Safety considerations
birthTIPS
Toys entertain our children as well as provide learning and interactive experiences. Physical skills such as pushing, pulling, opening, closing, throwing and catching all fulfil intellectual, emotional, physical and social needs, particularly when the play extends to another person or child. Just about every child will have a toy of some description (or usually several). In fact, the range and extent of toys in today's market is quite mind-boggling. You may want to wait until after the birth before buying too many toys as many parents receive them as gifts for their baby anyway.
Childrens' toys are big business and are items that parents often find difficult to resist. Many parents don't want their child to 'miss out' or feel they may be 'deprived' if they do not have a certain toy (you can imagine how this will end up by the time they are teenagers!) One thing to bear in mind is that an expensive toy isn't necessarily a good one and being selective about the toys you buy is always advisable.
An alternative to buying toys for your baby is using a local 'toy library'. These can provide a wide range of different toys at low (or no) cost. Toy libraries operate in the same way as borrowing books. You can contact your local council for location details. Some councils also run toy or book buses. These usually go to a park on a certain day of the week for a few hours. Parents in the surrounding area can meet the bus in the park for morning tea or lunch and allow their babies to play with the toys or books provided.
Safety considerations
The toys you choose for your baby will very much depend on your child's age and development, the situations the toy will be used in, what the toy intends to achieve and the nature of your child. Bear in mind that toys are usually pulled, sucked on, poked into body cavities (ears, nose and throat), bitten, tugged, thrown, jumped on, laundered, put into water and generally abused.