GotTwinz?

TOYS - 0-6 Months

Toys for this age are primarily for looking, listening, sucking or feeling. Between 0-2 months infants enjoy seeing (visual focus) and hearing (localizing sound) interesting things. From 2-6 months there is a growing interest in touching, shaking, holding, turning, batting, mouthing, kicking, and tasting objects. Infants like to see human face features (especially the eyes), simple designs, bright primary colors, clear lines, bull's eye patterns and high contrast. They are easily entertained by mobiles, other hanging objects, wind up action or their own activity.

Toys for watching should be suspended only 8-14 inches (200-160 mm) from the infant's eyes and angled toward her eyes, then moved up out of reach when she can reach them. The toys for watching are much more appealing, especially if they move slowly and make a soft musical noise. Be careful that the noise is not too sudden and loud. Infants also enjoy variety, and they enjoy producing effects on toys by activities of their their own. Remember that all 'holding' toys should be easy to grasp and light in weight.

Mouthable toys should have all safety features recommended for infants, such as:

No small parts
No sharp edges or points
No brittle plastic
No glass
No long strings
No electrical pans
No pans which would entrap hands, fingers, toes
And made from non toxic material

MANIPULATIVE PLAY

6 to 8 weeks

~Simple rattles.
~Teethers.
~Sturdy and light cloth toys.
~Squeeze toys.
~Suspended Toys



4 Months +



MANIPULATIVE/ACTIVITY

~Crib gyms (children who can push up on hands and knees can strangle on crib gyms - be sure to remove crib gym from crib or playpen at this time)
~Keys on rings, Discs
~Toys on suction cups

Construction Type Toys
~Soft blocks

MAKE-BELIEVE PLAY

Dolls
~Rag dolls with molded hair
~Soft bodied dolls or soft baby dolls

Stuffed Toys
~Grab-on soft toys
~Small plush toys

Puppets
~Hand puppets (soft, held and moved by adults).

ROLE-PLAY

~Mirrors - unbreakable and large (peak interest in mirrors is from 4-6 months) fastened to playpen, crib or wall.

GENERAL

Audio-Visual Equipment (Adult Operated)

~Music boxes
~Tapes and CDs with gentle rythms, or lullabies
~Books (may enjoy listening to stories and looking at bright pictures)


TOYS NOT SUITED TO AGE GROUP
~Specific Skill Development Toys
~Sand and Water Play Toys
~Play Scenes and small figures
~Projectile Toys
~Musical Instruments
~Transportation Toys
~Games
~Art and Craft Materials
~Lacing, Stringing, Dressing Toys

TOYS - 7-12 months

Infants at this stage begin to show an interest in more extensive exploration of toys. They like to poke, bite, shake, drop, bang, throw, empty and fill, open and shut and insert one thing into the other. By 10-12 months begin to show mastery of objects and enjoy exploring. They find entertainment in fitting one object into another, opening and closing boxes etc. stacking, pushing cars and balls, turning things, pouring things out of containers, putting in and taking out and pressing buttons and levers. They show an interest in appearing and disappearing objects, containers and operating toys with simple mechanisms.


ACTIVE PLAY

~Push and Pull Toys (without rods)

Outdoor or Gym Equipment
~Infant swings (with adult supervision).
~Soft low climbing platform for crawlers.

Sporty Toys
~Chime balls
~Action balls
~Transparent balls
~Flutter balls

(All balls sould be at least 1-3/4 inches (44 mm) in diameter. If any object appears to fit easily in the child's mouth, do not allow it for play)

MANIPULATIVE PLAY

Construction Toys
~Soft blocks
~Round edged wooden blocks
~Rubber blocks

Puzzles - 10 months +
Crib and playpen puzzles in bright colors and 2-3 pieces (lightweight)

Manipulative Toys (Sand and Water)
~Activity boxes for bath time
~Simple squeaky bath tub toys
~Floating bath time books
~Stacking ring cones
~Containers with objects (to empty and fill)
~Squeaky squeeze toys
~Teethers
~Tight sturdy cloth toys
~Keys on rings.
~Cubes and activity boxes
~Easy to operate pop-up boxes

MAKE-BELIEVE PLAY

Dolls
~Rag dolls with molded hair
~Soft bodied dolls or soft baby dolls

Stuffed Toys
~Big soft toys (not large)
~Grab-on soft toys
~Small plush toys

Puppets
~Hand puppets (soft, held and moved by adults)

Role Play Materials
~Wall-mounted mirrors (placed low)

Transport Toys
~One piece push cars

CREATIVE PLAY

Arts & Crafts - 12 months and up
~Large crayon (non toxic)
~Large paper.

Musical Instruments
Wooden or rubber blocks that rattle

GENERAL

Audio-Visual Equipment (Adult Operated)
~Music boxes
~Tapes and CDs with gentle rythms, or lullabies
~Books (small cardboard books, cloth or plastic)

TOYS NOT SUITED TO AGE GROUP
~Specific Skill Development Toys
~Ride on toys
~Pattern making toys
~Play Scenes and small figures
~Projectile Toys
~Musical Instruments
~Transportation Toys
~Games
~Lacing, Stringing, Dressing Toys

Here you will find a collection of ultrasounds of twins!

