Am I going to be a bad mom-all those toy "noices" drive me crazy!!!

[mama2be]

I was in a store today and a kid pressed a button on a toy that sang "mary had alittle lamb" for a good 5 minutes, I tried my hardest to get the thing to stop...I swear I was going crazy...

Will it grow on me??? Will I be awful if I don't buy these things...I can listen to CDs and stuff like that but gadgets that make noise send me loopy...It was sheer H*LL...

No one else seemed bothered by it at all...I was literally going crazy!!!

[Rachels]

LOL! I was the same way, and now I sing along with them. All it takes is one instance of the awful plunky music delighting your previously inconsolable babe to make you weep with gratitude and hum right along... I don't mind them anymore. I WILL say that "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is my least favorite song EVER at this point and was probably written expressly to torture me, but other than that, I'm game.

While we're on the subject, what's with nursery rhymes? They're awful. Rock a Bye Baby is about babies falling out of trees. Ring Around the Rosie is apparently about the bubonic plague. London Bridge falls down, three little mice get their tails whacked off by a masochistic woman, Humpty Dumpty is impossibly shattered, Jack and Jill get head injuries... What gives? I'm really supposed to sing these to my child? The only worse one I know is a song my FIL sings that has the refrain, "The clock...stopped...never to go again when the old...man...died." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[mama2be]

Oh I know the lyrics are awful!!! much the same way that every fairey tail has an evil step mother and evil step sisters...how is that for security???

Thanks for your reassurance that I'll sing along, wish I could blame prego hormones, but songs like those from gadgets have always driven me bonkers...:)

[mamahill]

LOL - my aunt was telling me about a song she was taught in kindergarten. It went like this:
"My father killed a kangaroo
Gave me the grisly part to chew
Wasn't that a curious thing to do
To give me to chew
The grisly part of a kangaroo!"

Gross! But it has become a family favorite because it is so weird. But then, that's my family's sense of humor, I suppose.

Oh, and some of those toys are ridiculously obnoxious and some of them grow on you. At Christmas time when I was trying to choose a toy for Ainsleigh I couldn't believe all the garish annoying toys out there. But as Rachel said, it only takes the look of delight on your child's face to make you think the inventor is a GENIUS.

[Sandy]

I so agree with Rachel. Anything that used to drive me crazy pre Alexander just doesn't seem to bug me anymore. Seeing him get excited, smile and flap his arms seems to make me immune to it.

[egoldber]

Well, I actually STILL hate all those noises. I do not buy noisy toys for Sarah. She has her share that we received as gifts, but I don't add to the collection. They do not need noisy toys and they drive ME nuts, but I have never been fond of loud noises or noisy places.

And many babies find them overstimulating, which is the opposite effect of what you want.

[gour0]

My sister has a way of making things 'disappear' if the kids get something she doesn't want them to have. :)

[atlbaby]

It's true when you see your child get really excited at the tunes it takes some of the edge off. Plus, when they learn how to purposely turn on the music that's so fun. I loved it when DD leaned 'cause & effect'--it seemed like one of the biggest milestones to me, go figure! But you really *can* go crazy when all the toys start going at once (especially the FP Crawl and Cruise Playground monstrosity we had up thoughout the summer and fall...omg that was annoying!) DH and I actually have this silly game--name that toy: one of us sings a bit of a tune and the other has to guess what toy it belongs to...sadly, it's hard to do sometimes! :)
yeah, we are a bit strange...
-Rachel
Mom to Arielle Jill, 10/30/01

[twins r fun]

I'm not a big fan of the noisy toys either and that is what most toys are these days. However the nice thing is they run on batteries and batteries run out and kids don't know they can be replaced! The span of time when the batteries are running down is bad though-the noise gets even more high pitched and repetitive, if you can believe that! We've replaced the batteries in one or two toys, but for the most part when the batteries go, I retire the toy. We don't really have too many though as I've avoided buying them.

Nicole

[mama2be]

I am actually changing my registry because of this...I had put down a mat that lights up and makes noices etc... I just think I will go batty. My poor child to be stuck with me...I just don't think I can handle it. I hope between 3 dogs and 2 cats he'll get a lot of interaction and I can watch him light up over them...

I guess I'm different that way, I don't care for plasticy things or sound things (gadets) though love music and CDs so I will stock up on a good collection for him of that...:)

[egoldber]

Neve, your child will light up over almost any new toy. And you can always play CDs for music. One of our favorite games is to put on a Raffi CD and I dance around the room with Sarah as my "partner". She LOVES it!

And while she does enjoy the "lights and sounds" toys that we receive from others, she doesn't enjoy them anymore than any of her other toys.

