The best cost-nothing toys for babies and toddlers

The best cost-nothing toys for babies and toddlers Alamy

These are the every day items that your child will find much more interesting than expensive toys that they quickly grow out of and clutter your home.

For newborn babies: Go for bright colours, unusual textures and funny noises

1. Keys

It's a cliché, but babies really do love keys! Whether it's the jangle, the cool slipperiness, or that - however hard they try - they just can't pull them apart, you'll be reaching into your handbag for these handy pacifiers more often than you'll think.

2. Mirror

It takes a little while for babies to realise it's their own face they're looking at. But even before then, they'll enjoy staring at the funny little fella in front of them.

3. Rice in a pot

This simple shaker will keep your baby intrigued whether it's you making the fun noise, or letting him try and make sounds. Just make sure the lid's on tightly!

4. Cushion

You'll have heard about the importance of 'tummy time' for developing your baby's upper body strength. Try propping him up on his elbows on a colourful cushion to ensure he has a pretty pattern to look at even if his head lolls

5. Your face

Your reactions, expressions and voice when you're playing are often even more interesting than the toy you're waving to your newborn. Tiny babies automatically lock onto friendly faces, so go for big smiles, exaggerated mannerisms and a playful tone to your voice to keep him enthralled.

The best cost-nothing toys for babies and toddlers Alamy

One years olds: Your growing baby's motor skills enable him to pick up and place objects down so lots of 'things' should work wonders

1. Tupperware

Your little one will love taking lids on and off and building towers with these unbreakable boxes.

2. Fridge magnets

Sliding magnets around on metal surfaces such as your fridge or dishwasher door, or a cool radiator, makes for entertaining fun for youngsters who haven't witnessed this miracle of physics before!

3. Water toys

Water play is great fun in or out of the bath. Plastic measuring jugs and beakers, as well as sieves, straws and spoons, all make simple toys for pouring and filling.

4. Bubbles

You can replace the bubble mixture in an old pot with a concoction of ½ cup of washing up liquid to 5 cups of water and 2tbsp glycerine (available from pharmacies and health food shops), or use a drinking straw for a wand. Now get your little one to pop as many as she can!

5. A box of odds and ends

Toddlers love collecting objects and putting them in and out of boxes or pots, so put together an assortment of empty cotton reels, pinecones, pieces of sponge or silver foil and so on. She'll spend ages playing and sorting - just make sure nothing's small enough to swallow.

The best cost-nothing toys for babies and toddlers Getty

Two year olds: Your toddler is developing a strong imagination, so 'let's pretend' games where she can mimic you are perfect.

1. A tablecloth

Make a simple den by draping a large cloth over two stable chairs. Your toddler will love having her own space, or playing 'house' with her toys.

2. Old mobile phone

Two-year-olds love copying what you do, so hand your old mobile over to Junior so he can pretend to make his own calls. It'll stop him running off with your phone, too!

3. Large cardboard box

Create your own playhouse or spaceship by cutting a 'door' and decorating a big box (ask your local supermarket if they have any spare).

4. Sticking

You don't need to visit a hobby store to stock up on craft supplies. Try cutting up some coloured paper, tearing fun images out of magazines or even using pasta shapes and creating collages with some child-friendly glue.

5. Dressing up

Don't throw out your old clothes - keep them for fancy dress fun! Your mini-me will love trying on hats, gloves, chunky jewellery and scarves, while an old frilly nightie makes a surprisingly good princess outfit...

My darling toddler, thank you for...

...saving me pennies on the phone bill
 Just imagine how many calls I might have made by now if the phone was EVER where it should be on its cradle! The telepathy thing isn't coming on that brilliantly, though, if I'm honest. Daddy never seems to receive the message 'bring more wine'.
...decorating the house
 You’re right. We really were very unimaginative when we painted it in shades of off white, hoping to achieve stylish spaces that exuded light and airiness. That big smear of chocolate you made by wiping your cheek on the wall in the living room actually matches the cushions! And should I ever enter the house and forget where the kitchen is, the line you drew with non-washable felt-tip the entire length of the wall in the hall will show me the way.
...boosting the local economy...
 ...by, for example, providing work for the exterminators, who come to catch the mice, who come to eat the food that you somehow manage to deposit, in minute amounts, all over the house in places that should be impossible to get to.
...the interesting beauty regimes
 I do remember reading that avocado is excellent for one's skin – although I’m not sure about your particular method of mixing it with snot, and transferring it from your face to mine with that expert lunge/sweep manoeuvre. Especially when I already have my make-up on.
...for helping me make new friends...
 ...such as the woman who answers calls for the emergency services.
...all the long weekends...
 ...which are always extended by several hours, what with your fascinating ability to wake up at 5am every Saturday and Sunday (or sometimes, amazingly enough, even earlier if it’s one of those rare occasions that I went out the night before).
…filling the silences in the house...
 ...with giggles, farts, excruciatingly high-pitched screams, the brain-numbing babble of battery toys and – rather brilliantly, even when you are sleeping soundly in your bed – a deafening roar when we turn on the stereo, which you have invariably switched on to maximum volume.
...not to mention the silences everywhere else...
 ...like in the library, for example, when we returned your story books and you were sad to see them go. I'm not sure, when the sweet librarian suggested you could take home a different Peppa Pig book, it was an entirely appropriate response to turn purple, scream bloody murder and repeatedly try to bite her. But still, she didn't call the police or anything.
...making my heart swell...
 ...not only with the love I have for you, but also with adrenaline – when I catch you on the third 'rung' of the bookshelf, because you have realised there's a valuable vase up at the top (possibly the only thing in the room you haven't yet licked).
... teaching me the true value of money
 I thought, what with frivolous purchases of Jimmy Choos and luxurious make-up having been replaced by cautious purchases of Start-Rites and Johnsons wipes, I had learned to appreciate it. But what really clinched it for me, I think, was looking up just as you posted that £20 note through the minuscule gap between the wall and the fireplace.
...helping me garden
 I understand that waiting for those tomatoes to turn red is just too much for you. Never mind. After months of tending those plants (which I grew from seed by the way, do you remember?), rather than plucking ripe juicy tomatoes for glorious summer salads, I will just look up recipes for green tomato chutneys which will take up space in the cupboard for all eternity – or until we move house.
...being so honest
 Like when you pointed at my thighs, laughing, and said: 'jelly!' it was a turning point for me. Really.
...being right next to me when I woke up this morning
 The fact that you prised open my sleepy eyelid, and then tried to lick my eyeball, is by the by. Even if not quite THAT close up, just like every other morning of my life, you were still the very first thing I wanted to see.