Look Who's Talking...Or Not

I have been reading up on language development as I have been concerned lately that my 18 month old daughter is not talking as much as I believe she should be. There is all kinds of information on this topic and the range of what is considered "normal" development is broad.

After some research, both online and by talking to friends, I have decided not to worry and to continue promoting her language development through talking with her, singing, and reading to her.

Here are some things you too can do to promote language development:

From birth to 2 years

- Introduce animal sounds and associate the animal with the sound. For example if they see and hear a dog, say "that's a dog and they go woof woof".

- Identify colours

- Count items

- Use gestures to convey meaning, like waving good-bye

- Read, read, read!

- Sing to them, specially songs with gestures, like "head, shoulders, knees and toes" or "patty cake"

- Watch what they do and verbalize what they are doing.

- Talk to them, tell them what you are doing, where you are going, what is happening.

These are all things that you incorporate into your daily activities.

As for me, I know that I have to relax and continue doing what I have been doing and before I know it I'm going to be asking her to be quiet.

TEDxKids@Brussels - Alyson Schafer - Here I am again

A must watch! I have recently become obsessed with Ted Talks and came across this video which really made me think about how I approach school and learning with my 6 year old daughter. Also, about my own beliefs and ideas of what it meant to be 'smart'.

To learn more about Alyson Schafer you can visit her here.

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

To continue the idea of a themes for the Weekly Toy Box, this week's 3 toys are all from Plan Toys!

Plan Toys Geometric Peg Board
reg $14.95 now $10.47

Plan Toys Wooden Train Set - 35 pieces
reg $49.95 now $37.46

Plan Toys My First Dollhouse
reg $119.95 now $83.97

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

This week in honor of Valentine's Day, all our toys in the Toy Box are RED!

Vilac Mini Red Race Car
reg $14.95 now$10.47

Bajo Red Airplane
reg $23.95 now $17.96

Melissa & Doug Monkey Face Grasp & Shake
reg $12.95 now $6.48

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Three of our beautiful Made in Europe toys are in this week's Toy Box. Up to 40% off!

Constructino from Selecta
reg $65.95 now $46.17

Fantasy Land Jigsaw Blocks from Haba
reg $65.95 now $49.46

Fire Truck from Vilac
reg $34.95 now $20.97

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Get up to 40% off on the toys for the week of Jan 30, 2012.

Jumbo ABC Chunky Puzzle from Melissa & Doug

reg $24.95 now $14.97

Bear Ahoy from Haba

reg $31.95 now $22.37


Activity Farm from Vilac
reg $49.95 now $34.97

Toy Spotlight - Bajo Large Wooden Cars

This week in the Toy Spotlight, I wanted to talk about the large wooden cars from Bajo. I have talked about the Bajo cars here before, but today I wanted to focus on the large wooden vehicles in the collection.

The Bajo line of toys was started in 1993 by Wojciech Bajor, an architect and set designer who believes that playing with a good wooden toy enables the real world to sink into a child's consciousness. What I love about all the Bajo cars is that they have such clean and organic lines that they can become whatever car or vehicle the child wants it to be. They are not limited in what they can be and this allows the child to make believe that it is anything. It can be a race car one day and a tractor another.

It is also not limited to where and how the child plays with it, due to the fact that it is wood and has almost no metal parts, they can be played in the bath, outside in the mud or the sand, they can be decorated with stickers or painted.

All the large Bajo cars are recommended for 2 years and up, perfect for little hands and for toddlers that are starting to develop their imaginative and creative play.

One of my favourite of the large vehicles is the Large Tow Truck, I find it so much fun to play with because you can really tow things. Not just other Bajo cars (which you can) but anything that you can wrap the little rope around works too. As I said all the Large Bajo Cars can be towed by the Large Tow Truck, and if you have the little cars, they can also be towed, you just have to wrap the rope around the hole.

I am very excited to be carrying the Bajo Wooden Car collection and I invite you to stop by and check them out!

Dolls are for Boys and Girls!

Last week, I was having a conversation with an acquaintance who has a son that is a couple of months younger than my sixteen month old. We were talking about the kids and what they where doing. Somehow we started talking about what they were playing and what their favourite toys were, when she tells me that she doesn't let her son play with dolls or with play food. I asked her why, given that all children love to play with both these things and the benefits that they get from playing with them is quite significant.

Her answer just floored me, she told me that she did not want her son to be girly, she said something about not wanting him to turn out...(I cannot repeat what she said). I was in shock. Speechless. I could not believe that I was talking to an educated woman in 2012.

Being a mother of two daughters, I certainly don't know what it is like to raise a son, but I do know what it is like to have to deal with people's/society's/family's belief of what little girls should play with. We have always exposed our girls to all kinds of toys and have allowed them to choose what they like to play with, no toy is girly or boyish. It is just a toy.

