The search for the perfect toy…

I never thought I would be this “toy-crazy.” Before I had a baby I was like, “oh, they can play with cardboard boxes, and ribbons, and stuff… maybe a ball and some blocks…” And I still believe that kids can generally entertain themselves with anything. But, come ON there are so many awesome toys out there – and I am NOT talking about digital, electronic, battery operated.

I’m talking baby toys that appeal to a newborn’s developing motor and auditory skills.

Or toys for your one year old that focus on their growing ability to sort, stack, and categorize.

And toys for your two year old that assist with learning the alphabet, developing fine motor skills, and pretend play.

As a new mom, I found it hard to know what toys were best for each stage. I found myself trying to get my 7 month old to stack blocks, and realizing he just didn’t have the motor skills quite yet. Then I discovered an awesomely organized toy site – ebeanstalk.com – that takes the guesswork out of finding the perfect toy for every age.

Awesomeness #1 – Every toy on e-beanstalk is hand-selected by child experts.

Awesomeness #2 – Every toy comes with an instructional card that tells parents what skills the toy develops and ideas for graduated play to extend your child’s interest in the toy as they grow.

Awesomeness #3 – The entire collection of toys at e-beanstalk.com can be sorted by age (in 3 month increments up to age 4!), age and gender, or other criteria such as age and sub-category (books for your 9 month old, or arts and crafts for your two year old). As an organized person, I can seriously appreciate this high level of organization.

Awesomeness #4 – The e-beanstalk “Grow & Learn Series” – the gift of a year of toys. Every 3 months a new toy will be sent that matches the exact age of the child – you don’t even have to start at the whole year mark – you can select, 2 1/4 years old and the child receives a new toy every 3 months until he is 3 1/4 years old!

Whoever dreamed up the concepts behind e-beanstalk – genius, sheer genius. I wish I had known about this site a long time ago, so I would not have stressed over what kind of developmental play was best during those early months. I will definitely create my baby’s birthday and Christmas wish lists here (yep, they wishlist capabilities too!).

Check out e-beanstalk.com and tell me what you think about their great website!