[Rachels]

Agreed. Abigail does have a particular fondness for music of any kind, but she is also very delighted by things like my wooden kitchen spatula.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

Neve, I started reading a book today that you might enjoy. It's called "trees make the best mobiles: simple ways to raise your child in a complex world". It isn't written by any child development experts, "just" two moms with ideas, but it's interesting. They are a touch preachy and I don't necessarily agree with everything they say, but the book has some good ideas on how to "do more with less" with your baby. I'm enjoying it and wish I had read it when Sarah was much younger (like I had time...).

[mama2be]

I'll look for it...I've never heard of it where did you find it :)...

Having a baby makes you look back over your own childhood. Growing up in military housing in Germany for 5 years (which means apartment) I never had a bunch of toys...I loved my teddy bears though. I used to play church with them since I also didn;t go to church (I'd shove bread in their mouths because I thought that was what "church was" eating bread)...I was jelaous when I went with girlfriends that they got to get in line and eat bread and I couldn't. My toys were the classics though tons of Steif bears and animals (which adorn Tristan's room now), and every book on Beatrix Potter there was...I'd spend hours drawing her work, I thought I was her...... Maybe that is why I am the way I am. IT wasn't for lack of money, I just think that my parents spent their mula in different ways then toys (plus toys were not the item they are today). Plus I don't know where folks keep all of this stuff. I've said it before, we have a pretty large home and I still can not figure where I'd keep this stuff (maybe all of the dogs and cats get in the way)...

It sounds like I'd like this book a lot...I'm going to do a search on it now!!!

Thanks for the suggestion!!!

[egoldber]

I actually checked it out of the library. I am trying to make an effort to go to the library once a week now. I used to be a voracious reader (of books, not the web, LOL) and I miss that. I used to go to the library every week until I got promoted into management. I am now trying to get myself back in the reading habit.

My playgroup started a book club in an effort to get us moms kickstarted back into reading more than books about babies! It sort of motivated me to read more in general.

I also want to set a good example for Sarah. My mom used to take me to the library every week when I was little. She let me check out ANY book I wanted regardless of what it was and I read and read. By third grade I was reading at a college freshman level. I think that is one of the best "gifts" my mom ever gave me. Going to the library with her and sharing the books I had gotten with her is also one of my fondest childhood memories.

[mama2be]

What a beautiful thing...that is such a great idea and very inexpensive entertainmnet!!!

For those interested in this book I just found a web site that had it (I cheated I went on amazon that lead me thereee, and then went straight to the site since I hate Amazon...and they make you pay before they reeveal what shipping is at Amazon???????)

But this book new at this site is $3.99 a savings of 18.00 plus dollars....:)

http://www.bookcloseouts.com/bc/display.book.asp?isbn=0312269307

[sntm]

Excellent find! I had just put my name on the library waiting list, but for that price...

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03

[mama2be]

It was $3.00 shipping but still, I was afraid to browse at the other books they had...so I looked no further...:) I might have ordered more...what a great price though ...it was more than 1/2 of all the books that were being sold used thru Amazon...and claims it is new!!! :)

[loewymartin]

My rule is that if it's going to make a lot of noise, it has to have an "off" switch. My mom bought a few "possessed" toys - those that turn on with a slight vibration, or if you pick it up to put it away and I told her they could stay at her house for GMom visits :-) So, at Christmas, everyone commented how if it had music/lights/whatever, it also had an off switch!

I completely agree with you. You can entertain them without constant noise.

Michelle - Mom to Alia Jailin born 5/16/02

[August Mom]

I agree that CDs will provide good music for your baby and we enjoy playing classical music for our son. In my exploration of noise-making toys, I have found that some companies have higher quality sounds than others. For example, I think that Neurosmith has the best sounding musical toys. They play music that is CD quality. My son loves the Sunshine Symphony toy (although it's one of those possessed ones!) My general rule is that if the toy makes sounds, they have to be classical or educational ones. I hate those toys that just make noise for the sake of making noise. Also, keeping the noisy toys at grandma's house is a strategy we've employed, especially that V-Tech telephone she bought him for Christmas. :)

[Melanie]

No, you'll be a good mom! Just buy toys that don't make sounds or light up. We have tons, most are wooden or soft. Unfortunately Ds doesn't care for the soft stuff.

That stupid kasey the kinderbot freaks me out everytime I walk by him in the store!

Mommy to Jonah

[mama2be]

Got it yesterday and 1/2 way done, easy reading!!!!

I really am enjoying in it...it gives you nice ways of looking at things...

[egoldber]

I'm glad you're enjoying it. It is a nice easy read. And like I said above, I don't necessarily agree with everything they say, but it gives you a good perspective. It becomes very easy to get caught up in the "I have to have that toy or that thing" or "I have to do things that way". Sometimes it helps to stop and look at things differently.