If you are looking for a gift for a baby, you may be surprised at the enormous range of electronic musical light-up toys in the toy shops these days. While the concept of electronic toys may sound too advanced for small babies, these toys can offer your child endless hours of entertainment, while providing sensory stimulation in a fun way.
Even the youngest babies can benefit enormously from learning the sights and sounds of their immediate surroundings and the broader environment. The lights and sounds of electronic toys will stimulate your baby in a way that ordinary toys cannot.
The parents, and certainly grandparents, of today, did not have the pleasure of growing up with electronic toys. Instead, we spent our days playing with wooden puzzles, blocks, shape-sorter toys, and of course reading books. And we all turned out fine!
But this does not mean that the children of today won’t benefit from modern technology that has been incorporated into 21st Century toys. Flashing lights, musical tunes, and different sounds are all stimulating features of modern toys, that will help your child to learn new and exciting things in an interactive way, appealing to all his senses and stimulating the different paths of his brain.
The toy shop of today, and even the toy aisle in your local supermarket, is like a funfair, filled with lights and colors and sounds. These sensory experiences can help your little one to develop his auditory and visual awareness in a way that old-fashioned toys could not.
However, with the vast array of toys on offer, one must exercise discretion when selecting electronic toys for a small baby. Consider the safety aspects of the toy.
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Most electronic toys are battery-operated. Check that the battery compartment closes securely and cannot be opened by curious little hands. Batteries and battery fluid can be deadly if ingested.
Most babies love light-up toys. In this review, we will take a look at some of the popular light-up toys that are currently available for babies.
Our Best Light Up Toys For Babies Reviews and Comparisons
1. KiddoLab Lira The Caterpillar Crib Toys
Product Highlights
Lira the Caterpillar is an adorable light-up hanging toy caterpillar. It will provide your baby with a variety of educational activities and help him to explore new learning experiences.
Features
- Soft fabric head
- Friendly light-up caterpillar
- Two musical modes for play
- Spinner activities with a variety of textures, rings and beads
- Simple attachment to the crib, stroller, or car seat
- BPA free, CPSC certified, and ASTM F963-16 compliant
- Suitable for children from 3 months upwards.
What We Like About KiddoLab Lira The Caterpillar Baby Music Light Up Toy Piano for 3 Months Age and Older Babies
The Kiddolab Lira The Caterpillar has two modes of play. We like the fact that you can choose between actual melodies for listening or musical notes for exploring different sounds. The three spinning ring activities offer lots of opportunities for stimulation, with different textures and colors for babies to explore.
We love Lira the Caterpillar’s adorable face. It is made of soft fabric for your baby to squeeze, which exercises his hand muscles and helps to strengthen his grip. The light-up buttons are also designed to strengthen little fingers and improve hand-eye coordination.
What We Don’t Like About KiddoLab Lira The Caterpillar Baby Music Light Up Toy Piano for 3 Months Age and Older Babies
We were excited to see that all the buttons are different colors, so it was disappointing to discover that when the buttons are pressed, they all light up red. We would have preferred different colored lights.
It is a nuisance that there is no volume control button, and it is quite loud for a crib toy. You should be able to adjust the volume. The LED lights on the keys are very bright, and might not be so good for a baby’s eyes.
2. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes Musical Toy
Product Highlights
With stimulating lights and engaging melodies, the Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes Musical Toy provides excellent stimulation for cognitive development while entertaining your baby at the same time.
Features
- 10 different melodies
- Baby-friendly versions of classical masterpieces
- Volume control
- Large, easy to recognize buttons
- Certified by independent safety laboratories
What We Like About The Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes Musical Toy, Ages 3 months Plus
The classical tunes promote musical appreciation. We like the good quality of the sound, as so many of these musical toys have tinny sound quality. This toy is easy to wipe clean and easy for a small baby to hold.
What We Don’t Like About The Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes Musical Toy, Ages 3 months Plus
The buttons are quite hard to press. A baby under 12 months might have difficulty pressing them on his own. We don’t like the design that has the lights in the front, but the speaker at the back. In order to see the lights, the speaker is covered, which can muffle the sound slightly.
3. Skip Hop Developmental Learning Crawl Toy
Product Highlights
This two-in-one developmental toy is designed to encourage your baby with lights, music, and movement. It will grow with your baby and is suitable for use up to 3 years old.
