Are obnoxious colourful plastic toys really that bad?

@sweetascandy1990 We didn’t start using any plastic toys until my son stopped chewing toys around 10-12 months. He is 18 months now and doesn’t put anything in his mouth. I think it just depends on the kid. Some kids mouth toys more than others.
 
@sweetascandy1990 I don’t understand why play food would be an issue...my son does not actually put his play food in his mouth. He understands it’s for playing, not for eating. We actually have wooden toy food, but I don’t see why the plastic would be a problem if they don’t put it in their mouth. And my son doesn’t use bath toys because he showers with me. But thank you for the concern.
 
@pilgrim37 I agree. I can see the difference in my 8 month old's thought processes when playing with battery operated toys vs open ended toys. With battery toys his eyes glaze over and he like mindlessly hits the toy, you can tell he's not processing what's going on and not learning anything. With open ended toys even like squishy blocks and rattles, you can see he's completely engaged with the toy and is interested in squishing, smacking, shaking, chewing, etc. And he's actively participating in the play. It's kind of disturbing to see him try to play with his electronic baby piano, which I think is the only battery toy we have. I'm gonna put it away tomorrow.
 
@psalm24 The one we have was a gift, it's the baby einstein one that says colors and animals, but he basically thinks it's a light show. I hate that thing. Put it away last night and he's been super engaged today 🤗
 
@pilgrim37 I have a similar rule with the exception of this little guy that I've linked. This little octopus speaks three languages and knows colors and plays music. My twins are in the relationships leap (leap 5 wonder weeks) and I've noticed they have learned how to push his head to play the songs themselves so while they can't see what's making the noise, they do know how to make the noise they like.

I have done a lot of research on toys...being a preemie mom you only have until age 2 to close the adjusted age vs actual age gap and so I try to buy the most developmentally sound toys I can. That being said the toy that I would pay double for and buy over and over is the Manhattan Toys Skwish!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TFLAZA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_TPNK7QEMD3KEV6290PVN
 
@listenordont I talked a lot with our PT and OTs about this when my girls were in the NICU. They explained it like this, if it's overwhelming or annoying for you it's probably overwhelming and sensory overload for them.

I don't personally believe a toy has to be colorless and made of wood in order to be a valid developmental toy. I think exploring a lot of different textures and materials is a good thing for kids, especially if you do your research ahead of time on the materials used. I know a lot of people are really about those Montessori play kits right now. I've found though that you can find a lot of the same style of toys individually for much cheaper. Also, I think Montessori is kind of trendy right now so marketing people are just slapping the Montessori label on things that aren't actually Montessori.

It can all be really overwhelming! But ultimately the research does support limiting use of the obnoxious plastic noisemakers.
 
@scripturalreasoning Ye, it's not like Montessori is really a type of items. It's just a philosophy with popular aesthetic accessories.

I like the aesthetic but the most true "Montessori" tool I have ever bought was a knife so she could help me chop veggies and a DIYing her closet and washing station. It's not about the toys.

The plastic is just secondary thing, it's not very warm and it's boring texture wise when the toys are just plastic. Doesn't mean no plastic.
 
@scripturalreasoning
if it's overwhelming or annoying for you it's probably overwhelming and sensory overload for them.
Click to expand...

Is it the case ? One anecdotal evidence, I have nephews that had a very poor recording machine. They discovered that if they yell near the microphone their voice would replay distorted. The whole process was very annoying to me. Both the constant yelling to record and the nail on chalkboard distortion during playback. But they loved it.
 
@thegodwhisperer I think specifically referring to young babies in their first year or so of life, yes it would be true. Older kids, all bets are off lol. Also, honestly just in my own experience it can still be true with older kids, they just express being overloaded a different or less obvious way. A baby might be exposed to all of that and respond by crying right away, or maybe appearing to check out instead of actively play or interact with the toy. An older kid might interact with a toy fully and completely and then have a meltdown later. Which is not to say was absolutely caused by overstimulatuon from that specific interaction, but could be a contributing factor. And that's also not to say said older kid didn't one hundred percent enjoy the heck out of that loud toy that made you want to cut your own ears off. As with everything else in life I believe moderation is super important!
 
@listenordont I’m just a parent who reads a lot of Montessori books. Montessori toys can absolutely be plastic and colorful. The idea of a Montessori toy is that it is passive (must be acted on by the child) and has a control of error (if the child doesn’t do the activity right, they can see the error themselves and self correct, think like a puzzle piece not fitting in the wrong slot).

There are also open-ended toys like blocks that are compatible with Montessori but aren’t strictly part of the educational philosophy (Which are also important! Not every toy has to teach a specific skill).

Then there is Instagram Montessori which is just parents flexing their expensive wooden toys on perfectly neutral shelves.

I like the phrase “Passive toys encourage active play, Active toys encourage passive play”. If a kid can press a button and be entertained, I don’t think it’s as valuable as a toy that the child has to sit and work with. But I have some light up toys for my kid too! Everything has a time and place. Vegetables are better than candy, but my kid occasionally has candy.

Some of my best Montessori toys I DIYed out of stuff from my recycling bin. I also have some plastic Montessori aligned toys too, and plastic open-ended toys. Montessori as a philosophy was created by one doctor over 100 years ago working with impoverished children. It was never meant to be exclusive to rich families. And while I like Montessori, when in doubt I always err on the side of more recent studies when it comes to parenting decisions.
 
@trleithoff I love making toys from random stuff and recycling! My 1 yo has been really into an old deck of cards and a plastic bucket with a slot cut in the lid lately. Trying to stuff the cards in, filling and dumping, etc. She also is into sticking chopsticks into the cardboard roll part of a paper towel roll. The funniest things will entertain her.
 
@nancy102467 I introduced my three month old to her first bath toy yesterday. The baby soap ran out so I gave her the floaty plastic tube to play with. She poked and prodded it a bit, seemed happy enough :)
 
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