At a recent play conference in New York, I was fortunate to be on a panel with Stephen Gass. Stephen, trained as a child psychologist, has had twenty years of experience working with children and the media, including a continuing position with Sesame Street. In 1998 he and a colleague, Don Burton, founded Every Baby Co. Inc. dedicated to developing age appropriate toys for infants and children. In response to my curiosity about his work, he generously shared three award winning videos showing children playing with some of the toys created at Every Baby (eebee). When I got home I played the videos and was impressed with their simplicity, and how they engaged the child’s interest and spontaneous activity. These are just the sort of toys that we have recommended in JustAskBaby.com.
 
A description of one of eebee’s plush toys illustrates the approach:

“Snuggle Time eebee a soft, richly textured, and colorful friend is designed to engage your baby in a range of simple games and explorations, from hugging to gentle tugging, from peek-a-boo to puppet-time with you.”

What is so great about these infant toys is that they are so well adapted to the infant’s level of ability and interest. Nor do the originators of these toys make any exaggerated claims as to their benefits. Equally important, they are designed to involve parents in the baby’s interaction with the toys. Yet they are put together in a way that allows the infant to take the lead in choosing both the activity and for how long he or she wants to engage in it.

Eebee offers toys and accompanying videos are for the age periods, 0-6 and six to twelve. These are colorful, hands on toys that capture the infant’s interest and promote the kinds of interactions that are most suited to the learning abilities of children of the designated age levels. You can find more about these toys at eebee.com.

At the conference I also had the good fortune to meet Claire S. Green who is the president of Parents’ Choice Foundation, the nation’s oldest nonprofit guide to quality children’s media and toys. Parent’s choice on line is a terrific resource for parents. Each year the foundation evaluates and rates thousands of toys and gives awards to those that are most developmentally appropriate and appealing to children. The Eebee toys have consistently won Parent Choice awards. If you are buying toys for your own infant, or for those of relatives and friends, Parent’s choice is the best place to start.