FP is really good imo of making toys that will give your kid ADHD! I mean, what the heck!?

I have to jumper and Jack hates when I turn the sounds on. It is like psychotic flashing lights and sounds coming from everywhere. Then I still went and bought this litle DJ station for Jack and that is even worse! Why are there all these flashing lights all over the place? But then people say their babies love it. I worry about it all giving him a complex. I mean, I can't even look at it for long!

Who like them? How does your baby respond to them? Do you think it could cause your baby to be a little hyperactive in the future, playing with these toys that have rapidly blinking lights? I know it isn't just FP, but they are the mega toy maker. Maybe I am worrying for nothing. I kind of hope so since I don't want to return this new toy I just bought.

[greeneyes]

I think it's a personal choice for each parent, but we've stopped buying plastic toys in general. Black and white toys are the best kind of stimulation for babies and the majority of what we buy now is wood or cloth.

I'm a big fan of Melissa & Doug, Haba, imagiPLAY, and Spiel & Holz. You can find many of them on finewoodentoys.com.

[Frozendesire]

I've never really found the lights and sounds toys to be amazing... We have a few but they aren't really played with much anyways!

Maybe I have ADHD, or some over-stimulation disorder

I like the wooden & cloth toys too. I got Jack some wooden blocks, a wooden teether, cloth cars and a cloth stacker for Christmas.

[Resi]

I have the same worries! I personally do not like them and wish we didn't have any. I have not bought one single plastic or flashing toy but we got a truck load handed down and bought for us. If it was up to me we would get rid of them all but Oliver does like them sort of. He never has been one to zone in for to long. He usually pays it a little attention and then moves on to something else. Luckily his favorite things are not these items. He loves playing with my pots and pans, my blowdryer unplugged with my watching, stacking or nesting toys.. etc.

[**Jenn**]

Liam especially would get very over stimulated with all the lights and sounds so we just never put batteries in anything. Actually, we still rarely put batteries in things. I prefer they use their imaginations anyway and they tend to do that more if the toy isn't "performing" for them. One of the only exceptions is the leap frog activity table--they both loved that but only if the volume was set to low.

If they come to me and tell me something is "broken" I tell them it's ok, it's still fun to play with and they still have a great time with it. Actually probably even more of a good time because then they can make the toy do whatever they want.

[Resi]

When I buy him toys they are wood or cloth. I actually have bought some rubber/plastic but they are made with safe materials.

[Mars]

I don't like toys that blink everywhere and I stay away from them. We have one toy that flashes lights for a short period and that's the Leap Frog Learn and Groove Musical Table. I recently bought Amara a block set by Boots. It's her Christmas gift.

[sara~b]

We're going to try to avoid these kind of things this time around. DD is ADHD and although I'm pretty sure she inherited it from her sperm donor, I think it can't hurt to be on the safe side with this baby. We are also doing it to save money. Pots, pans, tupperware, wooden spoons, blankets, carboard boxes, etc always get played with more than big-box-store items anyway. One of DD's favorite activities is making a 'fort' in the living room with all the blankets and pillows and chairs. These are the kind of things I want to encourage more with this baby.

My grandma asked me today what she could get baby-wise for Christmas and I told her cloth diapers or a Moby. I'm trying to discourage the buying of toys for DD and this baby!

[Trannyfromtheuk]

If i am honest i dont mind Mia playing with toys that flash etc. BUT however i do prefer her to have toys that encorage imagination. Her favorite toy at the moment is her wooden blocks she got for her birthday. She can spend hours stacking them and then knocking them back down and then doing it all again.
She also loves to draw & be very creative. She is very carefull and tries so hard not to go out the lines.
How ever when she was younger - Around 6/7 months old she loved her Lead Frog Learn and Groove station. She loved the noises the lights and the disco ball! - I wouldnt say she was hyperactive or shows ADHD tendencies.

I guess with all things peranting its a personal choice.

[Chelnae6]

I personally dont like toys that light up all over the place unless its like a stimulation type thing where the light flashes and u press the button of the light that flashed, not one where it just lights up like you're in Vegas.

Unfortunately Miki liked toys that made lots of noise (ARGHHHH!!!) and she also loves her plastic blocks and drawing (we get those markers that only writes on paper). People would buy her these complex toys and she only liked the simple ones like the thing that you pulled around with the red handle and the balls that popped every time you moved it.

[ShannonMVT]

Matthew doesn't like anything for an extended period of time, whether it's plastic or not. He doesn't have a ton of wooden toys b/c they are so expensive and too many of them have sharp corners and he puts everything in his mouth. I don't like how loud some of the noise making toys are so I put packaging tape over where the sound comes out to muffle the noise.

[~*sierra*~]

Payne has one of these and every time it goes off we say "Winner! Gagnon!" cause thats what the lotto machines say when you win here (Canadians will know what i'm talking about) teehee

<<< Not canadian, but gets it.

I have a deal with my friends and sister. I don't buy your kids annoying toys {such as those mentinoed}. Return the favor.

[*krista*]

Hmmmm I wonder if studies have been done on this. It would be interesting!

Fisher Price is in Buffalo. Maybe I could call and ask.

Kirsty has a few toys that have lights and make sounds, personally I don't see anything wrong with them. She loves her toys, noisy or not, lighty-uppy or not. She adores all her toys - we don't have a whole heap but what we do have, she plays with time & time again and never tires of them... I'm so lucky!!!

[freesiangel]

I don't know about FP because we haven't gotten any yet, but Xander did just get this little light up classical music player by Baby Einstein as a gift and OMG I thought I was going to have a seizure when I hit the button! The music is fine and has volume adjustments, so I like that, but the lights go off with every note and change color really fast, so if you stare at it you practically go cross-eyed! I showed it to Xander and he started crying! Needless to say, we only play the music on it now and don't show it to him.

Originally Posted by freesiangel

I don't know about FP because we haven't gotten any yet, but Xander did just get this little light up classical music player by Baby Einstein as a gift and OMG I thought I was going to have a seizure when I hit the button! The music is fine and has volume adjustments, so I like that, but the lights go off with every note and change color really fast, so if you stare at it you practically go cross-eyed! I showed it to Xander and he started crying! Needless to say, we only play the music on it now and don't show it to him.

Jack cried when we showed him the same toy! It now sits at the bottom of his toy bin, unloved

As it is, his parents are his favorite "toys" like most babies

[ANGWife]

Originally Posted by Mummy2Mia

If i am honest i dont mind Mia playing with toys that flash etc. BUT however i do prefer her to have toys that encorage imagination. Her favorite toy at the moment is her wooden blocks she got for her birthday. She can spend hours stacking them and then knocking them back down and then doing it all again.
She also loves to draw & be very creative. She is very carefull and tries so hard not to go out the lines.
How ever when she was younger - Around 6/7 months old she loved her Lead Frog Learn and Groove station. She loved the noises the lights and the disco ball! - I wouldnt say she was hyperactive or shows ADHD tendencies.

I guess with all things peranting its a personal choice.

I just don't use the functions most of the time.