What toys?

[Blueeyes91]

Hey all,

My LO is nearly 7 months and I'm currently feeling like I've been letting my LO down. My friends babies have loads of toys, lots of noisy electric ones.

But we just have soft blocks and rattles and things that make noises when you grab them or shake them. She's almost crawling, can sit and is very inquisitive.

What else can I get her? What are the best toys?

Until I got back to work my budget is pretty small, so recommendations of good budget toys would be appreciated.

Honestly of all the toys my son has had, he prefers the more simple wooden ones than the ones with all the lights, bells and whistles.

Shape sorters are great as are the stacking rings. I think Smyths do them in a 2 for £15 offer. DS also has a postbox with 5 wooden letters that he would just sit and post for ages! And it's great for teaching them colours. Wooden blocks are good for their motor skills as well as they learn to balance them to make a tower etc.

Obviously she's a little young yet but my son had a shape sorting clock from Smyths (I think it was £12) for his 1st birthday. He's just turned 2 and still loves it. He knows so many shapes and colours and can count to 10 so they've served him well!

What she has got sounds great and suitable for her age!

I'm with becci, noisy toys really aren't the be all and end all. Some DC find them entertaining (which is useful if you struggle to grab a few peaceful minutes!) but there's no great magic in them developmentally.

The best value toy I ever bought was a set of ikea stacking cups (£1 each). Stacking cups are great- stack them, sort them, hide things under them, practice nesting them, use them in water and sand.

Have a read about treasure baskets

You don't need noisy electronic toys, just something that interests your baby. My most popular toys are a cheap set of stacking beakers, they get used by all ages of children, for all kinds of play. ( I'm a childminder)

I never purchased any electric toy other than a tractor. Books are more educational that a stupid toy reciting the alphabet song. The most important toys are duplo, wooden blocks, stacking rings, thread and bobbin, nesting cups and a ball. When your health visitor comes round at 15 months she won't ask if she can play with electric toys she will ask if she can build blocks, put duplo together ability to do shape sorting and stacking rings speech and pointing and listening to a story and ability to make marks on paper, I got a magic board thing my son loves it. Sensory toys are fun but sensory things are all over the place, grass crunching leaves. I remember my son at 7 months I literally let him touch evergything and bang everything and taste almost everything. But rice in an empty coke bottle. Honestly these simple things will do more justice than electric toys having to press the same button repeatedly. They all claim cause and effect and motor skills but so does a coke bottle with rice. So does crunching a leaf. They don't last long either wooden block will last you years so get good quality ones and so does stacking rings and duplo, they start by just simply putting the rings on the stick or cone and then as they turn closer to two they start sorting by colour and sizes and can then a little older make patterns big small big small ect and duplo will just entertain for years, shape sorter will last around three years first they learn to carefully put the shape in the hole then they recognise the shape pattern and then the names. You can get sensory balls but honestly most babies just like the average ball. A teddy will last year's and so will animal toys which you can teach patterns on the animals skin, colour, noises ect it's not just about the animal it's about teaching colour and noises and patterns and opposites. My muro activity board, wobbelboard, triclimb, blocks, shape sorter, stacking rings, nesting cups, books read tons and tons of books, crayons ( councious craft have some shaped like a cone so incredibly easy for baby to hold and safe if he eats it) push along and pull along toy and toy cars and animals. Electrical toys are fun but really keep it to minimum. You need things that have open ended play that they will enjoy for a long time and will teach them new things as they grow and they also feel very proud as they get older that they are able to do it tasted and better than the month before.

Also imaginative play. My son plays with the kitchen at his granmothers house all the time. Not correctly but it's a start. You can get a teepee or little shop or garage or tools whatever and they can role play. Vegetables and fruits baskets a little sink. Honestly kids thrive from imaginative play. You need educational toys that spark creativity and imagination. Which is exactly what duplo and blocks ect do. U can get the magnet blocks like tegu which would last you years and years because they can build anything with them. These toys do usually cost more than an electric dog but for very good reason they last for years and I really mean it my son's wooden blocks are played with by nephew which is 5 and my niece 3 all of the time. Building something makes them feel like they've accomplished something great. So I know it seems like a lot of money but vs an electric toy it is so worth it especially as they will keep quiet with a toy such as train set or duplo for actual hours when they turn two vs around t minutes with an electric toy because they can't do anything other than press a button.

I would day books plastic stacking cups simple shape sorter stacking rings and just simple wooden building blocks. All of these are fairly cheap and failing that try exploring charity shops

We got given a load of noisy plastic toys and I hate them!! My DS (7 months) will be entertained with them for about 5 minutes before he gets bored.
But give him a card board shoe box with scarves and rattley things in....he was sat there for nearly an hour just working out how to get into the box and how to empty it.
I've also bought some flashing balls from
Amazon which he loves but the best purchase, as a previous poster said, ikea stacking cups!!!

His Christmas list is all about wooden toys and stacking blocks....honestly, without being rude, if any plastic noisy toys are given to him they are going in the bin.

Go to the charity shop and get a few bits, whem you’ve had enough take them back and get some more. You don’t need to spend ££££