DIY Baby Toys for Newborns

Parents can bring joy to the early life of their newborn by constructing a variety of do-it-yourself baby toys and gadgets. Producing these items yourself, offers many advantages.

Do-It-Yourself Baby Toys

These toys are safe, can stimulate the infant’s senses of touch and sight and enhance the environment in which the child spends his or her very early days.

Dinosaur

This popular toy can be created from a host of different materials. Additionally, parents can mold the item using colors that match the youngster’s room or nursery. Arguably, the simplest method is through the creation of a drawing. This can be accomplished by following these steps:

• Take a plain piece of regular or construction paper.
• Draw a circle with a line to denote an eventual face image.
• Atop the face circle, create an egg shell. This can be done by drawing a half-circle that has jagged edges at the bottom and a few broken lines around the top (much like an actual hatched egg would look like).
  – Create the dinosaur’s head by rendering small circular spikes toward the back of the full circle.
  – Inside the full circle, make a face by drawing eyes, a nose and a mouth.
  – Create the bottom half of the dinosaur’s shell by rendering another broken half circle.
  – Fill in using colors matching the artist’s tastes.

Discovery Jug

Infants like to touch, feel, examine and explore new items all the time. Parents could gain greater control of what a newborn touches by creating a discovery jug. Inside this item, there can be different gadgets and toys that the child can investigate on his or her own time. This item can be created by following these steps:

• Gather an old, relatively large milk or water container.
• Clean the item thoroughly.
• Cut a hole inside the container that is large enough for the infant’s hand to fit through.
• Load the container with safe items so that the child cannot either injure him or herself with or choke on.

Sensory Play Bag

Like the discovery jug, a sensory play bag enables an infant to heighten his or her sense of touch and explore various items through a safer and more confined environment. Numerous toys and gadgets can be placed inside this item, which can be made by doing the following:

• Obtain a fairly large plastic bag with a zipper.
• Line the bag with hair gel.
• Place appropriate toys or gadgets inside the bag.
• Zip the bag tightly.
• Insert duct tape over the zipper so that the infant cannot reopen the bag.

Plastic Bottle Bowling Set

These items will enable a child to improve his or her motor skills using safe items. Creating this toy can be accomplished by doing the following:

• Gather ten empty and washed 20 ounce or two-liter bottles.
• Paint the bottles with different colors.
• Find a small ball that can be used as a bowling ball.

Cork Drum Set

This item can help a very young child develop motor skills and perhaps stimulate his or her interest in music. Building this concoction can be accomplished through the following steps:

• Obtain cork blocks typically used by yoga practitioners.
• Line the top of the blocks with paper.
• Make drum sticks out of wood.

Wooden Gym

This item can enable an infant to utilize his or her muscles and increase his or her sense of sight and touch. Building this item will require parents to do the following:

• Gather pieces of wood and dowels.
• Connect the gym’s base, legs and top by connecting wood and dowels.
• Insert hooks underneath the gym’s top, which will enable parents to hang accessible toys.
• Place a blanket or soft covering on the floor adjacent to the gym so the infant in question will have a softer surface to lean on.

Sensory Boards

Once again, this type of item enables an infant to stimulate various senses. To create this gadget, parents will need to do the following:

• Obtain a standard hanging board or peg board.
• Affix various items to the board. That said, the items should be appropriate for infants, so there should be no sharp objects or gadgets that could pose choking hazards.