by krgt

Created on: July 01, 2009

Finding good toys for young babies is very difficult. Their little hands can't hold large toys or toys that are too heavy. Some little ones haven't figured out that they control their hands yet, so trying to get them to hold onto a toy is difficult. Once you find that toy that is light enough and fits in their hand, then it will help them realize their hands and begin playing with more toy. Exploring toys with sound and color is very important for a child's development.

The First Years My First Rattle has a good design with the colors and sounds that promote development. It is light weight and helps children explore the crackling, squeaking, and rattling sounds. This rattle also offers a variety of patterns around the ring that attract your baby's eye.

After purchasing this rattle, I found that there are good things and a couple bad things. The features I went through above make the rattle sound perfect, but with a three month old, there could be improvements. He is becoming more interested in toys, so I've been trying to get him to play with his new rattle. He likes having something in his hands, but the ring seems to be too big for him. The other thing that bothers me is that the rattle is is made entirely of cloth. It's nice to have him exposed to other textures, but I find it inconvenient to clean. It's machine washable, but it's so much easier to run a toy under some water to make sure that it's clean. My son likes to bring anything in his hands up to his mouth and it feels like the toy doesn't get clean enough. You can disinfect plastic toys, but this rattle soaks in so much drool and spit up. If it was to get dirty, I would have to wait to have a load of clothes to wash before it would be clean again.

If there were some parts that of the rattle that were plastic, you could clean the toy more often and keep your child from getting sick from germs. Also, if the ring could be thinner, young children would be able to hold onto it a lot easier.

Even though the rattle has some down falls, it is a good toy for you to play with your child. Shaking it and and showing that it crackles when you touch it helps your child learn. You can help young children to look for sounds and at colors. It is a good toy for children, but it could be better with some improvement. Here's a link to purchase the rattle: http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/baby/brandsforbaby/t hefirstyears/PRD~104156/the+first+years+My+First+Rat tle.jsp

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