I hope to give first time mums an idea of the types of activities, toys and play equipment available and suitable for young babies. I don’t sell toys, I am simply a mum giving advice I wish I’d known.

Up to about 6 weeks a baby is mainly interested at looking at things – he has a whole world to figure out. He will be learning how to focus on objects and will begin to watch things as they move along his line of sight, he will mainly want watching activities. By 3 months your baby will be learning how his body works. Moving arms and legs and learning to grasp objects. Objects in his hands often go to his mouth to be explored further, he will now want more holding activities. This guide gives ideas of toys and activities that encourage development correct for their age. If you are interested in the toys and activities most suited to older babies, I have written another review for babies aged 3 months until walking age.

(PLEASE NOTE: I have used ‘him’ throughout for no particular reason than that my youngest is a boy – it was simply easier than thinking up a unisex way to phrase every sentence)

BOUNCY CHAIR

One of my most useful purchases for the first 6 months. Baby can sit in the chair and watch the world happening around him, or can play with objects given to him. It is also portable, so baby can move from room to room with you. When buying one here are a few pointers:
(1) Make sure you can bounce it with your foot. That way you can do things like washing up, ironing, making lunch etc whilst still entertaining baby. I prefer the bouncing versions to the rocking versions for this reason.
(2) A detachable play arch so that if baby wants more to look at than just you they can have the arch.
(3) Removable and washable covers.
(4) Make sure it can be in a reclined and a more upright position. As your baby grows he will not want to be reclined all the time, this way he can also sit up and see more.
(5) Some have vibration settings. I think this is an each-to-their-own add-on. I personally rarely used the vibration setting on my bouncy chair, but some babies will love it.

PLAYGYM

These are either a colourful mat with arches across which you can attach brightly coloured toys to, or a freestanding arch without a mat underneath. They are good for floor play (important on to encourage babies to move and explore). As your baby gets older and begins grasping for objects, I found it is worth buying a few extra link rings (that you attach the dangling toys to). That way you can add the toys to a chain of a few link rings, making them lower and within reach of the baby.

HOLDING OBJECTS

This activity is great because baby can really look at and examine what they are given. The obvious things to give babies are a rattles or soft toys, however don’t stop at the obvious. Give your baby anything safe that you can think of so that they can experience different textures, shapes, colours, weights (but not too heavy!), materials, sounds, size (but not too small because of the choke risk) etc. Examples are: metal spoon, wooden spoon, TV remote control, a toothbrush (get him used to it early), a piece of clothing, your credit card, a belt, the envelope from the letter you just opened, your car keys, an orange (skin on so there is no choke risk) or apple, a smallish cardboard box, the list of things could go on and on.
One a personal note, I wanted my children to experience things from nature at an early age (large leaves, twigs, big stones, pine cones, a flower stem etc) but I can understand if other mums avoid this because you can never guarantee how clean these types of things are (a shame though). If you do let your baby experience things from nature, make sure they are not put into baby’s mouth and wash baby’s hands afterwards.

MOBILES

Have plenty and have them all over the house, or move it around the house. Some places you might like to think about putting a mobile are: Where the baby sleeps (cot, carry cot etc), hanging from the light fitting in your living room, likewise in the kitchen and above the changing table.

HELIUM BALLOONS

Tie a couple of brightly coloured helium balloons nearby the baby (well out of reach however, because of the strangulation risk). Newborn babies love to watch the changing areas of shadow and shine on the balloons as they move. They are also very portable so can be used near the cot, carrycot, pushchair, bouncy chair etc.

WATCHING THINGS THAT MOVE

Babies from birth to about 6 weeks can be occupied for ages simply by watching life go on around them, and this can be watching anything that moves. Examples are washing on the washing line, the washing machine when it is on (no really, it works!), trees or plants swaying in a breeze, watching your dog or cat play nearby, watching you talk, dance, move around, doing jobs etc or the one which my youngest liked best, watching older siblings as they play.

WATCHING LIGHTS

Almost every baby I know is always fascinated by light fittings on the ceiling if you switch the light on (that’s why it’s good to have a mobile there as well). So just switch the light on, simple but effective. You can also get some toys with flashing lights, these also usually play music. There are some projector type activity centres available. These project shapes onto the ceiling for the baby to watch. These are especially useful attached to baby’s cot, if your baby likes to have something to do before he will go to sleep.

TOYS THAT CAN BE ATTACHED TO BABY’S WRIST

There are toys out there with special wrist straps so that as baby learns to use his arms, they move with the arm and make a noise. Bells are particularly good.

BLACK AND WHITE PATTERNS

Small babies mainly see in tones, and so patterns in highly contrasting black and white fascinate babies. You could cheaply knock up a few patterns on your PC and print onto card, or you can buy them. Good for placing at the side of your cot (be careful you don’t use ties to attach though, because of the strangulation risk).

PEEP-BOO!

A favourite amongst grandparents the world over, but never fails to impress a baby.

SINGING

Babies love to hear mummy’s voice, and even better if it is in the different tones of songs. Don’t worry if you think you can’t sing, your baby won’t care and will still love it. You could sing children’s songs, nursery rhymes, pop songs, or even TV theme tunes, anything goes!

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This is just a guide to what is available and you will not need to have everything on this list, just a few is enough. Offers of toys from friends and relations is great, always accept them and ask other mums for their idea’s on which toys are worth buying and why. Also, find out if your area has a toy library, great for making sure baby has lots of new and interesting toys. If you can’t find a local toy library, why not start one up?

ONE FINAL NOTE ON TOY ROTATION AND STORAGE

Children will get bored of their ‘usual’ toys quite quickly, but they forget about toys if they have been out of sight for a few weeks, so that then these old toys reappear, it’s like they are new again. The idea of toy rotation is that you don’t have all of your toys out all of the time. One of those large plastic boxes with lids is great for storing small toys in, and one of these is plenty big enough for the smaller toys your baby will want to play with. So I would recommend buying two of these storage boxes. Keep one out of the way (garage, spare room etc) and the other in the living room. Have an equal number of toys in both, and simply swap boxes every month. Also try to rotate which toys are played with on a daily basis. If we had the rattles and animal soft toys out this morning, we’ll get the playgym out this afternoon and get the balls, trains and books out tomorrow etc. This keeps your child much more interested than having all of the toys out all day every day.

Happy Parenting!

I hope this guide has been useful, please feel free to read my other baby related guides.