Friday, September 12, 2008

Tips for Buying Musical Toys

Walking through the toy store can be overwhelming when trying to find a musical toy for your child. Just walking through the toy store today I saw 10 toy guitars, 7 xylophones, and 15 singing stuffed animals. So how do you know which musical toy is the best? Below is a list of tips for buying a musical toy:

1. Look for a musical toy that best resembles the real instrument. For example, let's say you are looking at two different toy guitars. The first guitar will only play music if the guitar is strummed, while the second guitar will play music without the guitar being strummed. The first guitar is a better choice because the action of strumming to hear the music resembles a real guitar.


2. When buying a toy such as a piano and xylophone, make sure the keys sound correct. I have played toy xylophones that have sounded like every key was the same note! It may not seem like a big deal, but your child is learning from these toys, so the toys should sound accurate.



3. Research the musical toy first. There are many toys out there and doing a little research will save a lot of time when shopping. You can do research by visiting websites that have toy reviews such as Walmart, Toys R Us, and Google. Many parents will rate toys on-line and will write summaries about how functional these toys really are.


4. Make sure the musical toy is age appropriate and something your child can actually play with. A toy that is too advanced for your child could end up making your child feel frustrated.


5. Take your child shopping and let your child play with the musical toy first. This is a good way to see if your child will like the toy you buy him or her.

6. Make sure your child has fun playing with the musical toy. If your child has fun playing with the toy, then the toy may inspire your child to want to play the real instrument in the future.

18 comments:

Marie N. said...

My kids loved visiting grandpa's house where they played with clappers, child size symbols, a xylophone, tambourine and other instruments I don't remember from a set. They would always make a parade.

Susan said...

Great post! I was lucky enough to have a student in my class when I was pregnant with my son, whose mom owned a children's music studio. As a gift she gave us a big bag of children's musical instruments and fun CD's.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic tips...Thanks! :)

Anonymous said...

And lets not forget #7: You must be able to stand to listen to it for hours on end. ;) Guess how I know this! LOL

mormonhermitmom said...

My grandfather made chimes with metal pipes. He cut them to different sizes and I think Grandma helped with the "tuning". the note was written on with magic marker. Holes were drilled in the top and string threaded through. They cut plastic rods for a striker. They organized the grandkids and had a chime chorus, each child playing one of the pipes and following a big poster board with letters written on. It was fun waiting for Grandpa to point to my letter so I could hit my pipe.

Breanne said...

Great tips. I just bought my daughter a drum - she loves it. I am thinking of getting her the mini piano for her birthday.

Leah said...

Those are great tips!

Melissa said...

this is perfect becuase I have been meaning to get Lucy some more musical toys.

Kaci said...

Great tips! Elly loves her toy drum! She just re-found it yesterday and now I have the annoying tune in my head. LOL!

Genny said...

Love the tips! Especially the last one about having fun. So important!

Rosemary said...

Good advice. I always hated musical toys that sounded out of key.

Sheena said...

great tips! :)

preppy little dress AKA "PLD" said...

great tips thanks for sharing!

Erin said...

My son just walked in the room, saw the picture of the drum, yelled, "MAMA! A drum!" You've got a great blog going on here!

Abby said...

Another great post from munchkin! I just posted a whole kit that made me think of you on how to make musical instruments with your kids. Check out www.stealsdeals.blogspot.com and tell me if you think it would be a good one to buy. Would love your opinion!

Mandy said...

This is a great post. I have bought many musical toys that I just end up throwing out so yes research first. I need to do that...

Mozi Esme said...

Love this post! I always hated it as a kid when you couldn't play real music on toy flutes/recorders because the holes were not positioned correctly. I'd like to have an assortment of inexpensive but real instruments in my house that my baby can play with as she is growing up.

Anonymous said...

Nice tips for buying right musical toys for kids...