As a stay-at-home dad and new parent, I have found that the best form of advertising for new products is word of mouth or reading online blogs & product reviews. When I look at some of my son’s favorite toys, I clearly remember who recommended them to me, and which kids I saw playing with them. Most of you know some of the more popular toys (pictured). The Whoozit is a multi-sensory, developmental toy that travels with me everywhere. When I watch Jake play with his Whoozit, I can see why this silly creature captivates the attention of so many children through a variety of activities: fun noises, a mouth that bends, a hidden mirror, a crunchy triangle, and hide-and-seek legs.
Sophie the Giraffe from France is another sensory developmental toy that I see everywhere. I couldn’t understand why so many people had to shell out a steep $20 for a piece of rubber so I had to follow through with my curiosity and buy one. The highlights for my son are the light weight of the toy so it fits nicely in his hand and the squeaker that keeps him fully amused. Most babies seem to enjoy sucking and biting the rubber as they go through their teething phase.
Manhattan Toy’s Skwish is an activity toy that I recently purchased. My son saw another child playing with the Skwish a few weeks ago and “borrowed” it for about an hour. He seemed to enjoy pulling on the strings, sliding around the beads, and biting down on the wood. To me, it appears to look like a mathematical model from Good Will Hunting or a scientific model of a molecule. When I bought the Skwish for my son this week, I figured it would result in hours of entertainment for him. However, this new toy keeps getting pushed aside for his other favorites. Maybe, he will grow to like it.
Please share some feedback – what are your child’s favorite toy(s)?
The whoozit and sophie are Byron’s top 2 as well. Sophie was a gift, so didn’t know the background. I thought the girl who gave it to us named it Sophie and thought that was a bit weird. Makes sense now though.
His third favorite has been the rubber ducky in his baths, but I’m beginning to think it’s anything he can grab onto and put in his mouth now that I’m introducing more toys during bathtime.