I think we need a new batch of "toys"

[CalaRei]

Boys are 7 months and we took them to my cousin's place this weekend for a BBQ. Cousin has a 10 month old and they got to play with his toys and had a BALL. Well, he does have a lot of toys, and lots of lighty-gadgety toys.

We've got two small bins of grabby type toys and smallish stuffed toys. I generally dump out one a day, so that at least every other day they get "fresh" stuff to play with. But I think they're getting bored.

What else would be a "good buy" as far as toys go at this age, since I don't want a lot of stuff that'll only be interesting for a few more months - things are changing very rapidly right now, I guess. All of the wooden toys I see have 18 months as the age requirement on them, I presume just because it's a hard object, so I understand that. They're still liable to flop over and bonk heads.

When they're in the high chairs/kitchen with me, I generally hand them some... stuff from the kitchen. Washed containers, spatulas, silicone brushes, cupcake liners, etc. So that's fun, but I'd like to leave it in the kitchen, so it's still interesting there.

Any ideas of adaptable "toys" that could get us through a few months?

[NEastMomma]

I agree that whenever my DS play's with someone else's toys, he has a ball! They're new and different so he's totally engaged.

Like you, DS has 2 baskets of toys that are available to him. Third batch is hidden and I switch them up every month or so. Current toys go into hiding and "new" ones come back out.

I've gotta say that one of DS's favorite toy that has stood the test of time w/ him is the last one I'd ever buy for him. Someone gave him one of those garish plastic "tables" from Leapfrog with a keyboard, lights, loud sounds, lots of buttons to press, etc. DS LOVES it and has since he coudl first sit up at 6 mos (we took the legs of it and put it flat on the ground). Now he pulls himself up on it (w/ legs on it) and pounds away at keyboar and pushes/pulls all those buttons.

Other toys that he's loved for a few months:
~ atambourine" he loves to shake for months now.
~ Books! I keep a bunch in a neat pile on the floor and he pulls them down and flips through them. They're a "toy" that has stood the test of time.
~ Photo album: I bought him a cheap-o 4x6 photo album and slipped photos of him and family and friends into it (mostly babies). I switch up the order to keep it interesting.
~ Interlocking plastic rings. He has a set of 24 all strung together and it is endless enterainment.
~ Calculator

Hope this helps!

[akind1]

I don't know the age recommendation, but DS loves playing with the bead and wire thingy at church nursery. and (they are plastic, but not light up or noisy) these softer plastic blocks that our friends have, or you could get cloth ones. neither would hurt the boys if they fell on them.

These are the blocks: http://www.toystoreinc.com/servlet/t...ks-soft/Detail

but around the house stuff works as well, DS loves playing with clean laundry. Need to get him his own basket of "clothes" to play with!

[Bebe's Mom]

bebe has soft blocks, baby dolls and books, she loves books! Her nanny (grandma) bought her some graduated cups, which she loves to bang together. They are good in the tub too. Of course, she will play with anything that she gets her little hands on.

[Xavismom]

If you are looking to get some wood toys for a younger baby (you mentioned you looked at some for 18+) We just bought these a few days ago for our 6.5 mo DS, and he is IN LOVE with them:

http://www.geniusbabies.com/haba-discovery-blocks.html

We also bought him this at the same time

http://www.amazon.com/International-.../dp/B000087L1M

He is having a blast with the blocks, and pulling toys out of the elephant.

And as much as I HATE IT, DS loves loves loves all the plastic, battery powered, noisemaking, light flashing things his grandma buys him. Loves it.

This, is the current fav from those toys

http://www.amazon.com/Sassy-Sensatio.../dp/B002J4U8KW

[kismetbaby]

I hear that! This past weekend we went to a friends house who has a babe the same age and my DS played for 3 hours straight with all the new toys! He loved it. I decided that moms should really do toy swaps. . .every few months clean all your toys and trade with another mom b/c they do get bored and I can't just keep buying more and more toys.

That said, have you tried pulling out kitchen stuff? When my 8.5 month old gets bored I go into the kitchen find a strainer or a big mixing bowl and then fill it with anything safe and interesting I can find. He loves the spatula, silicon baster, measuring spoons, whisk. The other day I left the recycling basket where he could reach it and he had a ball emptying out all the (clean) containers and cardboard boxes. That was an unexpected toy!

[CalaRei]

Yeah, I try to keep the kitchen stuff for when they're in the high chairs. It gives me a little bit more time if the things are "fresher" when I hand them over. Lol.

I went ahead and bought those soft/rubbery blocks mentioned above. It was a good buy, I think. (They've been repackaged and re-colored, I think more appealingly, even.) And the images on them are actually quite stunning. High quality, I must say.

I also scoured salvation army and scored an older little tykes push car, a melissa and doug wooden snake, and a really nice set of sturdy plain stacking/nesting cups for under $3 total. Lol. These seem like basic toys, I thought they were a good buy.

I DO have one of those LeapFrog tables that a friend gave to us. It'd been sitting on the floor legless, but I rigged it up with two legs so it sits kind of propped, and the boys seem to like that a lot better. I haven't brought myself to put batteries in it yet. Lol. Maybe another day.

[texmati]

M son's just a tad older than yours. He has toys, but he also plays with cardboard boxes and canistars filled with beans. any thing that makes noise when knocked over, basically.

His all time favorite toy right now is this crawl ball. he still can't use it as intended (stack crawl or roll) but he loves to watch us take it apart and put it together. And he loves to chew on the rings.

[Auraji]

I always check craigslist, they always have toys for free or very cheap.

My daughter favorite things are books. We have lots of toys here because of my stepson, so she loves going up the stairs and getting them out of the bins. She's 13M

[omelette]

Playsilks are a great investment (or make your own for even cheaper). My 8mos old loves waving them around. I cover things with them for him to uncover. I put them all on the floor and he will crawl around with them for quite some time. My 4yr old loves them too. He uses the different colours for water, strawberry patch when playing, he uses them as capes, etc.
Lots of possibilities.

[kismetbaby]

Duh, I mention kitchen stuff in my post, but you already covered that. Sleep-deprivation, sorry.

Some toys we do have that he seems to not get tired of too quickly--stacking cups. They were cheap, just colored "cups" that stack, but he loves them. A tennis ball. (I suppose you could do a more baby friendly ball though.) He will roll that thing back and forth with me for a long while. I made him some musical toys with containers that I put different things into (a small juice bottle with beans in it for example).

I love wooden toys! I want to get the cut-able vegetables, although I think he's a little young for them.

[Blueone]

I totally agree with kitchen stuff! My son loves playing with bowls of all sizes, spoons (especially the Munchkins baby spoons because they are chewable) and lids. He loves pots and pans too. We put locks on all the cabinets except for the one with all the Tupperware and he loves to get into that.

We have toys, but he's not really into them except for this one Activity Cube that was at Target. He's always into that along with this plastic push and walk that converts into a little push car (he's 11 months) and some wooden blocks. Oh also, those stacking plastic rings! I'm sure they have wooden ones, but he likes that the top lights up and it counts as he puts the rings on or pushes the buttons.

He's more interested in exploring the house and getting into things that aren't really toys like CD cases, some plastic tubing of some sort that we deemed safe, and a wooden bowl with a lid, he loves to put that lid on.