Toy box for baby - are they safe?

Bloomin_Freezing2

I suggest if you do get a large wooden toy chest you could attach rubber stoppers so it does not close completely, also leaving a little gap for tiny fingers. When the child gets older they could be removed. We had a few things with slow/safe closing hinges but that feature didn't last too long and the loo seat was back to slamming down.

I like the 3 tier basket things, great for an older child, but what if a small child used it to pull him or herself up and pulled it over? Could be a hazzard. I like the wicker basket idea, although bits of wicker could come off (we used one for shoes), and then the sharp pieces are dangerous and a choking hazzard too.

Sorry, don't mean to pick holes in ideas suggested but just risks you should be aware of, especially as the child is so small.

kindofagilr

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40108659

Weve got that wooden chest from Ikea, its a slow release thing so that E wont hurt his fingers

Alan2010

My little fella got this last christmas

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Garden-Toybox-Bench/dp/B001EJNW0Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289381921&sr=8-1

He was 9 months old at the time. He hasn't had any problems with it at all. There is actually a gap when the lid closes so that they don't trap their fingers.

He also has this

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8754152/Trail/searchtext%3ETOY+STORAGE+UNIT.htm

We had more problems with this one as it isn't as sturdy as it looks. He hasn't pulled it pver yet but have had a couple of close calls.

Lunar_Eclipse

Mine had (and still have) an old wooden blanket box that stored their baby toys. It was a housewarming gift from my Grandma when DH & I moved in together; a lovely piece of simple, non-precious furniture.

No safety devices and from memory, we have only ever had one small 'fingers' incident without tears and a house full of children a lot of the time. But if the parents are stressed at the thought of this then it's not a good idea.

Personally, we opted to have toys outside their bedrooms when our girls were young. Bedrooms meant sleeping from day one; downstairs was for living. The exception were books that were kept in both. This meant that my personal priority was storage that could completely tidy away all toys and was in keeping with other furniture. But others have different priorities. I'm also not a fan of branded/kids furniture in general (mainly because of the quality/cheap styling), so I personally wouldn't recommend the Eeyore toybox.

We used a wicker basket to store books. Now we have the open cube style storage units (IKEA) with nice baskets and doors to hide away books and toys. If I can see a lot of toys/books/possessions of any kind, it makes me feel stressed and unrelaxed. It's just the way I am; I need an element of simplicity and order to feel calm and relaxed.

I would either go for a box of some kind with soft close hindges, or a simple stackable storage box that could be added to as your nephew grows and accumulates more possessions.

balletshoes

lesley74 wrote: »

We told SIL that we might buy our nephew a toy box for christmas. MIL has bought lots of toys and I am worried about the risk of duplicate toys if we were to buy any more (already bought a few and told her what we've got).

Anyway, after mentioning to SIL, I decided to look up toy boxes. To my horror they are age 3+ etc. What do smaller kids do with their toys then?? Nephew will only be 7 months old at xmas.

Is this a bad idea? Or is there some safe ones around? Hoping someone with kids can tell me! Thanks in advance.

I've never had toy boxes - when my DD was little I used stackaboxes (without lids). I had one for the living room and one for the bedroom, and I switched them round once in a while so she had different things to play with. Dead easy to store them in a corner/under a table when you've tidied the toys away.
Her stackaboxes are now in her bedroom, and have her Build-a Bear stuff/ Baby Annabelle stuff in them. There are a couple stored under her bed too.

Once my DD was a bit older and into dress-up, I bought her a storage chest from Ikea with a flat lift-off lid (no hinges). She still uses this for costumes/accessories etc. Its sturdy enough to sit on too.

Savvy_Sue

Bloomin_Freezing2 wrote: »

I like the wicker basket idea, although bits of wicker could come off (we used one for shoes), and then the sharp pieces are dangerous and a choking hazzard too.

Sorry, don't mean to pick holes in ideas suggested but just risks you should be aware of, especially as the child is so small.

Agree with that about wicker, I wouldn't have it near children, too easy to break / eat / choke.

goingsenile

My daughter had this (differnt design but same idea)
http://www.vertbaudet.co.uk/storage-chest-multi-coloured.htm?ProductId=705023077&FiltreCouleur=0005&t=6

from a young age and we found it great... easily moved for cleaning, could also move it round the house to where ever we were and once she was learing to walk she used it instead of a baby walker!!
Passed it onto a friend once we were finihsed with it and its still in use
Also looked nice sitting in the corner of the family room
AJ

skintchick

I use wicker baskets and there's been no choking in this house despite her tendency to eat whatever she finds on the floor. She is also adept now at opening lids and closing them without hurting herself - a couple of times of trapped fingers and some explanation fro me was all it took. She is 15 months now.

I think you can worry about this stuff too much TBH. DD has loads of toys not officially suitable for her and she is fine. Some of her toys aren't even actual toys, shock horror

fernliebee

Personally I think the key is to talk to the babies mummy as we all have different idea's on how to keep our children safe. We have never child proofed our home, DD has learnt what she is and isn't allowed to touch and play with, however I know some people would be horrified at that idea- we all parent differently.

Personally I think a toy box as a gift is a lovely idea as will last your nephew the whole of his younger years (and if you got a wooden one without characters etc) could go on to be a useful piece of furniture right into his teens and adulthood. I would go for one of the plain wooden ones with the slow release catch if it were me. Just my opinion.

vegasvisitor

Thanks all. Yes, everybody does parent differently, but I'm quite with fernliebee there. I don't think homes should be totally childproofed either - they are able to learn what to touch and what not to touch. I remember as a child my dad's shotguns (unloaded, for hunting) were in the wardrobe and I knew not to touch them. I had been shown them though and fully knew they were there and what they were for. (It may have contributed to me becoming vegetarian, but that's all :rotfl:).

SIL does seem to be safety cautious as she has been talking about a fire guard for the fire she doesn't use, she's worried about the hearth. When I was a kid big rough stone fireplaces were common and they certainly couldn't be covered up as they ran along the full wall. Baby isn't even crawling yet, so nothing is in place yet.

I'm not a bit unsure what to do. The wicker one is even being thought of as dangerous by some which I wouldn't have expected. I'll defnitely look for one with soft close hinges if I do, that way if fingers get trapped, they won't be slammed down on top of at least.

I saw and liked the night garden one on amazon that someone posted - but now also worried about him growing out of it. In about 5 years I suppose the night garden will be really childish for him! Oh, decisions...

Thanks for all your help!