Top Toys - According to Baby Loquacious

I should have trusted my gut instinct, which was *not* to buy her a thousand and one toys with bells and whistles.  I used to say that babies should use their imaginations and be entertained by simple things (e.g. pots and wooden spoons, cardboard boxes), but as I browsed the many toy aisles at various stores we've been frequenting, I was definitely tempted, and on more than one occasion I either bought something musical or almost bought something flashy for Baby L.

Well, colour me silly.  Yes, she loves her musical toys.  One of her favourites is her Baby Einstein Take-Along-Tunes, so that was a good purchase.  The Infantino Soothing Lullabuddy is another.  There were a few others, however, that failed to appeal.

True to my former instincts, however, Baby L has really taken a shining to the simple toys.  Among her favourites are the Tolo Rainbow Nesting Stacker, which she likes to un-nest and un-stack after yours truly stacks or nests them.  Post-undoing, she will take the cups and throw them to see if they'll go far, or else she will hit them against other hard surfaces to make some glorious noise.

Another favourite? The classic Fisher Price Rock-a-Stack, which she likes to un-stack as well.  She doesn't really prefer to play with the rings, however; those get tossed away quickly.  The stacking pole, however, is one of her favourite teethers, and it also doubles as a hammer for her to bang on the carpet. :)

She's also a big fan of empty small plastic water bottles.  Watching them spin and bounce on the table makes her laugh, and she also likes to gum around the surface and squeeze the soft plastic to make some noise.


Moral of the story? Don't bother with too many toys that come with all the complex bells and whistles.  They offer momentary fun, but the toys that endure and have lasting appeal seem to be the simplest ones.