Baby Toy Reviews

Or should I say book. We only have the Farm Bath book but it is wonderful. My 1 year old loves when I (Mommy) make the farm animal noises. The colors are bold and the things to look at around the animals seem to lure the most of his attention (like the bird on the pigs back). I wish they sold these books separately here so I could buy the two I don't have.

My daughter has spent hours with this toy. Each side has different fabrics, shapes and sizes. It has some small plastic loops that are especiallly yummie on those teething gums.
One side has a small mirror. Its fun to watch her watching herself. I've washed it many times and let it hang dry. It comes out perfect everytime.

My 3 month old really likes this. It's taken him awhile to enjoy it because of his age, but he's starting to really get into staring at the toys and grabing at them. It has a good amount of removable toys hanging from it and an attached mirror in one corner. Also 3 flowers on the mat that light up when the music is turned on. Things I like about it are that the toys are of good quality as well as cute and the mat is nicely padded. It also has a few different interesting features such as a crinkely elephant ear, furry zebra mane, squeaky bird, etc.. which are on the mat itself. I also like that you can detach the toys to wash or take with you. My son loves chewing on them. The colors and patterns of this mat are very nice. Visually stimulating for the baby yet not gaudy. Very cute and fun. And the music isn't annoying as on some toys. The tune can be changed and the sound quality is good. I found the price of this was a bit high, but when compared to some of the other ones, the little bit extra that you pay is worth it. I have another one someone gave me and I don't like it half as much simply because it's lacking a lot of the features this one has. The only thing I don't like is the mirror seems a bit warped when you look into it, so I'm guessing the baby doesn't see himself all that well in it. But other than that, I love this product and highly reccommend it.

Our 4 month old little girl just loves this gym. She plays with all of the animals and just laughs for hours at a time. It folds up very easily, which makes it a sure thing to take to the grandparent's house. I would highly recommend this gym for your infant.

My 8 week son is very active. He loves to move his arms and legs all day long. So, I knew a Play Gym would be perfect for him. He loves this one. He can kick and grab at the hanging toys for up to an hour. It's very colorful. There is so much for him to look at. Don't think for a minute that this is too busy or that there is too much going on. He makes all sorts of happy grunting and gurgling sounds, so I know he is being entertained. He isn't laying on his tummy very often yet, but that just means he can grow into this toy. I highly recommend this Play Gym!

My son received the Sparkling Symphony Gym as a gift when he was a month old. Even at that early age, he loved lying on his back underneath it and watching the twinkling lights. At three months, he was reaching for the dangling moon and star toys and swatted and grabbed them with his fingers at four months. By the time he was six months old, he would sit in front of the piano and pound on the keys with the palms of his hands. And in the past three months, he has used this toy to pull himself up into a standing position and has pushed it around the living room while taking small steps. In the next couple of months we plan to turn the piano in the horizontal positon so he can play it while standing up (he still has yet to conquer the aspect of balance).

This has been the one toy my son has played with on a day-to-day basis. At nine months, he still loves the lights, music, and sounds. There are times when he will simply turn it on and go off to play with other toys while he listens to the music. I really like this toy because it promotes hand-eye coordination, interactive play, and motor development in my son. In addition, the music consists of five classical tunes and five children's favorites, which are enjoyable to listen to for both parent and child. The toy itself is not loud or annoying--several reviews have mentioned that there is a volume control button, but there isn't on mine. There is an on/off switch that can be set so the piano can play full songs or simple notes when pressing the keys. Finally, the Sparkling Symphony Gym doesn't suck the life out of batteries: in almost nine months, I have installed new ones only once (and it takes three of the size C).

This toy is worth the money (even if you don't receive it as a gift) because it is very versatile and grows with your child. Due to its sturdiness and durability (the keys haven't stuck or broke and the hard plastic hasn't cracked), I see my son playing with this well into his toddler years. This is an excellent toy that I highly recommend.

This toy has been a huge hit with our baby from 2 months of age until now (16 months).

