Guide on Buying Baby Crib Mobiles

What factor you should consider when shopping for baby crib mobiles ?
NOTE: If you want to go shopping, go to our recommendation section directly

I think that a good baby mobile should support baby's development. Period. You might have thought that the makers of baby mobiles know how to make educational baby mobiles.

But guess what ? Not all of them do. I've seen many beautiful and expensive baby mobiles in the market which are basically not of good value. Granted, those mobiles may complement the nursery well. However, if you want to buy a functional baby crib mobile, then before buying, have a look at the following features and make sure your favorite mobile has them:

• Developmental.
  In order for the baby crib mobiles to be developmental, they have to be designed to cater the needs of infant throughout various developmental stages. Aim for infant mobiles which can be used up to 7 months. After this period, it is not advisable to use a baby mobile since the baby will be able to pull the mobile down. To ensure the 'developmental' quality of the baby mobile, look for the baby mobile which has both black, white and red attachment as well as other bright colored attachment. This way, the newborn can look up at the black, white and red attachment to begin with, and later on other bright colored attachments. Therefore, it is important not to buy the ones with soft colors since babies cannot see these kinds of colors well.
  
  
• A reasonable number of suspended toys to see and talk about.
  
  
  
• Horizontally rather than vertically suspended attachments so that they face the baby who is lying flat on their backs and looking up.
  Although most of today's baby crib mobiles have attachment which are suspended in a way such that the fun part is facing the baby, there are still some which are not suspended that way. Be careful not to buy the ones which have vertical attachment as the only thing that is visible to an infant is the flat underside.

In addition, you may want to decide on these following features when shopping for baby mobiles:

• The movement of the attachment.
  Some infant mobiles just move horizontally, whereas some have several different movement, for instance the main arm moves like a wave, whereas the attachments themselves move horizontally. Of course the baby crib mobiles which have more complicated movement will be more fun to look at but they are more pricey.
  
  
• Music box.
  A music box attached to the infant mobile makes a musical mobile which is a bonus especially for the one which is put over the changing table, as the baby may listen to the music and settle down during this uncomfortable process. Some baby mobiles have some music tunes with knobs to adjust the volume. Some sophisticated ones are even operated by a remote control. Decide whether you want an infant mobile to send the baby to sleep or to stimulate the baby and choose the music accordingly.
  
  
• The way the infant mobile is operated.
  Basically, there are 2 ways the baby mobiles can be operated: by wind alone, and by motor. Nowadays, most baby mobiles have motor; some are battery operated and some need us to wind the motor. All baby mobiles which cost around 20 dollars will either need the wind to make them move or at best, need to be wound frequently in order to move and play the music. These kinds of crib baby mobiles are durable but you may get frustrated of winding the motor so often (less than 5 mins per-session) especially if the baby only enjoys seeing a moving infant mobile. However, if your baby does not mind watching a stationary mobile with occasional move, then it is okay to buy a crib baby mobile which can only be moved by wind or by motor wound by you. If you find that you get frustrated with all the winding, you may want to instead try a battery operated baby mobile. Battery operated baby mobiles are good because they will give a longer 'on' time which means that the battery operated mobiles can move and play music continuously for as long as 15 minutes. This will give you enough time to do stuff around the house. However, there are disadvantages of buying battery powered baby mobiles. The disadvantages of having a battery operated baby mobiles are:
  • they are expensive -- they cost around 40 dollars at present.
  • they depend on batteries and eat up batteries quickly.
  • they break down more easily.
  
  
  
• Remote control operated vs non remote control operated.

Where and What To Buy

For the best baby mobile, I recommend to either purchase the basic and cheaper Infant-Stim Baby Mobile from Manhattan Toys or the more fancy (and expensive !)one, Symphony in Motion by Tiny Love. They fulfill the requirement above: developmental, contains a decent amount of attachment and the attachments are horizontally suspended.

Both mobiles should be available at your local toy store. However, if you like to maximize the infant visual stimulation aspect for your newborn, then I recommend you to get either Infant Stim Mobile (part of Wimmer Ferguson visual stimulation set or individually) or Symphony in Motion (Farmyard Animal or Farm Animal with Remote ) from Genius Babies since you can also buy a unique infant stimulation package there.

Our recommendation

Want to know more about our recommendation ?

Visit these following pages to find out about Symphony in Motion and Infant Stim Baby Mobile.

Musical Mobile (Battery-Operated): Symphony in Motion by Tiny Love
This baby mobile is our first choice and is the baby crib mobile we recommend to get for your baby. Read why we like it ...

Infant-Stim Baby Mobile from Manhattan Toys
This is a more basic baby mobile which does a good job in stimulating your baby. It does not have all the fancy bell and whistles but is superior for infant visual stimulation.

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Back to Baby Mobile Main Page

Links to other educational baby toys articles:

Guide to the Best Developmental Infant Toys for Babies 0-6 months

Guide to Baby Developmental Toys for Infant 6-12 months

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