Comments on: Review: Toys for little ones

By: RumorQueen

RumorQueen — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:53:34 +0000

I have to be practically militant about insisting that nothing else be out when they get the TinkerToys out (or Lincoln Logs, or wooden blocks, or whatever), and that when they are through playing with them everything goes back into the container and gets put away.

There is a container for the potato head family, a container for the Thomas trains and track (oh, forgot to mention that the other day), a container for the lincon logs, etc. Yes, I think that a post about organization may be a good idea.

By: DoubleK

DoubleK — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:49:01 +0000

I’ll also put in a plug for the fake plastic food and kitchen set.
But one of the best things we got for our girls was a Fisher Price mirror, that had softly flashing lights and played classic lullabies. We had to hide it when we finally got rid of it because they still loved it!
Also the shape ball, where they drop the star, block, circle, etc. into a ball that comes apart. Loved it!
The other item that both of my girls loved to play with regardless of their age – my shoes! Once they could walk – and DD2 was walking at Gotcha Day – the instant I would take my shoes off they would put them on and pretend to be me.
And a good excuse to get new shoes for me!

By: amykrisb

amykrisb — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:47:31 +0000

For her first birthday, my daughter got a Fisher Price Roll-a-rounds Tumble Bug Ball drop:
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Roll-Rounds-Tumble-Ball/dp/B0007WX116

She loved it, and when we have babies that come visit, we get it out again and it’s always a favorite.

By: SRMama

SRMama — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:37:51 +0000

The Mozart Music Cube from Embryonics (http://www.geniusbabies.com/mozmuscub.html) was a favorite in our house. Although ours wasn’t Mozart, it was the version that they had that played children’s songs (can’t find that one on-line today though). I read some current reviews that said that the battery cover breaks easily, but it didn’t on the one that we had…my DD was really rough with this toy and we never had a problem with any breakage. She had a little tykes climbing cube with a slide that we kept in the den and she loved to start the music on her music cube and throw it down the slide, then do a little dance until the music stopped…then slide down to get the cube and repeat the process. She spent many hours doing this and our music cube still works as well as the day that we got it.

By: Molpugh

Molpugh — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:15:37 +0000

Thank you for the recommendations!

We have been in Kazakhstan bonding with our daughter who is almost 11 months old for about 36 days now. I have to put in a plug for the following three items that were so easy to pack and have really gotten a great response from her!

The Soft Shapes books
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=soft+shapes

They are intended for children 1-4 years old, but they can be fun for slightly younger children – with supervision. Our daughter just loves them! We brought the Animals, Colors and Counting. She likes the feel of them, the colors, and she likes to bang them together or on the floor for the noise she can make. She can get them out of the books with help and she also enjoys feeling, manipulating and looking at the book itself. Alot of fun!

The Baby Einstein Musical Duck
http://www.amazon.com/Kids-II-INFANT-BABY-EINSTEIN/dp/B000JQ2VGG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1246435083&sr=1-1

She loves music and we have gotten alot of interactive enjoyment from this little duck. She likes the feel of him and she is starting to be able to squeeze him right to make the music play. She bounces on her stomach to the music and the tune is short enough that it keeps her attention. You press the duck’s stomach for the full ensemble melody, and you press the wings and feet for the same tune broken into instrumental parts (drum, horn, violin etc.)

The Surprise Inside Elephant
http://www.geniusbabies.com/suineltrtoy.html

This soft toy was easy to pack and she loves it! All the textures and sounds (crinkly flower with mirror, squeaky mouse, ball, the peanuts, etc.) keeps her attention. The first day we introduced this toy, I think we got 45 minutes of uninterrupted play!

I love baby toys! Enjoy!

By: lojeslj

lojeslj — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:10:18 +0000

My oldest dd’s will be 10 next month. The wooden blocks, play kitchen with food, and Little People all still get alot of play time. The beauty is that even the 3 and 6 yo can play with the big kids. The style of play is different, but they all get together and cooperate. Another item that has had near constant use for 9 years now is a Step 2 Kangaroo climber. Here’s a picture: http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1305

It is small enough to be inside the house, but large enough for my 9 yo to still sit in, and sturdy enough for all the kids to hang, climb, and jump on in some form or fashion, but light enough to move around easily. Even dh, who is dying to finally get it out of the house, admits its still getting alot of use. And it is great PT/excercise for ds.

By: wardfamily0219

wardfamily0219 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:07:48 +0000

I just thought I would add….when looking for toys that play music or make sounds of any kind, especially for younger children. If it doesn’t have a volume control, hold it up to your ear and see how loud it is. Most children don’t hold toys out on front of them to play. They hold them close to their face and you’d be surprised to hear how loud some of the toys actually sound up close.

By: kms

kms — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:23:22 +0000

I gotta say I’m a lego snob. Get the duplo blocks.

I can’t tell you how big a deal balls are. For boys playskool has some nice soft plastic cars that fit in the hand or are easy to grasp. They do great until ready for matchbox cars.

Lakeshore learning had a great vinyl block set of various shaps with some balls that fit in the palm of their hand. Very safe. Parent’s also has that great cloth block set with different cloth textures and simple abc’s. Some blocks have little shaped rattles that fit inside.

Melissa and Doug puzzles are the best. The big knobby kind.

As for magnets I like the leapfrog phonics fridge toy. The magnets are inside, not glued to the back. The fridge phonics boom box and the alphapal – that caterpillar that sang or did the letter sounds and names were his two favorites. Though I didn’t love the string on the caterpillar.

Books.
Kristine

By: Luna2003

Luna2003 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 23:21:51 +0000

I have to admit – Fisher Price Little People were some of MY favorite toys as a kid! I probably played with them longer than most kids, because it was something I actually enjoyed doing with my little sister. We had the house, the village, the farm…a whole town set up! I can’t wait to experience these toys again with my own daughter some day…

By: fuzzymom

fuzzymom — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:37:40 +0000

My kids are 9 and 10. Our large little people collection just left the house last summer ( excellent resell value I might add) My kids used it for years. My son is a boy boy and my girl is a girly girl, they both loved playing with little people.

Wooden blocks are a must have. My kids still use them. It is fun to watch their play evolve as they get older. They joy of wooden blocks is that you can never have too many, that makes them an excellent gift.