Forest of the Plains

I’m going through Jacob’s toys today and boxing them up according to their recommended age.
Generally speaking, it’s not a good idea to give a child toys before the recommended age. It’s very amazing to see how accurate those recommended ages are. For example, Jacob has a pop-up toy that is rated for 9-month-olds. While he can almost operate it himself, it will be much easier to play with when he can sit up and he is scared of the noise when popping up occurs. There have been several toys that he’s ignored and then is suddenly interested in, and that interest happens right around the recommended age. So we have to think about both his cognitive development as well as his emotional development when choosing toys.

I had forgotten just how many stuffed animals Jacob received when he was born. He has 6 teddy bears, 2 penguins, 1 monkey, and 1 chick. He also has a crocheted bunny. Of these, he can safely play with two of the teddy bears. The rest will have to wait until he’s three because of choking hazards. (I admit I bought one of the unsafe penguins for him!) I had thought the crocheted bunny would be okay, but he’s managed to gum through the yarn and I’ve had to pick it out of his mouth. Oops!

Anyway, back to the teddy bears. Almost all of them came with a note saying, “Every little boy should have a teddy bear.” I’m wondering if this is because boys stereotypically shouldn’t have dolls and the bear is a good “masculine” replacement? Does anyone in blogland know a real reason? I’m very curious!