This is the same belief we have when choosing toys at BabyThoughts.ca, when I bring in a new toy, my number one criteria is the play value to the child. It is the reason why we do not have a search by gender option, because toys are not gender specific. I do recognize that children will gravitate towards certain toys, but this does not mean that parents should not expose their children to all kinds of toys, from trucks to dollhouses and let them see what they enjoy playing with.

Get your little girl a big Tonka truck and see how she just loves transporting her toys from one place to another in it. As well, if you have a little boy, get them a doll or a stuffed animal and some play food and see how they take care of them, making them special food, taking them for a walk, 'reading' to them and putting them to sleep.

The developmental benefit of imaginative play toys such as cars, play food, and dolls is that it enables children to develop their social and emotional skills. They are able to re-enact real life experiences through play, allowing them a safe place for them to make sense of their world and their day to day life. Click here for a great article on Doll Play and how it teaches valuable life lessons.

What are your thoughts on 'girly/boyish' toys? Does your son love to play with dolls? Does your little girl love her car collection?

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Up to 40% off on toys in the Toy Box the week of January 16, 2012:

Haba Splish Splash Playmat
reg $145.95 now $102.17

Melissa & Doug Magnetic Number Maze
reg $19.95 now $12.97

Plan Toys Stacking Clown
reg $24.95 now $14.97

Toy Spotlight - Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson Collection

If you have a newborn in your life and you are wondering what to get them, you don't have to look further then any of the amazing toys from the Wimmer Ferguson collection.

This award winning collection of toys, are specifically designed with newborns in mind, they have black and white, simple pictures of faces and things, as well as different textured fabrics and sounds. All these promote the development of a newborn's sense of sight, touch and hearing.

The BabyThoughts.ca Collection includes:


Wimmer Ferguson Car Seat Gallery

This great Manhattan Toy Wimmer Ferguson toy has ten reversible cards with both black-and-white and coulor research-correct graphics help babies discover light/dark contrast and begin recognizing patterns.

Hook-and-loop strap easily attaches to either front-or rear-facing car seats.

Wimmer Ferguson Mind Shapes

These vibrant shapes from Manhattan Toy encourage babies to look, touch, and listen. Each easy-to-carry shape has a noisemaker and a medley of research-correct graphics & textures.

Wimmer Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile

This award-winning mobile from Manhattan Toy features vivid color and bold black-and-white images. Simple-to-complex images stimulate early visual activity and pre-reaching movement.






Wimmer Ferguson Crawl & Discover Mat

Many features for baby to discover, including flaps with reverse prin t graphics, fun textures and crinkle paper, plus a removable mirror, teethers and a pocket with a star shaped ring attached.

Wimmer Ferguson 3-in-1 Triangle

This toy transforms from a tummy time playmat to a triangle with the use of magnets...fun in so many ways!

Can even be stuck to a magnetic surface for playtime.

Includes a mirror, peek-a-boo flaps, crinkle paper, attachment ribbons, teether and squeaker.

Makes a great item that baby will enjoy at home or traveling!

BabyThoughts.ca Weekly Toy Box

Toy Box for week of January 9, 2012, toys are up to 40% off:

Tiny Love Musical Nature Stroll
reg $49.95 now $34.97

Manhattan Toy Buzzing Through Book
reg $19.95 now $11.97

Melissa & Doug Take-Along Tool Kit
reg $19.95 now $10.47

Toy Spotlight - Walking Toys

We are currently on a mission to get our 16 month old to walk. Our first born walked at 13 months, so like typical parents we think it is time that she got moving. She has no problem standing up on her own and even walking while holding our hands but she just wont let go and take steps all on her own.

This got me thinking about toys that promote or help little ones to walk, we have the Playschool Walk and Ride toy, but I find that as soon as she hits a wall or runs into an obstacle she looses interest and leaves it discarded. I also have a Tiny Love pull toy, whose name I don't remember and bought with such high hopes for my first born, but was a complete fail. It was incredibly loud as it moved and part of it was made up of fabric that would pick up every little bit of dirt and was a pain to wash. I am a big fan of Tiny Love but this toy was not their best.

After evaluating our current personal selection of walking toys, I started to take a look at what was available at BabyThoughts.ca. At the walking stage that Scarlett is at, I believe that the best option is one of the Selecta push toys, the main reason being that it will encourage her to stay standing and walk in order to enjoy the toy. It's also light enough that she can manipulate it around corners, furniture and other toys, and most importantly it is made of wood which can be easily cleaned, given that she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.

If your little one has mastered the art of walking, then they will enjoy the pull toys. My favourites are the Selecta Nico and the Plan Toys Dancing Alligator, and Sorting Bus. All three are made of wood and painted with child safe paints which make them very easy to clean after they have been played with. They each are the right size for little ones to pull them and to also enjoy them while on the floor or with other toys. The Plan Toys Sorting Bus is also a shape sorter which makes it a multi-purpose toy because it can be enjoyed by babies who are not walking yet or toddlers who are starting to learn their shapes and colours.

