| Suitable for: | 6m+ |
| Best features: | Interactive toys with educational mode, with numbers, colours, alphabets, shapes and animal sounds and lighting. Great design, with no sharp edges and made of eco-friendly material that is safe to chew |
| Worst features: | Requires battery, not waterproof, sound can be irritating (as with all sound toys) after prolonged play |
| Price: | $$ |
| Overall Rating: | 7.5 / 10 |
BC Babycare is a really interesting brand that collaborates with world renowned industrial designers, graphic designers and illustrators from the U.S., Canada, Japan, amongst other countries. All their products are ISO Safety certified and made from safe, eco-friendly materials.
When it comes to toys for infants, I often tell my friends not to bother. Infants are far more interested in common household objects that they see us handling frequently; and are generally much happier with an empty tissue box, a leftover toilet roll or even a pile of newspapers.
I do however, make the exception for toys that are educational, without the screen time. After all, singing the same song four times in a row is somehow really mentally exhausting, but a toy can execute the job with flair, flawlessly, as many times as its battery life will allow. Given that repetition is important and comforting in their early life, I’ve found sound toys like these to be a huge help when it comes to situations my children hated – with my first it was bath time and meal time, while my second, would scream his head off whenever we changed his diaper.
There are a few key things I loved about this toy:-
- great sound quality
- easy to grasp from several angles, for my baby’s small hands
- brightly coloured buttons that encourage fine motor skill development
- enhances visual perception
- soft lights (no blue light!) to attract baby’s attention without causing any eye strain
Besides sparking your child’s curiosity, the portable nature of these toys means that your child can treat them as a companion – I tied a raffia string around the neck of the dinosaur so my toddler could drag it around with him on our adventure to save the princess! A great opportunity for him to understand cause-and-effect, as well as experiment with understanding how his effort translated into movement.
The interactive nature of the toy and its ability to move also encourages the child to pursue independent play and exploration, which is great for any parent looking for a breather to run a few errands, or relax!
Parents should also have fun with the toy too and assist the child between toggling the various buttons to show the child hey, this is how you make it sing a song, or let’s count with the dinosaur! Overall, a little pricier than most toys but the quality and safety features make up for it. I estimate the lifespan of this toy to be until a child is about 2 years of age, as it can be used for imaginative play and “adventures” around the house even as the child grows older.