Age guides on toys

[Hazel]

Today I've been to the netmums meetup. The lovely lady that runs it has it at her house and so she has lots of toys that are her daughters all over the floor for the kids to play with. She has a thing that looks like a tree that balls go in the top which Connie loved and sat up for ages playing and watching me putting the balls in it and go down the helter skelter. She doesn't normally sit up for so long as most of her toys are ground level and she usually wants to lie on her front and play or topples over where she leans forward to grab things. As this was eye level for her whilst sitting she stayed upright . So I've bought her something similar which is a giraffe with balls but it says 9months+ on it but I think it's better for her as it encourages her sitting as her baby gym doesn't really stimulate or teach her anything new now. I was actually quite surprised at how well she was playing with it and handling the plastic balls .

Is it better to get toys that are age guided for slightly older?

When did you all stop using your baby gyms?

 

[Bee]

I think most of Finlay's toys are aimed at older kids. Sometimes he doesn't play with them the way they are intended but he's having fun

I think we stopped using the play mat when he started rolling everywhere About 7 months

 

[Hazel]

I think because it was a taller toy she sat better as with the baby gym she is usually looking down at the crinkly noisey bits.

I don't buy loads of toys for her and just have a few larger things for her. Can anyone reccommend a good toy for the 6-12 month age group. She is loves footballs, I was thinking about an inflatable beach ball as it might encourage her crawling as she's getting very frustrated now not being able to reach things and not crawling properly just belly shuffling.

 

[beanie]

C favourite toys are S - she currently likes S's my little ponies, last week it was Mr Potato Heads. To be honest I never bothered with the age thing - if they liked it and played with it we bought it. Obviously any small pieces that could be a choking hazard are either taken off her or she is watched like a hawk.

 

[maybebaby]

Removed personal post

 

[kalia]

I don't buy loads of toys for her and just have a few larger things for her. Can anyone reccommend a good toy for the 6-12 month age group. She is loves footballs, I was thinking about an inflatable beach ball as it might encourage her crawling as she's getting very frustrated now not being able to reach things and not crawling properly just belly shuffling.

What she needs is a treasure basket - we got one for Christmas and it is fantastic! You get a small basket and fill it with everyday stuff - in ours there are things like rattan coasters, scrubbing brushes, paintbrushes, funnels, loofah, hair brush, sponges, scouring pads, duster, mirror, sieve, soap holder..... Go to the supermarket and pick up lots of interesting shaped things you deem to be safe. Hard textures are better than soft. Traditionally everything would be wood but we have lots of plastic in hers too and I have no problem with that. We also throw in her smaller toys. They are for babies who can sit up but can't crawl. The idea is that baby can explore the contents and play with whatever they want. We must have over 50 things in hers and it is interesting to watch as she seldom plays with one thing for more than a minute or 2. Here are some links to give you ideas (especially about the size of the basket) - they are shops but you can easily make your own.

http://www.contentedchild.co.uk/Content ... askets.htm
http://www.peep.org.uk/standard.asp?id=300
http://www.heritagetreasurebaskets.co.uk/baskets.html
http://www.treasurebaskets.org/

 

[valentine]

I like the treasure basket idea - we didn't do that, but I think its lovely.

Between 6-12 months, my daughter loved her brick trolley with wooden bricks, books (although she probably got more into these after she passed a year) and her musical instrument toys like shakers and a tambourine.

I ignore age guides too - as long as you are sensible about it, then just buy what you think will suit her/help her.

Valentine Xxx

 

[Suzie and Faith]

I don't buy loads of toys for her and just have a few larger things for her. Can anyone reccommend a good toy for the 6-12 month age group. She is loves footballs, I was thinking about an inflatable beach ball as it might encourage her crawling as she's getting very frustrated now not being able to reach things and not crawling properly just belly shuffling.

What she needs is a treasure basket - we got one for Christmas and it is fantastic! You get a small basket and fill it with everyday stuff - in ours there are things like rattan coasters, scrubbing brushes, paintbrushes, funnels, loofah, hair brush, sponges, scouring pads, duster, mirror, sieve, soap holder..... Go to the supermarket and pick up lots of interesting shaped things you deem to be safe. Hard textures are better than soft. Traditionally everything would be wood but we have lots of plastic in hers too and I have no problem with that. We also throw in her smaller toys. They are for babies who can sit up but can't crawl. The idea is that baby can explore the contents and play with whatever they want. We must have over 50 things in hers and it is interesting to watch as she seldom plays with one thing for more than a minute or 2. Here are some links to give you ideas (especially about the size of the basket) - they are shops but you can easily make your own.

http://www.contentedchild.co.uk/Content ... askets.htm
http://www.peep.org.uk/standard.asp?id=300
http://www.heritagetreasurebaskets.co.uk/baskets.html
http://www.treasurebaskets.org/

We have one of these Faith loves it! She loves playing with her whisk, and tea strainer. Lol. She also likes her egg cups! She has loads of little bits and will generally choose them over other things