Bright Starts toys

My son has loved to play from the time he first opened his little eyes and saw the world. Even as a newborn, he would fight sleep to stay awake and “play”, watching the ceiling fan or staring at a propped up book. I was very surprised by how alert he was, and quite unprepared. I thought he would sleep away the first month, but instead I found myself searching for ways to keep his tiny growing body and ever-exploring mind stimulated. 

His first big toy was an activity mat. I love the Start Your Senses mat from Bright Starts. I wish that we’d had it from the time Charlie was a newborn, but he still likes it at 6 months. He loves to look at the flashing lights and dangling bugs on the musical mobile, and it has wonderful stimulating colors, especially for a newborn. When Charlie was tiny he loved black and white images, which Bright Starts’ newest developmental activity gym features. It also has a variety of other fun dangling toys, including graphic cards that feature baby faces on one side and high contrast images on the other. 

Though Charlie still loves to roll around on the floor and explore, he would now much rather be “standing”. Unfortunately, he can’t stand on his own, so I’m stuck holding him in that position for most of the day. Enter the Doodle Bugs Around We Go Activity Station. This is the most unique entertainer that I have ever seen, and it has become the new favorite at my house. It is a freestanding activity table with an attached seat that rotates 360 degrees around the center. Charlie is crazy about it. He loves the freedom of being able to “walk” around on his own and I love that he’s still attached to the base so I don’t have to worry about him walking off and getting into trouble. Charlie’s favorite toy on the activity station is the piano that makes silly sounds and includes several fun songs. He also loves the spinning dragonfly that makes a cool clicking sound as it turns. The bonus with this entertainer is that after your little one can walk, you simply remove the seat and you have a fun activity table. Two toys in one, gotta love that!

My last big Bright Starts toy isn’t big at all. It takes up very little floor space, which is rare around here, but packs a big playtime punch. The Drop & Giggle is one of our favorite toys. I have wonderful memories of playing with my nephew when he had one of his own, so I knew that it was something that I wanted Charlie to have. It is a fun colorful giraffe that has openings for three balls—as you drop in each ball it makes a funny noise and rolls out one of the giraffe’s fee. Charlie loves dropping the balls in the giraffe’s head and our dog Greta loves “fetching” the balls for him. That works out nicely for me, because when I played with it with my nephew, I was the one doing the fetching!

I cannot say enough great things about these wonderful toys by Bright Starts. You could literally get through the entire first year with just their great line of toys!