Toys for Children Under 2 Years Old

As an aunt to a niece and nephew both under 2 years old, I have run into a dilemma in shopping for their Christmas gifts. Most of the toys that catch my attention are rated for ages 3 and up, which means that I still have a few years to wait before I can buy my niece and nephew the really cool toys. Having done a bit of searching around, however, I have managed to find a few toys that I think they'll like, but will still be safe for them to play with at such a young age.

Playskool Weebles
I remember having Weebles when I was a kid, and how much fun it was to try to knock them over, but fail every time. After all, Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down! When I was young, of course, Weebles were tiny - small enough to fit in a clenched hand - and definitely not safe for the younger children. Playskool has revamped the Weebles, now designed for children between 6 months and 2 years old. These Weebles are large enough that I can cup my hands loosely together around a single Weeble, and it would take some serious effort for a child to even come close to getting one into their mouth. The new Weebles are available individually, in small sets, or in larger playsets, such as the Weebly Wobbly Tree House, which won the Infant/Preschool Toy of the Year award in 2006. I bought several of the individual Weebles, all brightly colored animals, for my niece for her Christmas gift last year, when she was 8 months old. She was fascinated by the colors and making them move around on the hardwood floor at my mom's house. I sent her several more for her birthday, and plan on a playset for this year's Christmas gift.

Baby Einstein products
I'm a big fan of the concept behind the Baby Einstein line - the idea that children start learning as soon as they are born, if not earlier. It's hard to choose just one item out of their product line to recommend, especially as they have items categorized anywhere between "birth & up" to "2 years & up." Depending on your particular tastes, or the tastes of the child's parents, there are DVDs, CDs, books, "discovery cards," and a few toys (mainly puppets). Mostly, though, Baby Einstein toys are about helping children to learn, so there is something to fit nearly any set of interests.

Fisher-Price Night Glow Pooh
You can never go wrong with Winnie the Pooh. And I'm pretty sure that you can't go wrong with things that light up, play music, and are nice to cuddle with. Fisher-Price has combined all of these things into the Night Glow Pooh, a soft teddy bear for children from birth and up. In this case, a squeeze causes Pooh's face to light up and change from a sleeping face to an awake face. While "awake," Pooh plays music and nature sounds. I suspect that this might be one of those toys that could be nice without batteries, but would be much more fun with batteries. Fisher-Price has other Pooh related toys for children up to 3 years old, along with many other product lines for infants.

Little Tikes DiscoverSounds Hammer
I'm fairly certain that my nephew, who will be 9 months old this Christmas, already has one of these, and I know that my niece does. The Little Tikes DiscoverSounds Hammer is designed for children 6 months and older. It makes 8 different sounds, depending on what part of the hammer you use, and portions of the hammer light up as well. Another toy that requires batteries, I suspect this is one that some parents might prefer without its battery power. In this case, I think keeping batteries in the toy is what would make it fun. Little Tikes also has a large line of other toys, including riding toys and playsets, some of which are appropriate to the under 2 age group.