Electronic Toys for Babe - Opinions Requested

[IzzyTheTerrible]

We've only had our 8 month old for 2 months now, so we're still trying to figure some stuff out.

Curious about people's opinions on toys for babies.

When we picked him up from his old home, he only had a handful of toys and was playing with a bic lighter (cringe) as none of his toys were available to him, just kept in the diaper bag.   His "toy" was the TV.

So I can't help but wonder if we're over compensating for the fact that he literally spent 6 month of his life without very much.  Anyway, we have a few electronic toys for him - he loves the music and 'dancing' to them.    When he plays, we're sitting right there with him, playing along side of him, so we have a variety of other toys such as balls, cars, etc and we interact with him constantly.

After introducing an electronic toy, he quickly learned cause/effect, and took off with it, sometimes pushing a button dozens of times because he likes the noise or song. 

I love seeing the huge smile on his face when a song plays that he loves, and in that moment I can't see a single thing wrong with anything that does that.  But then at the same time, when I can't get his attention off the giggling monkey to play with a ball, I can't help but wonder if having those toys out is even a good idea at all.

What is your opinion on the standard electronic, or noise making toys for babies?  

Do you think that they get a bad wrap because they are often left to their own devices? 

Do you think electronic toy interaction should be limited?

[Adaline'sMama]

Here's what I think, and you can take it or leave it because you have to remember that he is YOUR baby and only you can be the judge of what is best for him to play with

We have around 10 electronic toys that stay in the toybox that my child is not strong enough to open. This includes a singing picnic basket, a train that makes noise, a baby cell phone, a ABC's toy, and various other things. Most of the time, on her shelf of toys that she can access the following toys are available for her to play with:

Mellissa and Doug's bead wire toy (yk, that thing where you push the beads around on the metal)
Mellissa and Doug's block set (the box with shapes carved in it and you put the blocks where they go)
Wooden blocks in a basket
Wooden trains- three strung together with pieces that interlock
Wooden tool box with tools (screwdriver, hammer, wrench, ect.)
and a purse that contains:
A plastic glittery ball
A wallet full of old debit cards and used gift cards
an old blush brush
and whatever she finds and puts in there

It sounds like a lot, but its really just one 4 foot shelf of toys. We pull the electronic toys out one at a time. I dont think they are inherently awful, but I cant stand it when there are 10 different noises going on at the same time, and I dont think it teaches them anything to have all that noise. For my kid, it makes her way overstimulated to have a ton of loud plastic toys around all at once. Personally, i think that electronic toys can be useful for learning if used correctly. But, that doesnt mean I want most of my kids time to be occupied playing with them. Id much rather her play with things that require her to do more than just push a button. My policy is this: I dont buy batteries unless the toy is the most amazing thing in the world. If the battery runs out and the kid still likes playing with it, great. Its just no longer a noise making toy.

At 8 months old, we let her play with the cell phone toy, and that was about it. At 8 months, I think that a child is very easily stimulated, so they dont need a ton of toys. We just had a few back then. She chewed on wooden blocks and played with everything in my purse (which inspired me to get her her own purse after about the fifth time I lost my debit card) Balls were a big hit at that age, and I am a sucker for the plastic balls at the grocery store

[Adaline'sMama]

double post

[IzzyTheTerrible]

Thank you for your input :) 

It's interesting to hear everyone's different parenting styles.  I'd never heard of Melissa & Doug - I'm really happy you mentioned them, the stuff is awesome!

[~Adorkable~]

i think most folks just tend to find them annoying after you have heard the same thing 80 times a day, but if you can stand them and  the babe likes them i dont feel they do any harm. i can say my twins can get crankier if they play too much with them when they are near tired. and i am someone that likes less noise so i ration them out.  but ones that play music are the ones i leave out, my son is starting to jiggle to the tune and i love to see that, its the beeping and crashing sounds i avoid, it grates on my nerves 

[MoonWillow]

I used to try to keep everything kind of "Waldorfy" and natural for my kids but have received SO much other stuff that I never would have purchased on my own that they absolutely love.

I guess the older they get, the less strict I feel about it all. Really anything can be an opportunity for learning. My 6 year old loves to take apart electronic things to try and see how they work.

He couldn't really do that with a wooden block kwim?  

[Megan73]

It sounds like your babe likes the electronic toys, you're offering him a variety of playthings and interacting with him constantly. Lucky kid!
I just find noise-making toys really, really annoying, especially if they're $$$ and "educational". My BIL taught me a great trick though for noisy toys that come as gifts: cover the speaker with tape to turn down the volume.
Your babe may also like non-electronic noise-making toys such as a bowl and spoon or maracas.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

I figure variety is the spice of life. Most of the toys in this house are NOT electronic. I prefer that my children play with open-ended toys, and electronic toys tend to be limited in what they can do. I like to keep the bleepy toys for diaper changes, car rides, etc, when a little distraction is a very good thing. They are also more novel for them that way.

[ASusan]

Agree with PP - they are annoying to ME. I think they are *mostly* overstimulating. But, they can be neat. I love the idea of limiting them to one at a time, and that's essentially what we did. With all toys, I rotated them about every 6 weeks. (longer at older ages)

We also covered the speakers with tape - it's a GREAT trick, as many of these toys have volumes that can damage hearing.

Something else to consider is that young babies (and children) don't have the cognitive control/capacity to withdraw their attention. So, while to US, it looks like they are totally engaged - they literally are; and they cannot disengage. (This is why they are "overstimulated" and why they might be disturbed by these toys when they are tired - any cognitive ability, including the ability to withdraw, is compromised when someone is tired. or hungry.)

I know this thread isn't about TV, but, as an example, parents call Little Einstein (or whatever it is called) "Baby Crack" because their infant just STARES at it, totally engaged. Well, it (and other toys) are designed on basic research findings about what babies LOOK at, what they LISTEN to. It's euphamistically called, 'what babies prefer' as if the infant has some volition in it. But they don't. They literally cannot withdraw their attention. (Of course, there are individual differences in this ability, and some infants can withdraw their attention better/earlier than others, but on the whole, this is something that develops over time.)