1.Small items - your baby will experience the world through their mouths first. Clear the tables and floors of coins, paper clips, or anything else that could be easily lodged in your babies’ throat.
2.Electrical items - babies love to explore electrical outlets, and can easily be hurt by uncovered outlets. Be mindful of cords, fans, and lamps as well.
3.Drawers/Cabinets - little ones are fascinated by the action of opening and closing drawers and cabinets. If they can reach it, they will try to open it. Be mindful of drawers/cabinets containing cleaning supplies, medicine, or other hazardous chemicals.
4.Stairs- if you have a multi-level home does your child have access to stairs and doorways?
5.Large items (Stove, Refrigerator, Bookshelves, Dressers, etc.) Make sure these items are anchored down. Babies love to climb, and climbing makes them feel “bigger”. Be sure to purchase anchors and anchor these items to the wall. This can be a lifesaver.
6.Blind Cords – Make sure any cords from window blinds are put up high. These dangling cords are extremely interesting to little eyes. It is possible for babies to become wrapped up in them.
Why you need to babyproof your home
Real life story
By: Schmoopie
My kiddos like so many others really love to explore the kitchen. For the longest time, they left the cabinets alone. But once they discovered them, that was it!

They loved to open the doors and look at all of the goodies. I immediately sorted out what I thought to be the most dangerous things. I went and bought the child proof latches, and told DH he needed to put them on. A couple of weeks went by with no latches, so I opened the box and put them all out on the counter. Amazingly, a couple more weeks went by with no latches. So, one day I tried to put them on. I smashed my thumb - no latches. Darn!!!

One day, Chase opened up the cabinet door. He was looking at the bottom shelf... and mind you, this was a "safe" cabinet where I had taken out the "dangerous" stuff. Well, he spied the formula can.....the VERY large - over 3lbs from Sam's Club - and very FULL can of formula. He pulled it out with one hand.... and went BAM onto the pointer finger of his little hand.

He screamed and cried and dripped blood for an hour. We finally got him calm and the blood finally stopped. But it kept bleeding over the next 24 hours so we had to take him to Urgent Care (of course this was on a weekend!). The doctor assured us he hadn't broken anything, but he did have a terrible bruise in the nail and on the pad of his finger. Then he lost the ENTIRE nail.

Moral of the story - buy the latches and USE them ... before the babies go looking through the cabinets!!
One Step Ahead, child proofing products www.onestepahead.com
US Consumer Product Safety Commission http://www.cpsc.gov/

Why you need to babyproof your home
Real life story
By: LaFrance76
Cut the tags off all the toys!! My daughter loves those lamaze stuffed animals, she is constantly flailing them around. One day she had a red spot on her eye that would not go away, when we took her to the DR they said that she cut her eye and said that it is very common in babies. I went home and the paper tags of all of thier animals and toys.

Car Seat Safety Tips
By: Sarabella

It is estimated that over 80% of all car seats are installed improperly. I cannot stress how important it is to make absolutely sure your car seats are in correctly. Here is a link that might convince you to get your seats checked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azgBhZfcqaQ
It is very important that the seat be strapped in as tight as humanly possible. It often takes 2 people to get it in as tight as it should be. Your children should be rear facing as long as possible. The law is 20lbs and 1yr but the longer the better. Some countries require them to be rear facing much longer. There are some seats on the market in the US that go rear facing to 35lbs, most are 30-33lbs. I recommend you keep them rear facing until they nearly reach the rear facing limits of your seat even if they are 2 years old! I have had people say to me "But they could break their legs" but the alternative is much worse. When they are strapped into the car seat the clip that goes across their chest should be armpit level. Too often I see children strapped in with the clip way down by their belly buttons and that offers very little protection. In a collision of even 15-20 MPH the force could throw the child up out of the top, their whole body could go out through the opening in the shoulder straps. They should have a 5 point harness as long as possible, not just to 3 years old as many laws require. It offers way better protection than a booster seat. As long as the harness fits them and is approved for their height and weight they should use it. Here are 2 great links about car seat safety. The first is a place where you can find out where to get your car seats checked and/or installed by someone who is certified in car seat safety for free! http://www.seatcheck.org/ Often the places that do the checks will have car seats to replace any unsafe or expired (yes car seats expire!) car seats that people show up with. The second link is to a forum that has some certified car seat safety specialists as well as regular people who advocate for and give advice on all aspects of car seats, from installation to choosing the best car seat for your particular vehicle http://www.car-seat.org
One argument I hear quite often is "We never used seat belts or car seats when we were little and we are fine" but many of us are fortunate to have not been in an accident. If I am one of the unlucky people to have an automobile accident I certainly don't want to be like the parents in the first link above thinking "If only..."
When you are in the market for a seat the ones that were recommended to me by the specialists were Evenflo or Britax. Britax being the best, Evenflo coming in a close second but with a much more affordable price tag. One of the Evenflo seats is actually the highest rated on the Consumer Reports website this year but keep in mind that cost plays a part in their ratings so while it is an excellent seat the Britax seats are actually a little better safetywise. The biggest problem with car seats is they are too difficult for the average person to install correctly. Many other seats are very safe as well as long as they are in right so don't panic if you don't have a highly rated seat, just be sure to have it checked by a professional to make sure it is in right, afterall, ease of use is one of the things they are rated on.
The CarSeat Lady: http://www.thecarseatlady.com/car_seats/