Many toys promise they will grow with your child. The sparkling symphony gym really has done that for us. When our son was an infant, he would lie underneath while the 10 minutes of music and lights played. Then, he started pulling the swinging toys to make the music play. When he learned to stand, we flipped the keyboard to make an upright piano and leaned it against furniture - and he practiced standing while "leaning/banging" on the piano keyboard. Now that he is starting to walk, he still pulls himself up in front of the keyboard and plays the piano all the time. This has been absolutely his favorite toy for a year and a half (with a short break while he was working on walking).

As a bonus, the music is pleasant enough to hear over and over again (for the adults). I highly recommend this toy.

I bought this for my nephew, intending to give it to him for Christmas, when he will be 9 months old. After looking at the box, I decided to just give it to him early, so I gave it to him for his 6 month birthday. We took it out of the box & set it up and he was completely facinated by it. It's been several weeks, and my brother tells me this is his favorite toy. He sits in front of it, and the lights are just above eye level, and smiles and giggles as the music plays. He figured out quickly that tugging on the toys hanging down makes the music play. He already is reaching for the buttons and presses them, so he'll be learning soon that he can cause the lights to go on.

One thing the description doesn't mention is that there are multiple settings: for babies, the #1 setting will play one song when baby bats at the toys hanging down, and #2 plays for 10 minutes.

The music is really nice: both my husband and I are musicians and we both were very impressed. Sure it's electronic music, but it's well done, and a very good selection of pieces (5 kids songs, 5 classical works). I'm hoping that since this can change to a keyboard and last until age 3 or so, that my nephew will continue to enjoy it for the next few years.

My daughter got Baby Tad as a gift when she was 6 months old.At first she ignored it.Now she loves listening to the nursery rhymes during playtime.I would sing along with Baby Tad first then eventually my baby would hum along with us!Most helpful is the 6 minutes worth of Lullaby/Classical songs.When it's sleep time,I would just have Baby Tad play the lullabies and usually in 6 munutes my baby is asleep!We bring Baby Tad during long car trips too.The nursery rhymes keep my baby occupied when she's bored with her other toys and the lullabies help her settle into a nap when she's tired and sleepy.A true lifesaver!

I love this toy. It has two volumes (loud/soft) and it plays sleepy music (you can set the minutes) and it is easy for little kids to push. My daughter got this gift at age 10 months now she is almost three and still loves to play with him. She really loves the kiss noises he makes (lips on his cheek). This was worth the MONEY!!

I love this toy for the fact that it taught our 8 month old daughter to hug everything in sight. Her's makes kissing noises and says "I love you" when you press the kiss on the cheek. She was a hug enthusiast after just a few days of playing with it! Now that she is 16 months old she is starting to understand the reward system for playing with the light buttons and has learned about turning it on and off by using the hands and foot. The tunes it sings are all her favorites now. My only regret is that I didn't buy it for her sooner.

The toy that plays music only plays for a very short period, and then my 3 month old daughter (who loves music) starts complaining. Sometimes we have to sit next to her and keep squeezing the toy to keep playing the music.

Other than that, she loves the toy. If we don't start playing the music from the start, she'll just sit there and stare and the stripes and dots. She was interested in looking at the patterns from very early on, but now she's getting older, we can leave her on the playmat for longer and longer periods of time. This week we just realized she can move around wiggling her body trying to touch and kick the toys. She just gets so happy, and next thing you know, she's off the playmat and on the floor, which is really cute. I was amazed to see her move around like that, and I think this toy helped her start developing some coordination with her body. She has already been trying to grab the toys too.

I really like that it's lightweight and easy to carry around from room to room. And when we have company over, we can easily fold everything up, stick it in the plastic bag it came with and just stick it in her closet. We're even thinking about taking in our suitcase on our plane trip, since it folds so easily!

We love this playmat, and it's one of the cheapest ones. I just wish there was more music...

