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What is the guideline to be followed on allowing 6-month-old babies to suck toys? Obviously the cheap plastic ones are a strict no no.

Is there any specific materials that have been proven safe? Are teethers safe?

There seems to be 2 schools of thought at home

  1. To not allow any toy close to her since she sucks everything (which seems a bit too extreme to me).
  2. Give her as many toys as possible so that she can have fun.
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  • Consider re-taging, toddler is inappropriate, maybe "infant" and "toys" and 'Girl' in the title is probably extraneous. Also people popularly advocate not having any toys? Or does that mean only playing with food? – user26011 Apr 14 '17 at 15:58
  • Sometimes this can be alleviated by providing an edible substitutes, such as baby carrots. – Warren Dew Apr 15 '17 at 20:39
  • @WarrenDew six month old sucking a baby carrot sounds wrong to me... maybe a full sized carrot would not be a choking hazard. – WRX Apr 15 '17 at 23:48
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Babies usually explore the world with their eyes first, then their mouths. Depriving them of this highly motivated behavior seems unwise at best and possibly harmful, though the latter is strictly my opinion.

What should and shouldn't be allowed to go into the mouth is highly dependent on size (not small enough to choke on), material (I wouldn't let my baby suck on anything made in certain countries known for recalls of children's toys because of toxicity issues), potential dangers (e.g.chewing on electric cords is often enjoyable for babies, dirty items, items that might come apart in her mouth), etc. Just let your common sense prevail.

Some teething rings are quite safe. Just do some reading on them! And enjoy watching her explore her world. It's great fun to stop and appreciate what she might be discovering in that expanding mind.

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    Exploration is what babies are meant to do. Yes, as anongoodnurse points out -- be mindful of what she chooses -- but if you provide nothing, she'll use her thumb or fingers and that habit can be difficult to break. – WRX Apr 14 '17 at 13:12
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Babies often bite on everything within reach. Toys are usually within reach, it's kind of part of the definition of being a toy.

Baby toys are safe to suck on because that's what they are being used for, and the people selling them will get sued if their products harm their users. However, it's good practice to wash and possibly boil baby toys after acquiring them and before handing them to the baby, and you should take them away if they break.

If you use toys that are not sold as baby toys, none of the above applies and the answer becomes more complicated.

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    I wish I shared your enthusiastic trust of the safety of baby toys. Painted toys in particular can be dangerous. Perhaps you don't remember the recalls. :-/ Plus, definitely wash them, but I would not boil them. Heating some plastics releases volatile organic compounds which might prove harmful. – anongoodnurse Apr 14 '17 at 15:02

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