Rattles
Rattles
It is one of the oldest toys in our history. An early baby’s rattle, a 2500-year-old rattle, in the shape of a pillow made from clay and filled with small balls was found in a polish village. Rattles are good for a baby because they provide the stimulation s/he needs. It will excite him when he discovers by holding an object and moving his arms he can make a change in outside world (cause and effect). So somehow, he will learn to interact with outside world and explore it. Here is a short list of how rattles are helpful for your baby.
How “Rattles” help babies developing their skills:
- bright Colorful rings: Develops eye movement (smooth tracking)
- Rattle sounds: Develops further the hearing and finding the direction of sound
- Grabbing rings: Hand/eye coordination with the help of the sound rattle makes
- Cause and effect: Making sound every time she moves the rattle
- Teething relief: Some of the rattles are also useful for Teething as well.
- Fingers: Some of the rattles helps each finger to function separately from others
Bright Starts Grab and Spin Rattle
Product feedback (amazon, eBay): 4.7/5 by 1200 buyers
Price: $2.39
Customer Reviews:
“My son (3 months) loves this. It’s easily his favorite toy. He loves how it rattles, that he can grab it easily, and the rings add some interest. It is greatly helping with his hand-eye coordination development and hand mobility. He also adores the rattle part – if you hold it in front of him and shake it, his eyes get huge and he starts to shake from excitement. He likes it so much that I got a second one in case I lose it or leave it somewhere.”
“One of the first toys my baby reached for, and she hasn’t put it down since. The colors seem to catch her eye and the size is just perfect for her small fingers to latch on to.”
“My son is 3 months and this is his favorite toy. He loves to hold onto it, shake it and put it in his mouth.”
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Oball Shaker
Product feedback (amazon, eBay): 4.5/5 by 1470 buyers
Price: $3.59
Customer Reviews:
“My son really likes this rattle. The middle has little balls in it that rattle when you shake it, but it is rather quiet so the toy is not annoying at all. He likes to chew on the blue and green ends which are a softer plastic. It gives him a different texture to play with.”
“Our 5.5-month-old loves this rattle! The holes are perfect for his little fingers the grasp the toy. Would recommend.”
“My son is 3 months and this is his favorite toy. He loves to hold onto it, shake it and put it in his mouth.”
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Sassy Rattlin Rings
Product feedback (amazon, eBay): 4.6/5 by 630 buyers
Price: $4.29
Extra feature: The colorful stripes and dots are perfect for newborn visual stimulation.
Customer Reviews:
“My daughter loved playing with this toy from age 3 months to 12 months. It’s small and simple but has the eye-catching pattern and the rings were fun for her to slide around. This toy is the perfect size to keep stored in the diaper bag for times when baby gets fussy on the go and made a great option for my daughter to play with on car rides.”
“Super cute rattles! He doesn’t hold them himself yet, but he loves to look at them! I bought two of them just in case we loose one (we usually do that with most toys). They were a little bigger than I thought but still a good size. They came a little dirty so I would recommend cleaning them for sure. Overall a great product and I would recommend and or buy again.”
“Money well spent. My daughter LOVED it. It was bigger than I expected. She loved to rattle, definitely one of her favorites.”
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Fisher-Price Rattle ‘n Rock Maracas
Product feedback (amazon, eBay): 4.5/5 by 3000 buyers
Price: $6.99
Extra feature: The variety of colors, textures, and fun rattle sounds help stimulate your baby’s developing senses
Customer Reviews:
“My girls adore their little rattle lol. It’s baby proofed with a soft end to prevent injury. And the other end has bals inside to make sounds like a maraca”
“To me, these seem very unexciting. They barely rattle, I was just disappointed looking at them. HOWEVER my 3 month old loves them. Way more than other rattles. He loves bashing his head with the soft tops, and eating them, and he’s more than happy with the small sound from the three balls. They’re also perfectly sized handles for his tiny hands, so they are now a favorite shower gift”
“My son gives them a 5 stars. Mine didn’t have any extra plastic poking out to hurt my son as stated in another review. I inspected them prior to using. He Loves the rattle noise & I like the soft side for his mouth. They are a perfect size for small hands. He didn’t like to use them till he was 4 mos.”
