Going back to my area of strengths regarding Dear Son — I am somewhat okay at picking toys that keep Dear Son engaged. Very early on, we decided not to indulge in toys. Unfortunately, as the post will show, I veered off track. I continue to explore the exciting world of toys.
I confess that I picked up horrible and terrible toys at first but slowly started to get a feeling about which toys Dear Son liked. We received some wonderful toys from friends and family. Some toys were instant hits, some took time to be liked by Dear Son, and others never clicked. I thought I should write about things I learnt along the way, mostly on educational toys for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners.
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Toys for the first few months
According to researchers, babies do not have a well-developed vision at the early infant-stage. Infants do not see objects in a distance and can only recognize certain sets of colors — mostly black and white. For the first few months, bold patterns and different textures are great. Babies are not that mobile in the first few months. Therefore, toys do not need to move much. Toys need to be big to avoid being a choking hazard. Anything that can fit inside the tube of a toilet paper roll is considered a choking hazard. It is recommended that we keep the chocking hazard under consideration up until babies are at least three years old.
Going back to toys for the first few months, we mostly had teething toys or plush animals. We got a few rattling toys, cloth books, and Sophie the giraffe. Dear Son never showed a lot of interest to any one of these toys. He slept most of the times. When he was awake, he would look at us or look at arbitrary things. He started to grip things around four months; a few plush animals with large body parts came handy during those times. He was trying to grab the ears or hands or legs of the animals.
Toys for when Dear Son started to sit up
Stacking rings was a big hit around this time. Friend of ours gave the stacking tower of rings. It did not seem that exciting to me at that time but Dear Son had other plans. He played and played and played and continued to play with this set for a long time. Additionally, he liked cups and spoons and bowls. Stacking was a big activity for him at this age. Small cups with lids were his favorite. Toys that made sounds (aka, noises) also seemed like quite captivating to him. We received a learning laptop as a gift. It had different music and sounds. He liked it a lot. We on the other hand, were not quite as much fond of that learning laptop.
We started getting peg puzzles around this time. He liked to chew these toys. I guess the taste was not so bad since he still picks up these puzzles.
Toys for when Dear Son started to stand up or walk
We gave Dear Son a Stack ‘n Surprise Musical Croc when he started to stand up and walk. Dear Son also had a Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker, which was a gift from a Dear Friend of ours. Dear Son loved these toys a lot! He loved them so much so that we realized we do not want any musical toys for the rest of our lives if we ever have another child, sorry my dear!
Dear Son loved his Hide and Squeak Eggs (six plastic eggs in a yellow egg holder box) a lot. He loved to play with real eggs, as well. There were times when we would discover real eggs in couches or in different corners of our residence. The toy-eggs certainly took the heavy toll. These are colorful eggs with similar pattern on the egg and the cover, so the player has to match the cover-face with the right egg-face. Also, the bottom of each egg has a certain shape and can only be placed in the matching hole in the box. Pattern matching and shape sorting all went in the same toy. 🙂
Starting from age two to onward
I brought more puzzles for Dear Son when he became two. The Jungle Puzzle by Djeco kept him busy for quite some time. These are three or four piece beginner’s puzzle. Dear Son liked it so much that after mastering them, he started solving them upside down, without any picture, based on the shapes of those pieces. It was fun to watch him do that. A few days ago he again picked it up and after solving the puzzle he went into a full tantrum pointing at the picture of the elephant in the box. I noticed that he had a legitimate reason to go into tantrum; the box really had a mirror image of the elephant-puzzle he solved, which was bugging Dear Son a lot. 🙂
We received a Lego Duplo Number Train set as a gift from a relative, which was a big hit. We also got a wooden train set, very small, a tabletop one. Dear Son didn’t play with it a lot. He still brings it out sometimes but does not spend as much time as some other toys.
Around when Dear Son was two to three, I got him a set of Trucky 3. Dear Son liked it a lot. He didn’t get the concept of the game entirely. He would look at the book and follow the instructions. If he could lay it out like the book showed, he considered it a success –– so did we. We were all into anything that kept a toddler happy without making noises. 🙂 Inspired by the success of Trucky 3, I got him a Smart Car, which was not as loved.
Dear Son played with different types of toys over the last few years, some of which are already explained above age-wise. I feel that the toys we have seen can have a different level of categories, as explained below.
Early toys
Starting from mobiles, there are options for stroller toys, car-seat toys, plush animals, floor mirror, spiral toys, play gym, rattling toys, and lots of other options. Our recommendation would be to get very few toys, something that has bold pattern, limited number of colors, easy for the baby to grab. We had a play gym but I found that setting it up, placing him in it or picking him under from it wasn’t worth much. He was never interested, indeed seemed a bit scared of it :(.
Educational toys
Simple toys are the best as a baby starts to sit up. Things the baby can grab, throw, or put inside the mouth without any risk are preferable, for example, cups, bowls, small books, and soft balls. Stacking, sorting, and color-matching toys are abundant in the market. We used everything from measuring cups to his sneak bowls with lids (and snacks inside 🙂 ), plastic cups, bowls, and spoons.
Dear Son is very fond of science kits. He started to play with a Chemistry Kit when he was two. He still plays with it time to time. The kit contains pieces like test tubes, jars, and magnifying glasses. Dear Son loves to do experiments with baking soda, salt, and water. 🙂
Smart Games
Think Fun has some good toys including Roll and Play which dear son loved a lot.
Puzzles
Peg puzzles are the best for the small hands. There are also bigginer’s puzzle with 3 to 4 piece puzzle sets. Djeco and Petit Collage have some of the best puzzles. As Dear Son started to master these, we increased the size of the puzzles as well as the complexity levels. There are a lot of options available for bigger puzzles. Beleduc has some exciting layered puzzles.
Electronic toys
We preferred to have toys that were open-ended, allowed Dear Son to decide how he wanted to play –– bite, chew, or throw. Anything that lights up or plays music, were not always at the top of the list. That being said, when we indeed received a few such electronic toys as gifts, Dear Son seemed to be immersed in them. There are some excellent electronic toys out there, that we were lucky to receive as gifts.
When I started to think about electronic toys, I went more into the electronic part of it and got him a Snap Circuit Jr. Dear Son has been playing with that circuit for the last one year or so. He has no clue how electricity works. He follows the instructions and builds the circuit. I guess, it is another kind of lego to him. We used to help him at the beginning. He now can do any project listed in the manual on his own. Snap Circuit Jr has lights, a fan, musical components, and many other circuitry related components including resistors, capacitors, and diodes. I don’t see any reason why grownups won’t love to play with it. 🙂 Yes, I do.
Lego
Dear Son is a big fan of Lego. Dear Husband has a lukewarm feeling. Dear Husband was onboard until the sets got increasingly difficult! We tried other companies but from the point of durability, ease of use, and variety, Lego is still the best. Dupolo is good for toddlers until the chocking hazard phase eases out. Lego has some great series. We got a few classic series (such as, Creative Brick Box), Lego city series (such as, LEGO City Fire Ladder Truck), and a few from the creator series (like Sonic Boom).
Wooden toys
Many of the toys above are wooden. I found that companies like HABA, Hape, and Goki make excellent wooden toys. Toys “R” Us has a generic brand called Imaginarium, which is pretty good. Melissa and Doug also has some excellent wooden toys.
 
