Backseat entertainment!

Product name: Wimmer Ferguson Car Seat Gallery (Manhattan Toy Car Seat Gallery)

What is it?A piece of cardboard with plastic pockets and a bunch of black & white and colourful graphics to keep baby entertained in the backseat. The cardboard has Velcro straps intended to help attaching it to the neck support of a car seat, but I have to admit we did not get it to stick in our BMW

Why did it catch my attention?After the first longer drive with our then 5 week old son, I realised that the only way to be able to drive any further than 1,5 hours from home was to find something to keep him entertained in the backseat

How old was my baby when I bought it?He was a little bit more than 5 weeks, but the first time we used it he was almost 7 months. According to the customer feedback on Amazon UK babies like these pictures from the age of between 3-10 weeks

What value does it add for us?When babies reach the age where they are a bit more attentive, they have something interesting to look at when driving. The pictures are nice and there are enough of them (20 in total, half of them black & white and half of them coloured) to change them around and give your baby more variety

What does it replace?This product is not more advanced than the drawings my friend made for her little one herself using a black felt-tip pen

How did my baby respond to it?The main lesson learned from the first drive (London to Stratford-upon-Avon) was that the graphics were so entertaining that they kept him awake instead of sleeping as he should have done according to schedule. We heard him scratching his feet against the cardboard  and laughing out loud for the whole 1,5 hour drive!

How much does it cost?£13 on Amazon UK

Can I see any drawbacks?The quality of the cardboard, Velcro and plastic pockets is not very durable. We did not get the Velcro straps to work so found our own method of attaching it to the backseat

A smiley face to grab and play with!

Product name: Polynes Cha Cha Cha Maraca-bee (http://www.polynes.fr/)

What is it?A bright-coloured maracas with a nice, big smiley face on its ‘head’ and a grab-friendly handle. I am not sure if this product originally was intended for babies, but my son loves it anyway!

Why did it catch my attention?This was a very spontaneous purchase in a small design store in Notting Hill, while waiting for the baby cinema to start. To the extent that there was a logic behind this purchase it must have been that it was when my son was at the age where babies love to look at faces with clear contrasts, before their eyes are developed enough to distinguish nuances

How old was my baby when I bought it?He was 5 weeks old

What value does it add for us?In the beginning he found the combination of the smiley face and the ‘maracas-noise’ entertaining, he then moved on to grabbing it to use to practice eye-hand coordination and now when he is teething he tries to chew it! Because it is small it is easy to bring along and to distract him with at the changing table, when waiting in boring queues and in the inconvenient changing room at the baby swimming pool

What does it replace?This toy serves the same purpose as for example the black & white shapes and books with black and white faces, various toys designed to promote eye-hand-coordination and musical toys such as the lovely lion from the Tiny Love Gymini Monkey Island baby gym

How did my baby respond to it?He smiles, laughs and can’t stop shaking it

How much does it cost?I paid around £15, and the Pylones US website sells it for $16

Can I see any drawbacks?It was not (I think) originally designed for babies, so not sure if it meets official security certifications – the paint might for example not be very healthy to chew

Sticky mirror that makes bath time much more fun!

Product name: Rub A Dub Mirror for the Tub (www.cuckoo.ltd.uk)

What is it?A floating mirror that sticks to the tub side when wet

Why did it catch my attention?I found this one at Harrods, as I was walking around looking for items that could make bath time more interesting for my baby

How old was my baby when I bought it?He was 3,5 months, but seen in retrospect I should have bought it as soon as he was old enough to keep his head up properly in the bath (around 5 weeks)

What value does it add for us?My son enjoys looking at himself in the mirror while taking a bath, which keeps him calm so that his mother more easily can clean him

What does it replace?It can be seen as either a substitute or complement to other bath toys, such as ducks and floating books, but this one has a calming rather than an exciting effect

How did my baby respond to it?He loves it!

How much does it cost?£7 at Amazon UK, a little bit more expensive at Harrods

Can I see any drawbacks?Unless you move the mirror to the opposite side of the tub halfway through the bath you only get to wash one side of the baby – at least if he/she is as found of it as my son is! J

Simple and very much appreciated entertainment for young babies who love black & white shapes

Product name: Social Baby Black & White mobile (http://www.socialbaby.com/)

What is it?Very simple black & white shapes made by cardboard that you assemble and attach above your baby’s head (for example in the cot) to keep him entertained. It comes with a box that makes it really easy to bring along when travelling

Why did it catch my attention?When my son reached the age where he spent longer periods awake but before he was old enough to enjoy the Fisher Price playmat that his grandmother had bought for him, I needed something to keep him entertained in situations where I needed to lay him down somewhere while doing ‘grown up stuff’

How old was my baby when I bought it?1 month

What value does it add for us?a) For him it is a great source of entertainment – he can spend hours laughing and kicking about while watching it
b) It is easy to bring along when travelling, and I find it handy to attach some of the individual shapes (as opposed to the whole mobile) in places like the car seat and the buggy to make them more interesting places to be

What does it replace?-

How did my baby respond to it?He absolutely loved them from the first time he saw them – burst out in one of his first belly laughs and kicked around for hours! J

How much does it cost?Around £10 including 4 books with black & white shapes

Can I see any drawbacks?It easily falls apart if frequently assembled and disassembled. I bought an extra one when we had used ours for 3-4 weeks