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Fisher-Price Rattle ‘n Rock Maracas
Product feedback (amazon, eBay): 4.5/5 by 3000 buyers
Price: $6.99
Extra feature: The differing materials engage baby’s developing tactile sensitivity and teach baby about variety.
Customer Reviews:
“Smaller than expected, but the size is actually perfect. My four month old neice loves it. It’s fun for her to feel all of the different textures. I’d recommend! UPDATE: niece is now nine months and still loves this toy, can beat that price”
“Such a classic toy for older babies! We introduced this toy too early and it was a little bit of sensory overload for our newborn. Now that the baby is learning to crawl and grasp better, it’s just right! Remember to try toys again on your kids at different times and only one toy at a time. You never know what might work. This is labeled as a toy for a 6 month old so it was my bad.”
“Very cute ball! I love that every part is different. It keeps baby occupied, and it’s very colorful! It’s a bit big for an infant’s hands, but my daughter is 4 months now, so I think in the next month, she’ll be able to get a good grip of it! I love Sassy’s toys, and this one has sold me just like the many other toys we have of their brand.”
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The world is such an amazing place for kids right now. Just look at all the choices we have for such a simple item. Perfect for everyone’s budget. Thanks for providing a great list of rattles. I hope you sell a ton of these through your review. Really well done!
~Peter
Hi Peter,
I totally agree with you, although I think we had so much nature around us to explore when we were kids now they don’t have that anymore (most of them).
Thanks for your support Peter. Great to have here with us.
Cheers
hi there
Awww I love all those rattles! I think they certainly provide stimulation to babies, which is key in their development. It stimulates multiple senses. I am more inclined to use a traditional rattle, one used for music let’s say. Made maybe with wood or a shell of some sort. But I think those modern versions have added features that can certainly help the development of the child. I am not really understanding the feedback score but most of them are very well rated!
Hi Emily,
I Like also the old version of rattles but as you said these are specially made to provide stimulation to babies.
The rankings are made by people who bought this product (Amazona and Ebay customers). For example, the last one “Sassy Rattlin Rings” was purchased by 414 people and after use they give this product 4.6 out of 5 (which is high when the number of reviewers goes up to 100).
What I do is to find a product that fulfill the requirement and then look at its performance by looking into reviews by buyers (in Amazon and eBay customer reviews)
Thanks for you comment,
Cheers
I had no idea that rattles have been around for 2500 years! That’s amazing!
Great selection of rattles you’ve got here. I’m sure any baby would absolutely love them. I think the idea of the motion sensing colour change one is great.
Hi Hannah,
Yes, our ancestors were smart indeed to make such an amazing and useful tool for kids. I was glad to find this product but to be honest, I had some doubt about it because this kind of toy will not work after your baby hit it several times. Then after I read many reviews on Amazon and eBay, I was sure there is no problem with this product. So I guess it is one of my favorite rattles so far.
Cheers
Hi,
When my boy was teething the last rattle was an excellent tool to stop him crying 🙂 the black and white side and blue gum are keep him occupied. He chew it and actually stopped crying. As well it makes an excellent song. i would recommend it and it worth the money,
Hi Niki,
Thanks again for sharing your personal experience with us. I appreciate that you share your thoughts about this product. I’m happy you liked this product.
Cheers
What a refreshing website you have here! I never realized that rattles have a history dating back so long ago. All these rattles are very cute. Only if I had a little one to spoil I think I would get the NogginStik.
Julie
Hi Julie,
Thanks for the wonderfull and positive feedback. I think it was one of the first handmade toys in our history. The Noggin Stik is by far one of my favorite rattles.
Cheers