The first toy that we bought babyT was a set of teethers by Chicco. This was on day 2 of his birth, when daddy was keen to gift his lil baby boy a little something. Of course we didn’t use that gift till much later. But after that one gift we didn’t see the need for buying any toys, as we were gifted so many by our friends and family. Until now that is..

Our first joint (mommy and daddy with babyT) shopping expedition took us to Hamley’s (Infinity II mall, Malad, Mumbai) where we were quite uninspired by what we saw or were a few years too early to buy him lego and superhero stuff. There we saw a little crowd of kids, young and on the threshold of teenage, surrounding a display unit with various creatures, cute and awkward who were walking, babbling, making animal noises.

We stopped for a peek too and fell in love with this little Alien friend. We bought this for lil babyT immediately and named it Mork (after Mork & Mindy naanuuu-naanuu.) So here’s what we love.

The toy is a walking, talking battery operated one. Its USP is that it repeats everything you say and in a funny cartoonish voice. What better do small babies and children love than someone to constantly talk to and blabber away in gibberish.

Pros:

  • No loose parts.
  • Suede lined, not fur. I’m not overly concerned about babyT chewing on the little alien’s antenna
  • Keeps babyT engaged while I fix up a cup of tea
  • Imitates babyT’s little heyys, oohs, squeals, screams (we’re doing a lot of that right now) and encourages babyT to talk more (big big plus mark)
  • Keeps adults amused when they mouth dialogues of 90s Bollywood movies and sometimes some naughty words (read: the husband)

Cons:

  • a little pricey at Rs. 1599
  • Sometimes you forget to turn it off and you’re shouting out across the house to the cook, saying “6 rotis, bhindi sabji, dal fry” and trust me, it’s not cute in squeak language.
  • Drains battery like crazy