Consumer Reports on Toys

I have found Consumer Reports to be a really helpful resource on a number of things...car buying, selecting a new washer and dryer, shopping for electronics, and now: baby stuff! Advice from friends is invaluable, and this goes a step beyond - it's resource that helps comparison shop, too. I've been reading all about strollers and monitors. And I came across some helpful info on toys that I'd like to share. While these two articles doesn't necessarily reflect our "toy philosophy" it does help put things in perspective...

The first article has some helpful, general advice about how to find age appropriate toys, what appeals to babies at different ages, and ensuring that toys are safe. It's mostly common sense, but helpful!
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/baby-toddler/play-and-activity/stuffed-animals/toys-for-babies-and-young-children-4-07/overview/toys-for-babies-and-young-children-ov.htm

The second article, about "high-tech" toys, seems pretty on the mark with the conclusion that, "children will get far more meaningful stimulation from the sounds of the people, animals, and objects around them." I've already heard from a few of you who have told me "you'll change your mind when the baby comes!" And heck, we might just have to reconsider our plans if he turns out to be a real techie. But even then, we would like to "take it easy" on these types of toys. Even if the baby is appeased for a few moments with such a toy, I'm pretty sure all those bells and whistles will start to drive us nuts pretty quickly. When he's old enough we might introduce a few electronic gadgets, but for the early months I can't imagine he'll learn more from something that beeps and whirs than from us, the garden, and the simple objects around him. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/baby-toddler/play-and-activity/stuffed-animals/toys-for-babies-and-young-children-4-07/are-high-tech-toys-worth-it/are-high-tech-toys-worth-it.htm

Back to Basics: Ideas for clothes and toys

In addition to hand-me-downs and home-made creations, here are a few ideas for clothes and toys.

We love toys that are made of cloth and wood, those that foster creativity and building skills, and anything made "close to home." We would like to avoid toys (at least too many of them) that require batteries (ie, that make noise) or use a lot of plastic. Mostly, we are aspiring to the "keep it simple" philosophy here, but we know that we may have to bend these rules as the years go on - kids do have a mind of their own about what appeals to them! In the meantime, here are links to a few sites that have neat puzzles, building blocks, wooden toys, etc.

http://www.finewoodentoys.com/
http://www.oompa.com/cgi-bin/category/0

As for clothes, we are very fortunate to have lots of great hand-me-downs coming our way. We won't need much! We really like things made from natural fabrics, including organic cotton. There are more and more places are offering organic clothes, sheets, etc. Here are a few:

(See photo) These are ridiculously cute, fun & organic clothes
http://www.sckoon.com/index.html

Hannah Andersson has lots of organic and cotton baby clothes
http://www.hannaandersson.com/division.asp?mcn=1&gpId=156

Pure Beginnings - simple clothes, bedding, etc.
http://www.purebeginnings.com/

A couple of others:
http://store.americanapparel.net/babies-organics.html
http://www.sagebabynyc.com/

Baby Hammock

We already have the Amby Baby Hammock - there are a few accessories that would be really helpful:

"Jump Jump" (which attaches to the frame we have)

http://www.amby-baby-store.com/us/index.php?c=3&p=7

Mosquito Net

http://www.amby-baby-store.com/us/index.php?c=3&p=6

Extra Sheets

http://www.amby-baby-store.com/us/index.php?c=3&p=9

Heavy Duty Spring (for when baby exceeds 25 pounds)

http://www.amby-baby-store.com/us/index.php?c=4&p=12

Amazon Registry

Here are a few links to registry items we've selected that are available through Amazon.com. Feel free to purchase them from other places, too, of course.

Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/search.html/ref=cm_baby_ln_fnd?ie=UTF8&type=baby