I have two children - a three-year-old and one-month-old. I used this toy with my three-year-old and he loved it! He would spend 30-40 minutes laughing and swatting at the toys and then fall asleep under it from exhaustion. It was such a life saver for me. I could cook dinner, do the laundry, and have some time for myself. My daughter is now becoming very interested in it. We have added some toys to hang from the multiple holes you can arrange toys on. This was much more entertaining than a swing, bouncer, or mobile. Another plus was how portable it was. Great to take to grandma's house or the babysitter. Our babysitter would request we bring this item because it kept our son so entertained. It helps those young infants get exercise by kicking and grabbing. Also helped work out gas for my gassy baby. I can't say enough positive things about this item. I would consider it as essential as a baby bed and car seat!

My son loves this so much! As soon as we lay him on the mat he smiles as soon as he realizes where he is! Coincidentally, he also loves his Tiny Love crib mobile.

I recieved this floor gym as a gift. It is so adorable--cute butterfly with excellent colors. I did wash it in the machine and it came out fine-I just air dried it(package says hand wash). The toys were a little had to get off, however Id rather have it that way for my babies sake. The butterfly mat is a lot larger then others, giving my baby tons of room on her tummy or back to enjoy the gym. In response to other comments, I agree it is difficult to get the bars back in the package, so I wouldnt recommend this for someone who plans on traveling with it alot, but if you plan on keeping on the floor in one house, its perfect. Id have to say all in all, I really enjoy it for its size of the mat and the durablilty (I tried to push it down and there is no way this thing can fall down on or colpase on her. As far as safety Id have to give it a 5+ --and I have had no problem attaching other toys to it as well. In my opinion, a great, cute and fun gym. My baby loves it!! Spend the extra money, you'll be gald you did!

I bought this playmat for my two month old daughter. She absolutely loves it! She does her Tummy Time on it several times a day and attentively looks at the patterns while on her stomach. I strongly believe that her love of her gym and Tummy Time is the reason why she got strong enough to roll over at ten weeks old! Once rolled over, she loves to coo and bat at the toys that dangle from the bar. She "talks" to them for sometimes twenty minutes at a time! I find that the variety of toys keeps her entertained, always giving her something new to focus on. The star with the balls inside and the caterpillar seem to be her favorites. I definitely would recommend this toy to anyone looking for a great play mat. It may be more costly than some of the others, but it's beauty, fun and durability are well worth the cost. It also allows for those precious moments where you can bond with your little one and actually see them learning something new!

My newborn son loved this gym. It became a fixture in our daily routine for the first few months.

My husband and I bought Sing Me to Sleep Pooh before our son was born. This is all he needed in the crib to fall asleep. If he woke in the middle of night he would hit the pillow on pooh and when the first song was done he was fast asleep and so was I! He will be three next month and carries him everywhere pretty much. The babysitter has sown piglet back to pooh a million times. We are going to purchase another one for his birthday. The first one was loved to death and it shows. I have given this as baby shower gifts and all the mothers loved it too.

I love this wonderful pooh and piglet bedtime soother. My son got this for Christmas when he was 5 months old. He loves it and so do I. He really enjoys chewing on piglet's little ears since he is now teething. The remote is wonderful so you don't have to go back into the room and worry about the baby seeing you. It's so relaxing I even love to listen to it. We took it on a long 15 hour trip and it was a lifesaver. Anytime our son got fussy we would just put it on and I could start it up again from the front seat using the remote without having to reach back and get the toy! Once we were at our destination we thought our son would have a hard time sleeping since he was not at home in his crib but having Pooh made him feel like he was home and he would drift off to sleep every time! I highly recommend this to everyone and plan on buying one for my sister who has a hard time getting her baby to sleep. This toy is worth every penny. One last note, I read another review that said this toy goes through batteries quickly but in all honesty we have not had that problem. We use it constantly and have only changed the batteries once since Christmas and even if we had to change them more often, I wouldn't complain because it's so worth it!

