Which baby toys are actually worth buying?

We asked for a list and got a philosophy

The question was which toys to buy, Montessori style, and then a list for the whole year rather than just for sitting.

What came back was less about brands than about a principle, and the principle turned out to be the useful part: the toy should do less so she does more.

Roughly what suits when

Early on — high contrast cards, something to look at overhead, and your face, which remains unbeaten.

Around two to four months, a play gym. Things hanging where she can bat at them, which is how batting becomes reaching. Anything she can kick is excellent value, because feet get going before hands are reliable.

Around four to six months, things she can grip and get to her mouth. Rings, rattles, soft blocks, a wooden spoon. Texture matters more than complexity.

From around six months, containers and objects — things to put in, take out, bang together, and drop repeatedly while watching you pick them up.

All of that runs on corrected age if she was born early.

What we found didn't earn its place

Anything that does the playing for her. A toy that lights up and sings when touched gets attention for a week and teaches very little, because the toy is the active one.

Too many things out at once. Two or three available, the rest put away, rotated every so often — she engages far more with a small set.

And anything bought for a stage she's nowhere near. It sits there, you feel guilty, and she reaches it three months later having forgotten it exists.

Nothing small enough to pass through a toilet roll tube. Nothing with cords or ribbons long enough to wrap. Nothing with parts that could come loose.

Check seams and joins periodically, particularly on soft toys, because everything ends up in her mouth.

And nothing in the cot. Whatever she plays with during the day, the sleep surface stays empty.