How to Make Baby Toys

From LoveToKnow Baby

Knowing how to make baby toys might not be at the top of your list of important parenting skills, but you can easily make simple and inexpensive toys that your baby will love.

Toy Issues

As the economy declines, parents continue to look for ways to save money. Once you know how to make baby toys, you may never purchase a store bought toy again! While you still may find occasions that warrant a trip to your local toy store, pleasing your little one with new playthings is actually easy and relatively inexpensive.

Before you make any toy, however, be sure that the materials you choose do not pose any safety hazards. Small parts, sharp objects, and lead-filled paint are just some of the issues you need to be aware of.

Learning How to Make Baby Toys

When deciding how to make baby toys, consider what babies love. Depending upon the age of your child, certain noises, textures, and colors are endless sources of fascination. It makes sense to echo these features in the toys you make.

In many cases, you’ll find nearly all of the materials you need to make the following toys already in your house:

  • Rattles-Rattles are big hits, and easy to create. Fill small plastic juice bottles with rocks, sand, bells, or beads, then close the lid tightly. Super glue it to seal the lid. As with every toy, be sure and check the rattle before your child uses it each time.
  • Water bottle-This is a favorite toy that babies generally love! Fill an empty 16 or 20 ounce water or soda bottle one half to three quarters of the way with water and glitter. You don't want to make the bottle too heavy for baby to hold. He'll love crawling after the bottle as it rolls across the floor.
  • Sock doll-Stuff a long sock with Polyfill, and sew the top of the sock together. If you have any doll clothing, glue or sew that on the sock doll, add yarn for hair. With fabric paint, draw on the face of the doll.
  • Baby gym-Baby gyms can be expensive to buy, but you can make your own for a fraction of the cost. Create a swing set form out of PVC pipe. Make it tall enough that you can hang toys from it to dangle over baby's head when he is laying on the floor. Tie rattles, soft toys, stuffed animals with ribbon from the gym, and watch baby have a ball batting at the toys. Be sure the string or ribbon isn't long enough for baby to get caught around his neck.
  • Cloth baby books-These are another perennial favorite, but cloth books can be expensive. With some fabric scraps and a few accessories, however, you can create a book your baby will love. Cut several squares of cloth, stack them on top of each other, and sew one side together to create a book. You can then cut out animal shapes and other objects out of contrasting fabric and sew these into the "pages" of the book. You can also glue on a small plastic mirror, sew on buttons, and even add a zipper to the book. For added color, create shapes with fabric paint.
  • Kitchen fun-This type of toy really doesn't take any type of construction, but it is a classic favorite for little ones. Pull out pots, pans, spatulas, and spoons, and let your baby have a ball banging, stirring, and just playing with all of these kitchen items. This is a great way to occupy baby while you are cooking. Just let her sit on the floor and play while you cook.
  • Box surprise-Fill a box with crinkled wrapping paper, and watch baby have a ball pulling out the paper and then placing it back into the box.

Finally, look for everyday objects to create other unique baby toys for your baby. You might be surprised to discover that baby loves these toys much more than the store bought ones you paid a small fortune for!

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