My five-month-old daughter received this as a Christmas gift, and it has been WONDERFUL. She has always been fairly easy to put to bed, but now it is a breeze with Pooh. Instead of fumbling for an on/off switch, you just tap the pillow to turn it on (which she has done herself inadvertantly while fussing in the middle of the night and subsequently gotten herself calmed down without my getting up). Pooh then sings a sweet lullaby and a soft night light comes on. Next, several songs without words follow, and every couple songs the night light dims gradually until it finally goes out. At that point, there are soft nature sounds accompanied by one or two more songs before it turns itself off. And the remote lets you start from whichever point you like, with Pooh singing plus the light, with the songs and light but no singing, or the nature sounds and music with no light. It is just an absolutely adorable toy, and my two older children love to hear Pooh singing, also. As far as the "hard, plastic pillow" mentioned in another review, this has not been a problem at all. The pillow is covered adequately with a soft filling and cotton cover and I do not see how it could hurt her. She has even reached over and grabbed Pooh and brought the whole thing over onto her mouth to chew on, and it hasn't hurt her yet. I love this toy and I really think these lullabies will be something she equates with soothing, pleasant bedtimes for years to come.

My daughter really enjoys the ball but it has a few flaws: one, when you have it on the music function, you can play different tunes by pressing the letters. It carries its own tune if you roll it. But if she presses the letters for a song -- and moves it even slightly -- her tune stops and the "stock song" comes on. On the alphabet function, if she doesn't roll it again fast enough, the alphabet keeps starting over instead of letter her play the whole song.
For parents, the musical tones can really get on your nerves.

A great toy. It comes out of its stand and rolls like a ball, or on its stand it spins. When turned on, it does letters, phonic sounds and music. Has a volume control (YEAH!!) and my 14 month old hasn't get tired of hearing it talk to her! She quickly figured out how to work it, as you don't have to push the buttons too hard, and spinning or rolling it gently starts it singing too. Great bright colors, and it washes off easily.

My then 3 month old son received this for christmas. I would sit with him on my lap and we would play with this and it would capture his attention for quite awhile. Now that he's older, he's spinning that ball like crazy and when i take it off the stand he pushes it around and crawls after it. The combo of lights and songs really captures him. My 5 and 3 yr old both like to play with it too, they sing along with the alphabet and like all the songs. Very good toy. I would definately recommend it.

This is not recommended for children under three except with parental supervision. Definitely, play with this doll with your little one.

Education: If a second or third is on the way, this is one of the best teaching tools to show toddlers where the baby develops, and how mommy's tummy gets big then goes flat after the baby is born. The bond between mother and child can easily be seen, and kids can relate it to themselves, making the connection quite easily. I've seen this Midge and Baby Doll make a big difference in how the first child accepts the second.

Fun: The belly is held on with magnets, so Midge can be either a sassy chick or a new mom-to-be. The kids enjoy the baby doll and all the special "Happy Family" accessories that are available. Truly, this is fun for kids.

Durable: Like all dolls who are played with her pristine condition will change with happy fingers; generally, kids take the shoes off first. Mattel makes children's toys to be played with, as opposed to the Collector's editions. They will last; some will lose fingers to teething tots, but the joy of getting to that point is certainly worth this very low price.

Why was there such a fuss among so many shops - actually pulling the pregnant Midge off the shelf? That does seem silly, doesn't it? But the ruckus was real. Congratulations to the brave storeowners who decided that this doll was a doll, not a controversy.

Since pregnancy is a normal state before a child enters the world, take advantage of every tool possible to teach a two-year-old about the new baby that will come and alter their life. Set up a happy family with mom, dad, brother, baby, and now grandparents.

Victoria Tarrani

I had bought midge & baby from a local store, and I just love her! I still haven't got Alan & Ryan yet, but I'm planning on buying them soon.

My 3 year old loves this one since she's baby-crazy. She thinks it is so cool that Barbie's buddy is having a baby and that Barbie is the pediatrician, and that the baby has a big brother already just like her. She's seen pregnant mommies at the daycare, so Midge is no big deal to her. Warning though - Midge's rapid return to her pre-baby body had all the teachers at my school rolling on the floor laughing. As one reviewer said, if you don't want your child to have a pregnant Barbie on moral grounds..just don't buy it!! But Midge and hubbie both DO have clearly visible wedding rings. And looking back over the reviews,there are only 20 negatives out of 160 responses - which tells ya a lot !!