Mom Seeking Advice on Toys for 10 Mo. Old Son

Mega (plastic) building blocks. They are easy to stack and pull apart. He will grow into them and they are fun to build and stack and learn colors. They are used by all ages. You can get a small set and add to it as he gets older.

My daughter is 1 year old now, but her favorite things were a small empty tissue box with little bathtub squeeze animals in it. It's the "taking things out and putting them back in" motion. She would play in the house with it, and it was great on trips in her car seat.

Until you find "the learning toy", try different household free items. Tupperware with cheerios in it (for shaking/rattling), stackable measuring cups, empty plastic containers to bang on, that kind of thing.

At that age my girl was very interested in rolling a small ball (or anything that would roll) around and chasing it (crawling). The O-Ball is great because it is easily grab-able and tossable, lightweight. It looks like a plastic wireframe and is very malleable. Try playing a game of 'catch', rolling the ball back and forth.

And we also have the ball popper - she LOVES that thing. Those are the balls she rolls around the house, along with the o-ball.

Hi T.,

i am basing my suggestions on Sears & Sears and Remo H. Largo (Swiss pediatrician), a few other books i forget, and my experience (I have a 3 y o boy and a 13 months old girl). I find we need only very few things, esp. at the age your son is in:

soft balls (rolling, throwing, grabbing)
cups and containers (stack, pour, explore...)
blocks (we have wooden, they feel nice and work well)
colourful silk cloths (for peek-a-boo, buildig etc)
rattles
something to draw on a string (cause and effect, pull string, thing follows)\
paper, crayons
blankets, cushions, chairs for "cave-building"

sand
water

time outside: forest floor, meadows, brooks and pebbles....

Inside i have used things besides water for container play (pouring etc...), these were: grains, chestnuts, pebbles.

I seem to have a similar strategy as you: few toys, but nice, high quality ones. Turns out that the simple classics (ball, blocks etc) are classics for good reason. I have never entered a Toys-r-Us. And i do not plan to in the future. My children are never bored (or so it seems to me).

Good luck!
D.

Playskool's Ball Popper - it teaches object permanence and beyond that kids love it! at 9months they sit and watch in awe. Then put it away and take it out at a year when they can crawl/walk after the balls, then take it out again at 1 1/2 when they can run after the balls and again at 2 when they try to figure out how the balls are popping out of the device. It truly grows with your child!

Check out this site - it may help you with some specific ideas http://ebeanstalk.com/ - it is a directory of developmental toys by age.

all time favorite of my kids and now my grandkids are my pots and pans, a couple wooden spoons, and the spice cabinet. they love to pretend cook and mix things up in the bowls/pots. they love to stack the spice bottles (don't worry they're plastic), and shake them to hear the different sounds. we also have a marching band banging on the pots.have fun!

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I think the best toys are still the traditional ones - the blocks, just make sure they're large enough so they're not a choking hazard, and the stacking, colored rings on the little white cone. My kids loved those. And of course balls. They never get tired of balls, again just make sure they're large. How about little bean bags that he can toss into a laundry basket? You could whip up some little bean bags in no time for very little cost. Another thing my boys loved at this age, and a little older, was to sit on the kitchen floor, open up one of the cupboard doors and "play store". They'd take out cans, jello boxes, cereal boxes, etc., and stack and restack stuff for a very long time, while I cooked or washed dishes. Or, give him a large soup pot, wooden spoon, and some uncooked spaghetti or macaroni and he can "cook" while you cook. Good luck!

wooden blocks. Peds MD asked me at 1 year appt how many blocks he could stack...

Music tables are really fun for this age, if he likes to be on his feet. Anything that plays songs or music is great. We had a bead maze (not sure if that's what they're called) - its the wooden beads you slide along on wires like you see in pediatrician's offices. My son still enjoys that. The way kids grow so quickly, I like having toys he can grow into vs. grow out of. Maybe start thinking 1yr old toys...he might surprise you!