Essential/Useful things for a 6-12 month old

notanewuser

Kayalana99 wrote: »

We have a travel cot (or kind of a playpen really) and we really loved it ...its so nice being able to leave him somewhere and not worry !

But...we got our hands on a baby walker and we dont even use the travel cot anymore (other then the fact its full of baby stuff now lol)

Its safe to leave him in it and he isnt confined to a small space he got the hang of it pretty fast and now js pushs himself round the room at his own leasuire instead of being cooped up!

Don't think thiers anything else I would really say I *need* for him, obvouisly they have thier toys etc but thats the main thing we use.



Mines just turned 8 months and still can't crawl, he was starting to learn around 6months but then mastered rolling....he doesnt even try to crawl as he can roll around and get anywhere he wants. :rotfl:

I don't think they're supposed to be left in baby walkers for extended periods of time (likewise the jumperoo). Not clear how long you're using it for, but just in case.

shortdog

I would agree with others - a travel cot is a godsend. Pop some toys in it, and if you need a pee in peace, or the door goes, or you want to make tea, etc, you can pop them in and know that they're safe. We used to call it jail, my son regularly used to scream when popped in jail, but he was saafe and I could get on with something without worrying about him. He liked jail best when there were lots of toys he could launch out of it!

Gillyx

Kayalana99 wrote: »

Why only 10min? Noones ever said that to me before hes been in it for the last hour or so.... -.-

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I did abit of googling on it....thanks guys!!

I understand why they shouldn't be in them to much but I think people are abit OTT with saying that thier 'really dangerous' (not you guys the things im coming across)

Roll down the stairs — Why would you put a baby in a walker upstairs when they have access to the stairs?!
Get burned — Child is in the living room and can't get into the kitchen to 'reach the oven' not like his arms are long enough either way....
Drown — N/A as we dont have a pool
Be poisoned — Cant get in kitchen anyway....

Ridulous.

Yeah they're a bit much :eek: :rotfl: It was more the positioning of there legs. They say 10 minute bursts a few times a day. Our paedatrician told us this, so we ended up not buying one

kingfisherblue

Books - soft, cloth books, bath books, brightly coloured board books, as well as a couple for you to read to your child.

moneypenny21

Great suggestions so far thank you

pigpen

notanewuser wrote: »

DD was climbing stairs at 8 months and walking at 9 months. :eek:

Couldn't put gates on our stairs so just taught her to go up and come down safely.

I did the same.

highchair, jumperoo, a few empty boxes.

We have a babydan playpen .. around the tv and consoles.

bubbles.. they are the most amazing thing in the world apparently. We have a battery powered bubble machine which creates lots of screech inducing bubbles.

Pringles tubes and plastic bottles.. we put rabdom bits in them.. pasta, beads, rice, balls etc and tape them shut so they make interesting noises. Bottles fill with water and oil and glitter.. they are very interesting apparently.. as are empty crisp packets.

Huge buttons on a shoe lace..

wooden spoons.

Toys are a waste of money, mine rarely play with them.

fluffnutter

notanewuser wrote: »

Jumperoo, littlelife backpack, iPad, musical instruments, baby led weaning

An iPad?? For a 6 month old? Wow!

A few other people have mentioned Jumperoos. If you want to get the most out of one of these (they're quite expensive) perhaps start earlier than 6 months. Once they're crawling, they've outgrown a jumperoo a little bit, IMO. Although at least a jumperoo would stop them crawling into hot radiators! My baby would try to burst his way out though

fluffnutter

notanewuser wrote: »

I don't think they're supposed to be left in baby walkers for extended periods of time (likewise the jumperoo). Not clear how long you're using it for, but just in case.

Agreed. Here's what babycentre has to say about baby walkers. They're actually banned in some countries.

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/x554838/should-i-buy-my-baby-a-baby-walker

valk_scot

Kayalana99 wrote: »

Why only 10min? Noones ever said that to me before hes been in it for the last hour or so.... -.-

--

I did abit of googling on it....thanks guys!!

I understand why they shouldn't be in them to much but I think people are abit OTT with saying that thier 'really dangerous' (not you guys the things im coming across)

Roll down the stairs — Why would you put a baby in a walker upstairs when they have access to the stairs?!
Get burned — Child is in the living room and can't get into the kitchen to 'reach the oven' not like his arms are long enough either way....
Drown — N/A as we dont have a pool
Be poisoned — Cant get in kitchen anyway....

Ridulous.

Friend of mine...her DD liked her walker a lot, but the wheel caught in a small toy that was on the floor, the wheel jammed, the walker tipped and she went straight into the coffee table. She needed fourteen stritches in her face.

My niece loved her walker too, untill the day she managed to use it as a battering ram to move the fire guard just enough to reach the gas fire and burn her hand on it.

The main troubles with walkers are that they make the child very mobile very early, and allow them to reach places that they wouldn't normally at that stage. And the temptation is to regard them as a safe place where the child can be left while the parent gets on with things. The combination isn't a good one, there are a lot of accidents associated with them re tipping and being able to reach things earlier than parents expect. Especially new parents that haven't really got to grips with babyproofing the house.



To answer the OP's question, it depends. My first child could crawl backwards at six months, walked at ten and between that time perfected the art of climbing sofas, bookshelves and pulling safety gates out the walls. Most of my 6-12 month essentials were safety devices. I had a travel cot/playpen, which I ended up tying to the sofa so he couldn't tip it over and escape that way. I had joiner made safety gates on our awkward stairs, complete with bolts and bungie cords to keep them closed. I had a five point harness on our very solid high chair, on both buggy and push chair and one in my bag for the great outdoors/cafe highchairs. I had child locks on every cupboard, plastic corners on every table, socket covers in every socket and bolted the book cases to the walls. I had hooks and eyes on both sides of every door, up high, once he found he could open doors.

The list went on, he was a very adventurous child with lots of curiosity and energy! I had lots of toys and spend as much time as possible playing with him but he was still a human whirlwhind with no sense. The best thing we ever got him, actually, was a brother when he was two. Now after the first experience of a 6-12 month old you might think we were nuts but it worked very well....however, DS#2 was a very laid back child, I don't think he crawled more than a yard if he didn't have to. He still walked at 11 months but most of the OTT babyproofing wouldn't have been needed for him at 6 months.

Which is a long winded way of saying that they're all different, go with the flow. A playpen/travel cot and a good high chair are essentials, I'd say, but after that just keep ahead of keeping the living space safe and providing a variety of toys. A few toys at a time, regularly changed round, you don't need everything out on the floor at once.

fluffnutter

Kayalana99 wrote: »

Why only 10min? Noones ever said that to me before hes been in it for the last hour or so.... -.-

--

I did abit of googling on it....thanks guys!!

I understand why they shouldn't be in them to much but I think people are abit OTT with saying that thier 'really dangerous' (not you guys the things im coming across)

Roll down the stairs — Why would you put a baby in a walker upstairs when they have access to the stairs?!
Get burned — Child is in the living room and can't get into the kitchen to 'reach the oven' not like his arms are long enough either way....
Drown — N/A as we dont have a pool
Be poisoned — Cant get in kitchen anyway....

Ridulous.

I don't like all that scaremongering stuff either. It's OTT and doesn't actually help parents make informed decisions. I think for me it's more the case that walkers don't actually help with their development and perhaps potentially delay it a little.

Essentials for me are a highchair and lots and lots of tupperware for their meals and snacks when out and about. You can't have too many plastic pots IMO