Toys That Last – Baby’s First Blocks

Hey, you're new! I love new people, welcome.

You may want to subscribe to Baby-Log via RSS feed or via email. Thanks for visiting!

To tell you the truth, for a while this toy was a source of frustration for me. But that’s just because of me, being a clueless, silly, first time mom.

Let me explain (and please don’t laugh) – just because the box said: “From 6 month of age”, somehow I expected a 6 month old baby, who was barely sitting up, to quickly learn how to fit the shapes into the holes.

As I said, being a clueless new mom is my only excuse. Instead of enjoying the view of my baby chewing, banging and throwing the shapes I was thinking about what’s wrong with my baby and how come he can’t fit the shapes through the right holes. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Now, 16 months later, I can look back and say – this is one great toy. It’s simple, colorful, very baby-friendly, meaning no parts that can pinch soft baby’s skin or sharp corners, and my boy has been enjoying it for this whole year and a half (he still does, actually).

This is a toy that grows on your baby – at first they suck and chew the figures and the lid, bang the lid on the box, throw the figures in and out of the box, having tons of fun. Then they start taking the lid off, putting the figures in the box and putting the lid on. Then they start to actually try and fit the blocks in the holes.

The first shape my son could put in was the circle and how proud he was when it fell through the lid! The next one was the triangle, and then one by one he learned how to fit them all. It was a process he learned a lot from: concentration, consistency, not giving in to the frustration, perseverance. These words sure sound strange when used to describe a little baby playing with a toy – they are too grown-up, but nonetheless, true.

So let’s see what we’ve got there:

The good

1. There are two sets of shapes – one for mom, one for baby, which is great when you want to show them which block goes where, and then your baby can do the same with the second block of the same shape.

2. The box, lid and figures are easily washable with water and soap – not many toys are.

3. This is a very inexpensive and at the same time durable toy – it outlived many others in our house.

4. It’s compact size makes it perfect for car trips.

5. As your baby grows, the blocks are great to learn colors, shapes and numbers.

The bad

1. The lid comes of too easily and your baby may decide that instead of fitting the blocks through the holes it’s much easier to just throw them in and then put the lid on.

The verdict

I didn’t see many other toys that would provide a better value for money. Baby’s first blocks only costs around $10 and my kid was enjoying it for over 16 months already.