Chiming Charlie by Discovery Toys

This is the best infant hanging toy I've seen, and my children seem to agree.

First, this is a good "toy" even for infants who aren't really reaching and grabbing yet, but just looking. Each of the octopus's eight legs has a different color and texture. Viewed from below, there's still a lot of interest going on. Also, once your child is coordinated enough to flail her arms, she'll come into contact with all of the different textures. Then you can talk about how she's holding the "pink fleece" leg and "isn't it soft" etc. This toy presents you and your baby with a lot of teachable moments.

The red neck ruffle is satiny and crinkly. The big head has a rattle inside. These features are good for an older baby (if you have it over a play yard, it can be difficult to put a sleeping baby in without it making noise--and on older infant might rattle it by accident and startle herself), since she'll be able to practice cause and effect and learn how to influence her world.

We got the best smiles from my older child as he learned that he could grab the red ruffle and make his favorite crinkling sound. He also seemed to like the yellow head an smiley face. My second child seemed to prefer grabbing the legs, especially the slippery ones.

I figured they'd both be done with the toy after it hung above their play yards when they were very young, then hooked onto the handle of their car seat when they were older infants, but that wasn't the case. Once they were mobile, they each crawled to it on the floor, to remember old times, I guess. My older child was pretty much done with it by the time he was a year old, but when his younger brother was born, it was one of the first toys he brought to him.

This toy will look gigantic next to your newborn. Just remember that they grow fast (babies, not toys) and that it'll soon seem more like the right size. By the time your baby is grabbing, it won't be too big at all.

We used Boomerings to attach the octopus to things--and the rings are good toys in themselves. If your sitting baby has grown out of the octopus, but really liked it, you might want to get the same company's Shaker Weights. They're also brightly-colored and open up lots of teachable moments.

Bottom line: This is the best infant mobile and tactile (young) baby toy we've found.

This toy for the 0-1 year old crowd has it all. It has a simple face, sound, textures, colors, and is easy to grasp for little hands.

Buy Chiming Charlie by Discovery Toys Now