Toys for development

[Lonelylass1218]

Having a look at what to get baby for 1st birthday and Christmas this year. I want toys which are good for development and suitable for a 1 year d but will not be bored of them in a few weeks. Anyone seen good musical toys of good qualified

One of our best toys was the Vtech playtime bus. It's not very big - little ones can push it along or even sit on it and hit random buttons to get a tune, but actually it teaches them all their numbers, and phonics once they're old enough to grasp it, plus music and lots of other things. A lot in a small package.

this one

Personally I don't like toys that use batteries, make tinny, artificial voices and sounds, and are pseudo-educational.

You can't do much better than Duplo, bricks, vehicles, farms and animals, and many other sets. They all co-ordinate, so will last a child for years.

This child's xylophone is unusual having two octaves of notes, for what seems a very reasonable price:

www.djmmusic.com/p-4722-tiger-xyl21-cl-15-note-kids-wooden-xylophone.aspx

For older children I always recommend a proper electronic Keyboard, but that is around £100.