As you view the whole world as a bottomless toy box, here are some tips to consider:

• Search for items of different weights, materials, textures, flexibility, sizes, shapes, colors, and smells. (Most store-bought baby toys are primary-colored plastic; that's why your metal keys on a leather key ring are so very appealing—they're different!)


• Babies are generalists. Your little one will apply what he learns from one object to any other that is similar. Therefore, don't give him an old book or magazine to scribble in unless you want all of your books to be potential notepads. A sealed bottle may look fun, but your baby may then think he can play with your pill bottles.


• Take a closer look at the things you consider "trash." Some may be valuable toys! Empty boxes, egg cartons, and tin containers are just a few examples of everyday castoffs that, once cleaned, can provide endless hours of play.

• Your kitchen is overflowing with baby toys! Once your little one begins to crawl, it's time to rearrange the kitchen. Put all your baby-safe items, such as plastic containers, pots and pans, potholders, and canned goods in your lower cabinets and let your baby know where his "toys" are. You'll have to relax your housekeeping standards and deal with disorganized cabinets for a while, but the play potential is so fantastic that it's worth it!


• Young children love water play, and a bowl or pan of water along with spoons and cups of various sizes make a fabulous source of fun. You can put your baby in his high chair, sit him on the floor on a beach towel, or take him outside in a shady spot if the weather's warm. I guarantee he'll be soaked when he's done, but that will be after a very long and happy play session.


• Containers to fill and empty are lots of fun for a baby. You can safely fulfill your older baby's desire to manipulate small things by filling a large bowl with a variety of colorful children's cereals (nothing hard or ball-shaped; Rice Krispies work well) and supplying spoons, measuring cups, and other containers. Since you're using cereal pieces, it's okay if some end up in his mouth. Don't try this with beads, seeds, macaroni, or other items that pose a choking hazard.

A while ago, I went to the toy store to buy my youngest child, Coleton, a toy that my older three adored when they were babies. It was a simple pop-up toy for toddlers with various buttons, levers, and dials. I found a bewildering variety of this kind of toy, but to my dismay, every single one was electronic. They made sounds, they made music, they had blinking lights—they just about played by themselves!

I finally had to order the prized toy from a specialty catalog that carries "back to basics" toys. Sure, electronic toys can be exciting—for a while—but they can also stunt your baby's developing ability to imagine and manipulate (and let's face it: those repetitive electronic sounds can get annoying).

If a toy does everything by itself, it loses its potential as a tool for developing creativity. Also, if your little one gets used to these toys, then simple pleasures like wooden blocks seem boring by comparison because he expects the blocks to play for him. And those simple toys are among the very best for baby play time.

Look for these qualities as you shop for your baby:

• Long-term play value: Will this hold your little one's attention for more than a few weeks?
• Durability: Will it hold up when sat on, thrown, jumped on, mouthed, or banged?
• Solid simplicity: Babies don't need complicated toys.
• Challenge: Look for toys that teach but do not frustrate.
• Appropriateness: Does it match your baby's thinking, language, and motor skills?
• Interest: Will it encourage your baby to think?
• Stimulation: How does this toy foster creativity and imagination?
• Interactiveness: Does it engage your child or just entertain him as he watches passively?
• Versatility: Can your baby play with this in more than one way?
• Washability: Well-loved toys tend to get very dirty!
• Fit with your family value system: Does this toy reflect your family's particular values? For example, is the toy friendly to the environment? Does it promote diversity? Are you comfortable with what the toy represents?
• Novelty: Is this toy different from others your baby already has? You don't want a toy box filled with 30 different kinds of rattles!
• Fun appeal: Is it something that you will enjoy playing with, too? Toys that encourage you to play along with your baby are ideal.

• Board books
• Foot or hand puppets
• Musical toys
• Rattles
• Small, lightweight, easy-to-grasp toys
• Squeaky toys
• Teething rings
• Toys with high-contrast graphics, bright colors, or black-and-white patterns

• Activity boxes (levers/buttons/dials/hinges)
• Balls
• Beginning puzzles (two or three large pieces; knobs are helpful)
• Blocks

Photo by LabGP & SigOther

• Cars and trucks
• Chunky small people and accessories
• Dolls and stuffed animals
• Hammering toys
• Large interlocking beads
• Modeling dough
• Musical toys
• Nesting cups
• Peg boards
• Picture books
• Plastic animals
• Pop-up toys
• Push or pull toys
• Shape sorters
• Stacking rings
• Toy versions of everyday items (telephones, cooking utensils, doctor kits)
• Toys you still remember from your childhood (the classics endure and are always a good bet!)
• Washable crayons or markers and blank paper