Toys for a Green Baby

  

In my efforts to not crowd Lily's life with a bunch of crap, we don't have many toys.  We don't have an activity center.  We don't have a play mat.  She has a rattle, some stuffed animals, and that's pretty much it.  I don't want her having plastic toys that she's just going to suck on.  I try to pick up wooden items that preferably don't have paint or finish on them.  In reading about milestones and what we can do to help further her development, I realize that I might have been a little too minimalistic. I asked a question on one of the crunchy mommy forums: What toys did you buy your little ones in the first year?

One mom commented: 

I was not really into the whole toy thing, but I learned pretty quickly how important toys are. And by toys, I don't mean you have to buy cheap toys at Walmart, I mean, anything that baby can play with and explore, so be creative. My LO (little one) loves washcloths, socks... it's just something he loves to flail around and suck on. A very wise woman said to me, "toys are learning", and after that, I never looked back. My LO  loves most of his toys. We have a rotation, so we switch them out so he doesn't get bored with them.  Basically, toys are for visual stimulation, tactile stimulation, coordination, etc-- milestones include reaching, grasping, switching toys from one hand to another, hitting two toys together, etc.

Toys suggested by crunchy mommies for the first year:

• soft cloth blocks
• wooden blocks
• wooden stacking rings
• musical instruments
• stuffed animals
• board books
• things they can push along and crawl after or next to (i.e. little cars or animals on wheels)
• balls

Stuff from around the house their kids played with:

• bamboo/wooden spoons and utensils
• pots and pans
• blankets (make tents, houses, peek a boo, etc)
• couch cushions are fantastic for building forts, climbing on, rolling off the couch safely
• ball of yarn
• empty paper towel tube
• empty (and clean) yogurt cups
• bowls
• oatmeal canisters
• washcloths
• socks

Some of the crunchy moms still bought and highly recommended play mats, bouncy chairs, or activity centers. They commented that we could find some eco-friendly ones.  Someone picked up a used play mat with dangling toys on Craigslist.