What was or is your child's favourite walking toy? Let us know, perhaps it was not a toy at all.

This weekend only (Jan 6-8), get 15% off our entire collection of Push & Pull Toys!

Use code PUSHPULL15 at checkout.

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

Toy Box for week of Jan 2, 2012:

Haba Curtains Rise Mobile
reg $54.95 now $32.97

Selecta Nico Pull Toy
reg $24.95 now $18.71

Manhattan Toy NooBoo See & Sound Mirror
reg $29.95 now $14.98

Toy Spotlight - Plan Toys Dollhouses and Accessories

A Dollhouse is one of those classic toys that has been loved by children throughout the ages. I remember playing with my dollhouse for hours and would shut myself up in my room after school and enter an imaginary world that I created. In the past, dollhouses have been thought of as a 'girl' toy when it really should not be. Dollhouses are toys for all children as it is an amazing toy that really promotes a child's creativity and imagination. Promoting creativity in children is very important as it gets them using their problem solving skills and think of new things and ways to do things.

Imaginative play is also very important, it gives children the opportunity to make up their own stories, scenarios and games, it's a great way for them to make sense of their world. Dollhouses, as well as kitchen play allows them to take real world items and gives them the power to do with them as they want. If they want to have a bed in the washroom they can do that, or perhaps they want to have a toilet in the bedroom to make it easier to go, who knows, only they do.

Dollhouses have certainly come a long way from the very fancy and delicate ones of Victorian times to the flimsy, plastic ones of recent years. I would recommend that whatever dollhouse you get your child, it should be a strong one, as you don't want to be worried about them breaking them and they should be allowed to play with it in the way that they want to without fear of it being damaged.

I also feel really strongly that dollhouses are not just a girl toy, boys love to play with dollhouses and they should not be deprived of the great play experience, if it is a toy that they would enjoy. For this reason I love the Plan Toys doll houses, I love that they are not gender specific, they are not girly in any way. They are also extremely strong and sturdy and will certainly withstand a good play.

Though we have had the dollhouses for some time now, I saw a Plan Toys Chalet house built a couple of months ago at a friend's house. She has three children, two boys and a girl and they all love the house and given the state of the playroom it was very much played with. When I saw the house on a table, my mouth just dropped, I had not realized just how beautiful it was. I was taken aback by how big it was and how solid all the furniture pieces were. Plan Toys really cares about the quality of the craftsmanship and the attention to detail of all their toys.

At BabyThoughts.ca we carry three Plan Toys Dollhouses and many accessories that will complement any house that you may have.

Chalet Dollhouse

The Chalet Dollhouse from Plan Toy consists of 2 units that can be arranged in a multitude of ways. This furnished version comes with 19 pieces of miniature doll house furniture so all you need to add is a family and the fun begins.

Hours of imaginative play await. This is a modern open concept dollhouse built to last.

Features of the Furnished Chalet Dollhouse by Plan Toy include:

- Large Doll House Unit with 3 levels for play

- Small Doll House Unit with 2 levels for play

- Skylight roofing

- 2 movable staircases

- Accessibility from all sides

Green Eco Dollhouse:

This award winning doll house's energy efficient design includes a wind turbine, a solar cell panel and electric inverter for generating electricity, a rain barrel for collecting rain, a biofacade, which uses the natural cycle of plant growth to provide shading, and a blind that can adjust the amount of sunlight and air circulation. Also, recycling bins are included in the set.

Playtime Ideas

The Green Eco Dollhouse is designed to help children learn how to live in harmony with nature. Children will learn how appliances in the Green Doll house assist their daily life without damaging the environment. They will also learn how electricity can be generated from alternative natural sources such as the sun and wind.

The dollhouse is divided into several rooms which children can customize with furniture and accessories.

Accessories for Kitchen and Tableware:

Accessories include a selection of different kitchen utensils to decorate the Plan Dollhouse.

The set contains 28 assorted play pieces, such as a microwave, a coffee maker, pot, pans, glasses, bowls, and more.

Modern Wooden Doll Family:

This Doll Family is constructed with solid wooden heads and soft wire bodies that can bend and flex into any position. With moveable arms and legs, these dolls are sure to provide hours of fun for your little one.

This is just a small selection of what we carry for dollhouses and accessories, we also have a complete furniture set, accessories for the Living room and bedroom which include little tiny lamps, plants, books and more, as well as other doll family sets. To see our complete collection just visit our Dollhouses category.

BabyThoughts.ca's Weekly Toy Box

I am adding a new weekly section for the blog, it will go up every Monday and it will feature the three toys in our Toy Box.

