July 2011 Notable Toys — Developmental Toys

Baby Diner attaches to any smooth table top or structure and allows a parent or guardian to secure all types of smooth-bottom plates, bowls and any other dinnerware to prevent young children from accidentally knocking or throwing dishes on the floor. "Baby Diner can be used with all types of dishware such as: Ceramic, Glass, Plastic, Melamine and Stoneware dishes," Jesse Mills, Owner/CEO of Lil Diner, told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2009 Best of Utah.

For infants from 3 months to 24 months. A fun new design from the creative minds at Baby Banana Brush. The Baby Sharky Brush is still made from the highest quality medical grade silicone. His “teeth” are actually short massaging bristles, and his fins give babies additional places to chew. In fact, Baby Sharky can stand up all on his own using his unique back fins.

Kids create beautiful designs with these colorful wooden pieces. With hundreds of wooden pieces, this creativity kit provides endless hours of imaginative play and self-expression. The wooden shapes are designed to interlock perfectly, making it easy to create beautiful, artistic designs, while learning about geometry.  Contents: 240 wooden pieces; A booklet with suggested patterns. Launch date: 2010.

This colorful rattle comes in a twisted barbell design. The transparent plastic ends hold colorful balls that rattle when baby shakes the toy.
— As of 05/31/2011 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 58 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Lightweight; bright colors; easy for small hand to grab; not overly loud.  Cons: The plastic is hard, and one parent complained that their child kept hitting itself in the face, and needed a softer rattle; one reviewer said her baby liked a different rattle that was easier to hold.

Earth-friendly wooden play ball puzzle that exercises skills that prepare children for reading, math, problem solving and more. This 16-piece puzzle features four scenes of a boy playing sports. It's made of wood harvested from sustainable forests, and comes packaged in a handy carrying case to help keep track of the pieces.Launch date: July 2011.

Ten sturdy earth-friendly boxes to stack, build and nest with early-learning concepts on each side. Learning letters, numbers, shapes, colors and baby animals has never been so fun and easy. It's a "Classic development toy made entirely from earth-friendly recycled materials," Rich Hill, director of marketing at innovativekids, told TDmonthly. Launch date: July 2011.

Soft Shapes Puppies are soft foam books with bold photographs of puppies that pop off each page and stick to sides of the tub. Launch date: August 2011.

This product is for children ages six months and up. With a barnyard of friends to cheer baby on, little ones will love learning to walk with the Sit-to-Stand Walker. Start out with the easy-to-remove play panel for floor play or fun on the run. Then step it up with the fun-to-maneuver walker. There are three spinning flowers, five piano keys, colorful rollers, three light-up shape sorters and a telephone handset. The Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker keeps baby on track by teaching shapes, colors, animals, music and more. Requires 3 "AA" batteries, included. Measures 5.8"L x 20.9"W x 15"D.
— As of 12/17/2012 this product had 4.3 out of stars from 472 reviews on Amazon.com. Cons: Wheels don't have enough traction; too "loud and obnoxious;" too expensive.

Designed using sensory stimulating principles, this activity mat is packed with activities and features that encourage baby's development during the first year of life. The large plat mat features high-contrast colors, textured fabrics for tactile development, and adorable ladybug characters. Features include water-filled teether, soft corduroy fabric on mat for added tactile development, and 4 loops to attach more of baby's favorite toys. The Bright Starts Start Your Senses Activity Mat is a machine washable play mat.
— As of 05/20/2011 this product has 4.4 out 5 stars from 14 review on Amazon.com. Pros: Lots of elements can be detached; many reviewers like the light-up mobile. Cons: One parent expressed concern over the toxicity of the flame-retarded fabric; one reviewer was disappointed that all of the "familiar faces" included in the artwork were blond/blue-eyed caucasian babies.

This soft activity gym features an electronic aquarium with classical melodies and dancing lights. A whale-shaped prop-up pillow accompanies baby on this aquatic adventure, which comes to life with the crisp and colorful real-life scenery of the sea on the play mat. A soft textured border encourages tactile development. Remove the arch and the play gym becomes the perfect play mat for tummy time. Tummy time is enhanced by the animal peek-a-boo flaps with real-life imagery, as well as the ability to reposition and attach toys to loops on the mat or loops on the whale pillow. The play gym comes with several developmental and colorful plush and plastic toys, including a large fish-shaped baby-safe mirror, a set of Ocean Discovery cards featuring real-life images of 6 underwater animals, a Baby Neptune rattle, and a star-shaped teether. The play gym also has 8 links for repositioning the toys. The plush Octopus with various textures and dangling rattles and teethers offers baby an on-the-go toy. The play gym features a 2-in-1 musical aquarium toy that can be used both with the gym and in the crib. his underwater-themed gym folds up for easy transportation and storage.
— As of 05/20/2011 this product has 4.2 out 5 stars from 63 review on Amazon.com. Pros: Lots of elements can be detached; many reviewers like the light-up mobile. Cons: Not interactive enough; noises are annoying/ not melodical enough; not enough toys/toys not interesting enough.

Sassy Ring O Links offers youngsters a variety of textures to enhance tactile experiences. A bright, bold spectrum of colors keeps kids interested- no link is quite the same. The bold black and white pattern on the ring itself offers high-contrast imagery that is ideal for developing eyes.
— As of 05/20/2011 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com from 65 reviews. Pros: Durable; Multi-use (toy, teething rings); very colorful. Cons: Cheaper to just get the "bag o links;" the large black and white link detaches too easily from other links.