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Board games
Haba’s First Orchard and eeBoo’s Pre-school Lotto were some of the board games we tried with success. Board games are very captivating for kids to play as a family. Dear Son and his friends had a great time with these board games in one of their play dates.
Craft supplies
Play dough, craft supplies (pipe cleaner, glittering material, etc.), crayons, coloring supplies, and balloons have been serving as some major items to play with for Dear Son. We find that Dollar Tree and Walmart are the best places to keep the supplies running at low cost. There are also deals in the beginning of the school season in many stores. Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Jo-Ann are some examples of craft-stores that provide a wider range of selections.
 
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Toys during travel
Many companies have toys that are travel-friendly, for example, sticker tin boxes, magnetic toys from Smart Games, Magnetic Drawing Board, and Melissa and Doug On the Go Water Wow Set. We also had random things like plastic rings, small bottles with lids, and pipe cleaners. Story books with pictures always serve as great toys during travels.
 
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Concluding remark
Many of the toys we gave Dear Son were labeled as chocking hazard for his age group (e.g., circuit and lego). Our decision was based on our observation that he was not into putting things in his mouth by age two. Also, we never left him unattended with those toys. Supervision is critical for toys given at an earlier age than suggested.
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Awesome post! We consider toys as learning tools for the kids, so we loved your suggestions here. Thanks!
These are interesting comments! Parents, please realize toys are not simply for play and amusement. They are learning tools. So if you approach your toy purchase from this perspective then hopefully you will make a good choice.
So true. Thank you for visiting and sharing your thought. Have a wonderful week ahead.
Great post!
I am glad to know that you liked the post. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving day.
Wow! You’ve done a very thorough job and its one to keep for future use.
Glad to know that you liked this post. Have a wonderful day.
I will have to bookmark this page for future reference. Our dear son is soon become five months. We have not bought any toys for him. I wanted to get a pacifier and teether for dear son, but dear wife fused. The only toy dear son has is angry bird gun, which was given to him by his 8 years old cousin. I will have to let dear wife read this post.
What I missed as a kid growing up in the presence of toys. Dear mom was not really interested in buying them for me, but I enjoyed playing with other kids in the neighbourhood then. Anyway, I think it is good to see that your son enjoy playing with toys and that is what I’m going to make sure I get for my future kids as well.
All are nice toys, especially set for each stage, I have forgotten how it is to have so many toys around. My son has now 11 years and he refuses to play with its old toys even with its lego toys. I miss that time when he was playing with toys, now he is playing with its PC or the cell phone.
LEGO is very good for my son as he is good in Science and Robotics. He is now in Yr4.
That is so great! Yes, LEGO is good for children’s motor-skill development and imagination. Thanks a ton for visiting and commenting. Have a wonderful weekend.
I m a new parent and these article helps me what to buy while my son is growing up.Good thing about the article is there is not iPods or iPads 🙂
Haha ? we try as little screen time possible. Dear Son is electronic gadget free. Glad to know that you liked this post. Thanks for visiting and commenting. Love for your little one. Have a wonderful weekend.
Hello, I must say you are an incredible writer. The information shared for toddlers and kids are awesome. This is nice guide for all the parents who are looking for gift guide for their kids. Thanks for sharing this blog, keep sharing such like blog.
Thank you very much, Julie, for reading and writing a wonderful comment. We are sorry that we did not notice your comment because the spam detector automatically put it in the Spam folder. Thanks again for visiting our blog.
I like that Lego is still popular with kids 🙂 I played it with it many years ago
Yes, Lego is still very popular. I think, it helps toddlers develop their motor skills. Thanks for stopping by.
This is very helpful, thanks!
Thank you very much, Gina, for visiting our blog and writing a comment. I am happy to know that you liked this post.
Great job with putting this together.
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Thank you! We are happy to know that you liked the article. Have a wonderful day.