Sure, a good selection of “real toys” can offer great educational stimuli to kids (I own an online toy shop would you have expected otherwise?) and on top they don’t require preparation besides buying them. However, there is also a whole world of discovery that you can open up for your baby with simple household supplies! And believe me, it can be a lot of fun and very rewarding to see your kids play with your self-made toy!
Below I’ll share 6 ideas to make your own easy toys for babies. If DIY is not your thing, check out our posts on our favorite toys for babies and three baby play activities that we particularly enjoyed. If DIY is your thing or you want to give it a try, read on!
The next couple of ideas require a little more than picking up a household item, but are super easy to make or get and of course great fun for your babies, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about them 🙂
Sensory boxes
This is where we actually get to mix real toys and household-toys for babies who can sit by themselves.
Put your baby in a big (shallow) cardboard box and fill up the rest of the box with all kind of baby-safe-stuff in different colors and textures. You’ll see that your baby will start investigating the ‘toys’ one by one before tossing them away. But likely they will stay in the box, so your baby is set for en endless discovery tour.
I would typically mix spoons, straws, … with teddy bears, clothes, actual toys and other baby-safe-stuff.
High contrast patterns
These are great for babies of 0-4 months, and the nice thing is that there are many resources out there to make or print your own. I wrote earlier about high contrast ideas for babies and newborns, so check it out! And besides this, there are of course lots of nice educational toys that you can buy.
Bottle Rattles
A classic, I know, but still a great household-toy, so it deserves its place on this list.
Take a plastic bottle and fill it with a little bit of rice, stones or another substance. I would usually take a half a liter bottle and flatten it a little so it is easier to grab for small baby hands. You now have a free rattle toy for your baby. And if rattling is not the thing you’re looking for, fill it with water and let your baby experience with it.
Big cardboard boxes and other special house equipment
If you happen to get your hands on a really big cardboard box like the ones from a washing machine, fridge or some other big object that comes wrapped, DON’T throw it away! This can be transformed in a fabulous self-made exploration toy for babies of +9m. I made a cardboard house with Victoria (4) and baby Elena (11m) just had to inspect it all the time!
If you don’t have big cardboard boxes, no problem, you can always get creative with the drying rack or other pieces of furniture (chairs, tables…).
Balloons
That bigger kids love balloons is no secret, but have your tried them on your baby? I introduced balloons to my kids at the age of 3 months. I’d put my baby with a balloon in her playpen and she’d start frantically moving her arms and legs (as only babies can do ) which would make the balloon jump and move all around her playpen. Great fun and laughter!
Later on, around 6 months or so, she’d start grabbing the balloon, feeling and tasting the texture, but also squeezing it and enjoying the sound it makes. I felt that it also stimulated her moving (turning, sliding and crawling) when she tried going after the balloon.
Soap bubbles
Blow some soap bubbles close to your baby’s face and see how she follows them attentively with her eyes and tries to grab them with her hands. And occasionally a bubble splashing on their face or hands will lead to pure pleasure and a rich sensory experience. We unfortunately only discovered this once our oldest was a pre-schooler already. Having her play outside blowing soap bubbles we noticed her baby brother was fascinated by them.
There are plenty of more ideas I could talk about, but I’m already happy you got the courage to read so far :-). I hope you enjoyed the read and found some ideas you’d like to try out.
If you liked what you read so far and are up to read some more, I recommend you also check out these posts:
- Our all-time favorite household baby toys
- Baby Play Space from The Imagination Tree
- Infant Activities from Stay at home mom
- Sensory Bags from Growing a Jeweled Rose
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