A new set of toys will be added every week at discounts of up to 60% off!

Week of December 26, 2011:

Plan Toys Happy Engine

now $14.92

Haba Cheese Carriage
now $12.78

Melissa and Doug Maggie Leigh Magnetic Dress-up
now $9.72

The Game's On - Introducing Board Games

I love family game night, I loved it as a kid and now I love that it is something we have incorporated in our family. We introduced board games to my daughter when she was four years old. We went all out and got Monopoly, Sorry, Mouse Trap, and Scrabble Junior.

Though I love board games, I feel strongly that not all games are created equal. When looking for a game to add to your collection there are some important things to keep in mind. This is specially true when the age range of the players is significant, say parents and their preschoolers. You want to make sure you choose a game that you will both enjoy playing after the 100th time, because unless there are other children who will be available to play the game, it will most likely be the parents who will be the other player. I made the mistake of getting Cherry Orchard for my daughter as a first board game and now I am quite over it to put it mildly.

A good board game will be one that will challenge your child, if it is too easy they will be bored of it quickly. It's fine if you have to modify it so that they are able to play it and enjoy it, this will mean that as their skill level increases the game is still interesting and challenging. A game should promote things like critical thinking, problem solving, basic language or math skills, creativity and imagination.

Games are also great tools to introduce the concept of winning and loosing to your child. At first, expect that they will be upset when they loose and though you don't want to get into an intense competition with your preschooler, it is important that they start understanding that in games there are those who win and those who loose.

As well, games teach young children about following rules, cheating, taking turns, cooperation. All very important life skills that they will certainly need as they go into school. As parents, this is a great time to start introducing certain vocabulary to our children around following rules, cheating and taking turns and its important to help them communicate and understand their feelings about each of them.

The most important thing about a game night is that you spend it together as a family and you can use it as an opportunity to be together and have great conversations with your children.

What are yours and your child(ren)'s favourite board games?

Gift Guide - Newborns

I thought I would put together a very simple and easy list of great toy ideas to get the new baby in your life. Though you may think that your newborn does not really play at such a young age, they are in fact absorbing their surroundings and getting to know the new world they live in. This is why it is very important that you stimulate all their senses and promote exploration.

Newborns are only able to see up to 12 inches away and what they see is blurry, they are drawn to faces, as well as high contrast images and colours. They do not have control of their motor skills but at around two months they will begin to discover their hands and begin to grasp objects. Newborns have a great sense of smell, sound and touch.

Given what we know about the world of a newborn, there are great toys that will encourage their development and allow them to learn about their surroundings.

A Mobile is a wonderful first toy, as it is just the right distance for baby to see. It promotes the development of baby's eyes, their ears if they have music, and brain, as baby is makes connections between what they see and hear. A great mobile is the Wimmer Ferguson Infant Stim Mobile, because it has high contrast colour images which newborns find attractive and parents can switch images around to keep their little ones entertained and engaged.

A Play Mat is another great toy for newborns, as it can be used for tummy time which strengthens baby's neck and back muscles. You don't need to get fancy with their play mat and I would not recommend ones that have a build in pillow that is supposed to make tummy time more enjoyable. The best you can do is introduce tummy time as early as possible, for short periods of time, more importantly you want to do it when your baby is alert and engaged. A great play mat is the Wimmer Ferguson Crawl and Discover Mat, as it comes in the all important high contrast colours of black, white and red. It has a mirror which is another of the great toys to get babies and you can attach grasping toys to it for baby to play with.

Music, babies have great hearing and they have been listening to your voice and the noises that make part of your world during their stay in the womb. Whether you play lullabies, nursery rhymes, classical or hip hop, having music around and moving with your baby to the music promotes brain development and bonding. It's also a great stress reliever for parents.

Soft Toys, specially ones with faces on them like stuffed animals are very important. These are great for sensory and emotional development. Two great soft toys are the Whoozit and Tizoo from Manhattan Toy. They each have a face with high contrast colours which are easy for babies to see and they also have great soft grasping toys on the side that baby can practice holding onto.

Grasping Toys, whether they are made out of wood, cloth or safe plastics, grasping toys are essential in promoting both fine and gross motor development. At around two months of age babies will begin to reach out to objects that are held a close distance from them. They will begin to discover their hands and it is important for parents to spend time helping them mastering this new found skill. I would recommend soft grasping at the beginning, as babies are not in complete control of their movements and can hurt themselves with wooden ones. Great options are the Haba Wrist Rattles, they can be attached to baby's wrist if need be or not at all and are very soft and the right size for little hands.

All the toy suggestions I have given are tools that parents and caregivers can use to promote their baby's development, but the most important toy is YOU. Playing, dancing, singing, cuddling, kissing, feeding are the most important things your little one needs.

Let me know if their is a toy your newborn loved. Or perhaps one they did not.