Soft Toys

Soft toys, teddy bears, plush furry bunnies and more, are all a great sense of comfort for a baby. Whatever animal or tv character you could think of, somewhere out there is a cuddly version!

Baby soft toys should always have a label stating that it is intended for use by a baby. Always check the manufacturer instructions or label with any plush toys, if it doesn't state 'newborn' or 'zero months plus' or something similar, then don't take the risk and give it to your baby. Tiny pieces of fur or a button eye or nose could be a huge choking hazard for a baby or very small child.

For newborns or young babies you can get basic teddies or soft toys, some will play melodies, others may have a light up tummy or face to be used as a night light in baby's cot. As your baby gets older the range of soft toys starts to expand. Jumping tiggers, singing teletubbies, dancing igglepiggles! just to name a few.

V-tech and some of the other electronics companies make teddies or cuddly toys with little on-board computers, they can tell stories, sing nursery rhymes, count or recite the alphabet. These are all very good toys for infants, repetition aids the learning process, (even though it may you drive you mad!) My daughter used to have a little bear with three buttons across its chest labelled 1-2-3, on pressing one of the buttons the bear would burst out singing a terrible tune and start to repeat phrases like "give me 3 kisses"! Lauren loved it, Mummy hated it and couldn't wait for the batteries to run out. But the point was that it actually helped her with the basic counting process of 1 2 3.

You can also get the bears that you dress, having a belt to teach your baby about buckles, shoes to teach about tying laces, a jacket so baby can learn to use a zipper, maybe a button on his trousers and so on.The soft toy may be made from several different materials, this can teach baby about different textures and feels that a fabric may have, scratchy, crinkly, rough, smooth. There's one tip that I would like to pass on to you about teddy bears and cuddly toys. If your baby really takes to one particular toy, to the extent where she won't go anywhere without it, then do yourself a huge favour and buy a spare!

Lauren has a little fluffy reindeer that a friends father bought for her 2 years ago, she loves it... it has been everywhere with her. If she ever lost it, she would be in hysterics.Last Christmas we tried to find one the same, as this one is getting quite floppy and scruffy. We couldn't find one anywhere, and this one has been washed that much, that we can't read the label! So we are left with just keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Back to Baby play or New baby and beyond homepage