Vtech Toys for Babies

Don't get the V-smile for another couple years. I got it for my son when he was 3. He is 4 now and still needs some help with the games. A T.V. interactive game that I am very happy with is Word Launch. It is $40 I have had it for 2 years and my son liked it then and still likes it now. It is a 3-4 letter word spelling game. My son at 2 could play it all by himself, which gives you a break. Good luck.

My kids are a bit older and I never had those specific ones you mentioned... but I will say I regretted almost every educational electronic toy I purchased! The interest didn't last. Especially with money tight, I'd go with classic things that stimulate creative play... blocks, balls, shape sorters... that sort of thing.

my 5 yr old still needs help with his v-smile... I think your baby is too young.

If you are strectched for funds- do not buy V-Tech. I bought this toy for my twins when they were 15 months and they played with it for about 2 days and have not touched it since. It is a nice toy but at that age, they are too young to focus. My twins are 2 now and I still do not really buy then a lot of toys b/c they are so fascinated with little things- such as pots and pans and boxes. Buy some puzzles or little items that are inexpensive so that if they do not pay attention to them- it is no big deal and not a lot of money wasted. Take it from me- it is not worth it at this age. Maybe around 3.

i will agree with everyone else, dont get the vsmile, my dd didnt have the coordination to do it really till 3 and that was only the easier games like elmo, not the one that came with it and she is advanced.

never heard of the other

i would look at a shopping cart or doll stroller she can put things in and push around, a small slide or rocking toy if you have space outside, or ball things are always a hit, like rollarounds or the discovery toys someone linked to has a rolling ball drop type toy as does fisher price now, they didnt have it when my kids were younger so we had the tomy one but the dt one looks really fun

I've always had good luck with Vtech toys lasting. I have two girls, 7 & 9. When they were younger though, I opted for an activity cube to keep them busy and challenge their minds. I had gotten mine at Costco for around $40. Here's an example of one at Amazon. I liked the one I got at Costco when they were little (price was cheaper than anywhere else, and there were no detachable pieces/puzzle pieces - that was a nice feature to me).

http://www.amazon.com/Parents-Busy-Zoo/dp/B000H396VY/ref=...

Hi K.,
I have not heard too much about the VTech toys but my 13 month old girls love the Baby Einstein videos. Whenever they hear the music playing they stop what they are doing and focus on the television. They have videos based on babies ages. You can find them for under $10 at Wal-Mart or Target, also we went on ebaby and bought last year series for $20.00

K.- Last year, I went crazy buying for our daughter, thinking it was her first real christmas (she was 1 Dec 13th), and I found her favorite thing was the toothbrush in her stocking... Like the other suggestions you got, keep it small... We got her the vsmile (with Baily the bear) last year, and it sits on the shelf... one of the things I did get her that she enjoyed was the vtech laptop... she still plays with it! I also got her a babydoll, that is she sleeps with every ngiht. This year I am doing much smaller gifts, as I spent way to much money last year on things she didn't have interest in. I guess we live and learn! Also, try consignment shops.. You can stuff barely used, for a great cost!!
Good Luck, and Merry Christmas!

I would hold off on the V Smile, especially with money being tight. Your daughter really won't be able to play with the item right now and you'll save money. We have it and my boys are 3 and 4, but we have only used it a handful of times.

I haven't tried out the turtle, but I have a 13 month old and a VTech smile that never gets used. By the way... I don't know how you feel about this, some people refuse to go this way but... I belong to a bunch of Yahoo groups that are local to my area. Some of the names are; georgia-recycle-4-babies-n-kids, Cheapcycle, Freecycle... anyway... They are sites where local people list items that they no longer want, sometimes free. The VTech Smile I got cost me $5, yes 5 dollars... It didn't come with a box, but has 2 extra games and, especially at such a young age, she would never know. As for the older girl 'noticing'... if you use the Santa Claus tradition, it could be a gift from him, just have it 'opened' and set up, or set up put then put a "tent" of wrapping paper over it! We have done that with our older daughter in the past and is great!

I would recommend toys like crawling tunnels with balls to roll or an indoor tent... most musical toys are great at that age as are blocks. Stacking blocks that can be knocked over are ALWAYS a big hit!

I invite you to take a look at products from Discovery Toys which you can view on my website (www.junithstoys.com). Discovery Toys is a 30 year old educational toy company offering fantastic toys, books, and games for children from birth through middle school. The products come with an unconditional lifetime guarantee. They are totally safe, loaded with educational value, and they are fun! They are also reasonably priced and, unlike so many current commercial toys, they are child-powered.