Features
- 3 stages of play, (Pre-crawlers, Beginner crawlers, and advanced crawlers), encouraging babies to crawl
- Buzzing sounds and energetic tunes
- Movable beads and rubberized details for teething
- Colorful lights
- Smart sensor to avoid obstacles as it moves
What We Like About The Skip Hop Explore & More Follow-me Bee 3-stage Developmental Learning Crawl Toy
This motorized crawling toy encourages your baby to crawl after it, with colorful lights, music, and movement. Many moving toys constantly bump into things. We like the sensor in this toy, helping it to avoid any obstacles in its way. We love the fact that it is suitable for 3 stages of a baby’s development, as he learns to move around and eventually to crawl.
What We Don’t Like About The Skip Hop Explore & More Follow-me Bee 3-stage Developmental Learning Crawl Toy
If your baby picks this toy up while it is moving, the wheels don’t stop spinning. We are concerned that tiny fingers could get caught in the wheels. Some users have reported that the toy is not sufficiently durable or hard-wearing for very active babies who might pick it up and drop or even throw it.
4. My First Plane Bump ‘n Go Learning Airplane Toy
Product Highlights
This electronic toy airplane will make your little one giggle with joy and wiggle with excitement, by treating him to an engaging toy that entertains as it educates. My First Plane comes with different buttons that allow kids to explore and discover the secret actions behind them.
Features
- Vibrant and colorful lights
- Realistic sound effects
- Cheerful music
- Teaches letters and numbers
- Made from safe ABS plastic, BPA Free, Lead-Free, Phthalate Free
What We Like About My First Plane Bump ‘n Go Learning Airplane Toy with Lights & Music, Best Kids Early Learning Educational Toys for Toddlers Boys and Girls 1-5 Year Old Gifts
This electronic toy airplane cultivates your baby’s imagination by playing music, lighting up and encouraging walking. We love all the fascinating airplane sounds, such as landing, flight, and take-off. For a relatively inexpensive toy, we love the fact that it provides so much entertainment and stimulation.
What We Don’t Like About My First Plane Bump ‘n Go Learning Airplane Toy with Lights & Music, Best Kids Early Learning Educational Toys for Toddlers Boys and Girls 1-5 Year Old Gifts
We suggest that you read the dimensions very carefully. We found the picture misleading. It made the toy look much bigger than it actually is. It is very small. We would have liked more learning tools. It only has three numbers and shapes.
5. TUMAMA Baby Musical Electronic Toy
Product Highlights
This electronic toy drum shows your baby the limitless possibilities of music, with its 2-in-1 design. It will encourage hand development and strengthen hand-eye coordination while teaching your baby different sounds and encouraging musical appreciation.
Features
- Colorful, large palm-shaped control button
- Comfortable carry handle to strengthen baby’s grip
- 2-mode volume control
- Battery-operated wireless design
- Made from safe, non-toxic ABS plastic
What We Like About The TUMAMA Baby Musical Toy, Electronic Drum Instruments with Light and Sound, Early Educational Development Songs Gift for Infants, Toddlers, Boys, Girls
We love the variety of sounds that this toy plays. It will help your baby learn to identify well-known songs, famous classical music tunes, as well as different animal sounds.
The handle is a perfect size for little hands to grip, making it easy for your toddler to carry it around with him. For such an inexpensive toy, it offers many lively features, which will stimulate your baby’s different senses.
What We Don’t Like About The TUMAMA Baby Musical Toy, Electronic Drum Instruments with Light and Sound, Early Educational Development Songs Gift for Infants, Toddlers, Boys, Girls
Some of the songs are sung by singers with strange accents, making it a little difficult to grasp all the words. We don’t like the fact that some of the songs are in foreign languages, which could be very confusing for a baby who is just starting to learn the language.
FINAL VERDICT
We chose The TUMAMA Baby Musical Toy, Electronic Drum Instruments with Light and Sound, Early Educational Development Songs Gift for Infants, Toddlers, Boys, Girls as our favorite light-up toy for babies. This toy offered the best stimulation for a baby, teaching different sounds such as music, songs, drum beats, and animal sounds. We also found it to be strong and durable, and all-in-all it offered the best value for money.
Paulo is a passionate dad who founded Wumblers to share his parenting journey with other new parents. He graduated from Concordia University and worked as a test engineer for over a decade. Paulo loves dad jokes and craft beer.
Learn more about Paulo and Wumblers here.