back when we couldn't stand the music anymore. He also spent hours and hours playing with this lovely wooden a frame thing that had various things that spun and twiddled and stuff but was £170 to buy. Again, 80p a week to hire. Be aware that people will drown you in plastic on his first birthday so keep it simple and minimal til then or you will end up with crates full of stuff. A ball, a cardboard tube, a wooden spoon, bubbles. All good. Oh, a dog /teddy thing by fisher price that plays different things depending on what paw you press (and has a red plastic heart on his chest) was a big hit that my sis bought him ad he still likes. We used to wedge it in with him in his donut ring thing and he could set it off himself.