Must Have Toys In Your Baby Strollers

Have you ever felt the need to rush back home from a shopping spree or get back to your hotel room from your favorite vacation spot just because your baby is not comfortable or cranky in his/her stroller? Babies are very playful as long as their tummy is enough full or if they are engaged well enough. They get easily bored if you don’t pay attention to them and if they are not interested any more being in the Infant Car Seat or Stroller. It is not always possible to take baby into your hands while you are shopping or while you are in your vacation spot. Though you pack some food in your stroller, consider feeding your baby before starting any trips, you may not get chance to feed during the trip and can cause your discomfort and can make your baby cranky during the trip. But if the baby wakes up or feeling bored, you need to have something to make sure your baby is not bored.

Be it an Infant child or a toddler or a younger kid, they can get easily occupied if they can get their attention on any thing or any small toy. Not all toys that you have at your home can be taken every time. It is better to have some small yet engaging toys as handy as possible either in your Diaper Bag or in your stroller (Unless you have an accessory like ‘Star Kids Snack & Play Travel Tray‘ which can provide more space). Most parents have these toys reachable in the Storage bin or if you are using a stroller like ‘Contours Double Stroller’, you may have the toys available with the kids directly. We found a bunch of such toys which are a must to be part of your Strollers packing list and would love to share the same with you. Continue to read through to why we feel these are a ‘Must Have Stroller Toys’

Different Types

Based on the nature of usage of these toys, we split them into few categories to ease grouping them together.

Rattles & Teethers

These kind of toys are most common for any young babies and are a must for parents with an infant. Make sure you always have a couple of rattles & teethers handy in your diaper bag. Not only they keep babies engaged, they also help in enabling baby development by strengthening sensory & gross motor skills right from the young age. Teethers on the other hand helps in eruption & strengthening of new teeth and also help baby avoiding keeping other things in mouth. These are available in multiple varieties these days. You can get them soft plastic which can be squeeze or you can get these made of soft plush cloth. Teethers are also available in soft rubber make to provide easy grip and soft to be able to chew them.

Be sure to check the quality of the product, many of the teethers contain liquid which (even if it is sterilized water) is not better to get into baby’s mouth, some rattle teethers contain small beads which can get in very easily if the plastic is not good and is broken. So, try looking for decent deals before you make purchase instead of getting a cheap product.

Our Top Picks

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Fisher-Price Rattle and Rock Maracas Musical Toy

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Wishtime Baby’s First Rattle and Teether Toy 9 Pieces

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Nuby Rattle Pal Teether

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Munchkin Twisty Figure 8 Teether

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Clip & Go Toys

Clip & Go Toys, can help you by making sure that the toys are always secure but are in reach of the baby. These kind of toys get easily clipped to any side of the stroller or infant car seat or Diaper Bags and let you be on the move with out any issue. These toys helps baby in multiple ways, few models of these toys have teethable parts, chewy material, squeakers, mirrors etc., that can keep your baby always engaged. These kind of toys as well helps baby in developing & stimulating senses.

Few of the models like ‘Infantino Hug & Tug Musical Girafee’ comes with a feature to pull down. Once the baby pulls it down, it slowly moves back up to its original place while playing music. These kind of toys encourage your baby to play more than any other models which stay static. While they provide other benefits and help in teething, sensory, visionary etc.,

Our Best Picks

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Lamaze Clip & Go Captain Calamari

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Infantino Hug and Tug Musical Giraffe

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Lamaze Clip & Go Marina The Mermaid

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Activity Toys

While teethers & rattles keep the baby engaged, children often throw off things that are loose enough. Activity Toys or Activity Bars are the most secured toys if your baby is one such who throws off toys after a while. These kind of toys can generally be fixed to either Stroller Frame, Canopy, Car Seat handle, etc., ofcourse with in the reach of baby to engage them. They have more than one feature to entertain babies for longer time and come in multiple varieties. Few of the models are available with all the things that can keep your baby busy which includes but not limited to, peek n see mirror, clacker rings, rattle,s crinkle bugs, textured fabrics, spinning paddle, satin ribbons, etc.,

Few of the models like ‘V Tech Baby On the Moove Activity Bar’ come with a strap to be fit into any strollers or infant car seats, where as ‘O Ball Flex N Go Activity Arch Take-Along’ comes in Frames which can form as an arch over the stroller. If you are looking for something that should not be fixable to your stroller, you can look somethings like ‘Bright Starts Clack and Slide Activity Ball. Below are some of our top picks.

Our Best Picks

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Infantino Spiral Activity Toy

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Tiny Love Take-Along Arch, Sunny Stroll

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Bright Starts Clack and Slide Activity Ball

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PlayGro Amazing Garden Twirly Whirly Baby Toy

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Interactive Toys

These kind of toys help babies in their growth very much. It is most important for parents to create environment to encourage a healthy and happy baby development. By enabling babies to take certain actions, these kinds of toys develop Interactive skills, Audio & Visionary Skills, responsive ness. Many of these toys are available with easily movable parts, easily accessible buttons that glow or lit up with a light touch, continuous or reaction based music, sounds, songs, melody, etc., that makes baby feel engaged continuously. These features help baby to develop all these skills right from the early ages which is very good for his/her growth. These kind of toys may be bit heavier to leave in an Infant Car Seat, but definitely a must to carry in a stroller with toddlers.

Our Best Picks

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VTech Musical Rhyme Book

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V Tech Rhyme & Discover Book

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V Tech Touch & Teach Workbook

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Things to Consider

Toys may seem to be ok for adults and may not be generally be too picky about them. But these are like a winning trophies for babies and it is good yet times to purchase something that they most like than what you think is best. However, you should always consider many things before you get them what they want, if they don’t agree, it is your turn to make them understand or find other best choice. Below are some important things that you need to consider before you finalize any toy.

Attractive & Colorful – Ofcourse all the toys are manufactured in bright colors, but be sure to pick a toy which has got multiple colors. Children keep learning from their early ages and get attracted to colorful things than single or dull colored toys.

Quality – Do not compromise on quality of the toy, Younger babies tend to keep everything into their mouth. It is always good to choose something that do not loose color/paint, poor make which can easily brake, etc., Check out if your product is BPA free to avoid any health hazards.

Size Does Matters – Though we mentioned small size toys, make sure that the toys do not tiny particles that can easily be swallowed. Ensure that there are not detachable parts when you are giving a toy to an infant.

Interactive – Interactive toys can help babies develop fine motor skills by allowing them to slide, twist, push, etc., Choosing a toy that has these features can help baby growth while they are enjoying.

Maintenance

Getting a toy is just not sufficient. You need to ensure that the toys are maintained well to ensure that your baby is always safe.

Cleaning – Always clean the toys before you give them to your babies. Babies throw the toys all house, make sure you clean & secure them in better way & clean them after they are done with playing. Don’t try to leave the toys open in strollers or infant car seats when they are left in storage space and start giving them back to your kids when you start strolling. Make sure you at least wipe them a sanitizer & dry completely if you had to do on the go.

Always Clean (plastic toys) in mild hot water to kill any germs, Rinse & Wipe Off with a dry cloth after cleaning.

Batteries – Though most of the stroller toys are made of plush, many do come with batteries. Do not leave a toy un-used for long time with a battery inside. Always make sure you check if your batteries are not drained. Keep changing the batteries time to time.

Be sure to check out our Mini Baby Store

Also, read ‘All About Baby Strollers‘ to get to know complete information of Baby Strollers.