Sensible toys for babies

[SusanDoris]

It looks as if I shall finally see my greatgrandson in September. My granddaughter and her partner are going to use the week put aside for their wedding, with kennels booked for the dog, to come and stay in Salisbury. I shall buy him a couple of toys, but will of course check with my granddaughter first that they haven't already got whatever I get.  He already has cloth books, but board books and others will be on the list for soon after!

I am trying to remember the names of makers of reliable, very safe and with a strong educational element toys. One of them was Fisher-Price, which I see is still around, but I'm sure there was another one. Does anyone remember it?

Googling 'toys for 8-10 month old babies, I see that there are a lot of electronic-type toys. What! At under a year old?! hrrrumph. Good gracious me, children of that age need stuff they can handle and bang and safely chew, as well as providing physical movement. There will be far too much time spent on electronic stuff in their future. Also, electronic things that work when touched are not going to help a child think and create, they are just going to teach them how to be passive button-clickers.

In any case, of course, as soon as children start toddling around and opening the kitchen cupboards, they find saucepans and wooden spoons!

Any ideas and information will be interesting to hear.

[Roses]

I think books are a good idea. We read to our children almost from the word go, they seemed to enjoy the stories.

[Gordon]

At that age, Susan, I'd image he's using a highchair (or will be soon) and there are tons of colourful toys that you can stick onto the table bit of the highchair (which means you aren't picking them up all the time).

[SusanDoris]

At that age, Susan, I'd image he's using a highchair (or will be soon) and there are tons of colourful toys that you can stick onto the table bit of the highchair (which means you aren't picking them up all the time).

Ah, yes, but that is depriving them of learning about gravity!!

One of my friends was suggesting making sure that whatever I choose is plastic, i.e. washable. However, that's all very well, but I think it is beneficial to babies to feel the warmth of wooden toys, especially the ones which are thoroughly reliable like the one with coloured pegs which they can hammer through the frame!

[Steve H]

Give him a squeaky toy, and point out to his parents that, if they get fed up with the noise, they just have to let him play with it in the bath.