Blyton soft toys

[Petermax]

My sister is due to give birth to her second child in a couple of weeks and naturally I wish to obtain a suitable soft toy for the child. Does anyone know if Blyton related soft toys suitable for newborns are available? I have seen various Noddy figures advertised but they are labeled for children of eighteen months and over. If anyone can advise on this I would be grateful.

[Ming]

I (well, actually Jane - say thanks to her once again from me, Nigel!) bought three Noddy Bean toys for Aarham last May - they are really cute. Aarham loves them like anything, and has managed to say "Noddy" and "Biggers". Tessie is somehow quite tough for him, yet he says "Mister Kays" with no difficulty!

I would've suggested the bean toys, but unfortunately they too are labeled as 18 months+.

Perhaps Tony with all those toys on his bed in the Blyton room can help?!

[Mollybob]

I'd be interested in some for Monty too if anyone has any ideas I haven't managed to find any so far.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I have checked the Golden Bear website, to no avail. The bean toys are 12+ months and all the others are 18+ months.

The safety tests for Baby toys are very stringent, and I think that many manufacturers just don't want to fork out to reach those standards.

Viv

[Moonraker]

In my day we didn't have recommended ages. Our mothers were quite capable of deciding what we could and couldn't play with. I must say, I never heard of any child coming to any harm, but it may well have happened!

[Petermax]

Thanks for all your comments, I have trawled the web again but to no avail. There are Blyton soft toys out there but as already mentioned, only for ages 12 months upwards. They are probably safe enough as newborns are not known to have destructive tendencies but I will be cautious and obtain a certified soft toy for my forthcoming niece/nephew. There will be plenty of time for the Blyton toys and books when the child is older.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

Any child who has an older sibling is likely to get hold of toys for the older age group!

Viv

[Moonraker]

Would a newborn want a toy? I thought they slept or screamed for the first few months. I remember ours having a mobile that played a tune, but I don't think they show much interest in the first few months.

[Petermax]

Any child who has an older sibling is likely to get hold of toys for the older age group!Viv

Quite! I clean forgot that the older sibling to be has a nine year accumulation (mountain?) of toys books and games to be shared in the coming months and years.

Would a newborn want a toy?

Good point. Bestowing a toy upon an infant who is not even aware of its presence is more of a tradition than anything, perhaps it's more to do with decoration for the nursery. With that in mind I may get hold of a Noddy after all. All this health and safety nonsense does get in the way of good common sense.

[Ming]

All this health and safety nonsense does get in the way of good common sense.

Oh, it sure does. I can't think of any child who's had an accident through playing with toys before they were 18 months old.

Come to think of it, I did. Aarham rolled over the bed (not enough space to fit a baby cot in the house!) and fell down on his head when he threw a stuffed toy on the floor.

[Moonraker]

Come to think of it, I did. Aarham rolled over the bed (not enough space to fit a baby cot in the house!) and fell down on his head when he threw a stuffed toy on the floor.

Are you sure he wasn't trying to get away from you?

[Mollybob]

Would a newborn want a toy? I thought they slept or screamed for the first few months. I remember ours having a mobile that played a tune, but I don't think they show much interest in the first few months.

You're right really. They really don't seem to be interested for the first 2 months. Monty has been playing more and more with his toys over the last month or so (he turned 4-months old yesterday). However, even now he mainly just wants to put all the toys in his mouth so he can chew on them (I think he's teething).
He does really like his yellow lion, which has lots of things attached to it and a mirror on its back. When he sees it he starts waving his arms and legs around and grinning

[Anita Bensoussane]

Once they were old enough to sit up, and then crawl/shuffle around, my two still used to ignore their toys in favour of other more interesting playthings - like the TV remote control, newspapers, shoes and video cases. Our son went through a phase of taking tins from the kitchen cupboard and arranging them in a row on the kitchen floor. I tried to encourage him to make rows of soft toys or bricks or plastic stacking cups instead, but for some reason tins of tuna etc were far more appealing!

Anita

[jen]

Too true Anita, when Katie was younger she loved my saucepans and for some bizarre reason, my Sky viewing card! Its worth remembering that no matter how much a toy costs, a small child will invariably prefer the wrapping paper/box!

While we're talking about toys can someone enlighten me as to the purpose of Hama beads? It seems to me that their sole aim in life is to be sucked up by my Dyson, much to Katie's disgust!

[Petermax]

After much deliberation, I have finally settled on a choice for a Blyton soft toy for my nephew who was born today. Strictly speaking, this Noddy figure is for children aged eighteen months and over, certainly not newborns! I have, however, carried out discrete destruction tests and Bedtime Noddy should be fine under parental supervision. As an added bonus the toy glows in the dark and says a few words!