Happy Chinese New Year!!!

This blog post is a bit slow but I’m finally getting down to it. ;_;

When I was in Penang for Xmas and New Year, I visited a toy store in Gurney Paragon called La Fonis.

Now Fatty and I have all sorts of definite ideas on how we wanna raise Fighter, and thankfully we’re on the same page for most of them. Hahaha

One of the main ideas is not spoiling him and giving him lots of iPad/TV time, or even buying him every toy he wants.

Our sister in law told us that her kids have lots of new fangled high tech toys but after a week or two or playing, they usually discard them and spend hours playing with cardboard boxes or something.

Thinking back, that’s totally true of my childhood!  Not to say my parents spoiled us and bought us everything we wanted la but we did have a lot of nice toys (usually given during birthdays and for getting good exam results).  But at the end of it we played the most with Lolo and his stuffed toy friends only.  And with our terrapins which cost RM19 each wtf.  We didn’t need expensive toys because we had our imagination yo. *inspiring music blares*

So I’m determined to be as picky as possible with Fighter’s toys, which is why I’m really happy to have discovered La Fonis, an educational supplies store.

They started off as a teaching supplies store for kindergartens and preschools but have also expanded to include educational toys for home!

Although they have a variety of generic toys, most of the ranges they carry are imported from Europe and are high quality durable products.

This range is EverEarth, that does eco-friendly wooden toys.  I love leh I spent ten minutes staring at this display.  Fighter is still a bit young for the toys they have but when he gets older I can buy for him!  I like that wooden playthings are durable and environmentally friendly.  Plus they look damn classic and atas!

EverEarth also has a Plant A Tree campaign going on.  After purchasing one of their products,scan the QR Code on the box using your smartphone, and you’ll be directed to the eco page where you can enter your child’s name. A new sapling will be planted in the forest with your child’s name on it.  So there will be a tree called Fighter hahaha.

Uh I also spent five minutes dropping toy cars down this Ramp Racer just to watch them zoom.

This is one of La Fonis’ bestsellers!  If I like it, kids will like it also wtf.  No la I think kids learn with this by releasing the cars themselves and watching to see what happens.  This is suitable for 18+ months though so Fighter has some time to go.

Wooden toys galore!  All so brightly painted (with water based paints).

One interesting thing about La Fonis is that the owners actually work with a child psychologist to come up with different toy packages for different aged kids.  As a baby grows, they learn different things ma so the La Fonis toy packages includes appropriate learning toys for the baby according to his age.

I got Fighter the 0-1 years package!

Here’s what’s included:

My First Multi-Play Activity Cube

Damn fun la this one hahahah.  Fighter how lucky are you!?

Meant to develop babies’ eye and hand coordination, neat pincer grasp skills, object permanence skill, binocular convergent ability, basic tactile skill and imagination.

(pictured is the Garden Activity Cube, not My First Multi-Play Activity Cube which is smaller.  I upgraded my package to get the Garden Activity Cube.)

Includes a removable and reversible top with beads, a sliding peg board, a shape sorter, and tic-tac-toe.

Unfortunately Fighter has just recently learned how to grasp objects only (but very pro at tearing my hair out fml) so I haven’t taken this out to let  him try yet.

Babybuds Chew Toy (bottom center)

Suitable for babies aged 0+ months. It’s made with natural eco-friendly fabrics and organic cotton natural silks. Each toy is filled with biodegradable corn fiber. From last week when Fighter learned how to grasp objects I gave it to him and he seems very happy to munch on it all day long hahaha.

Uhhh Fighter that’s your hand, not the chew toy.

Baby Fabric Book (top right)

Can’t go wrong with fabric books!  Each ‘page’ is brightly colored with a different animal.

Pull along dog (under the fabric book)

This was voted one of “Parents Best Toys” for its multi-benefits and play-appeal. Baby can pull the dog along, and practice fitting shapes together, as well as develop mobile skills and reaching skills (for the pieces).

Can’t wait for Fighter to be able to sit up then can let him play with this!

There are packages for 1-2 years, 2-3, and 3-4 years too.

Can’t remember what age package this workshop toy belongs to but it’s so cute!

Everything really works!  You can fit the screwdriver and spanner into the screws and bolts so children learn hand eye coordination as well as… reason I guess? And recognizing shapes wtf.

For girls there’s a little doll house. *melts

My loot!  Activity cube not in picture because too big to lug around hahaha.  And Sephora bag is obviously my own purchase. >.>

Planning to come back for a second round when Fighter grows more.

I find the concept of this store damn interesting cos it really focuses on the development of children as opposed to other toys like Transformers or god forbid Playstation wtf which may not be as beneficial or instrumental in the child’s learning and skills.  Knowing that they work with a child psychologist really impressed me too, cos it means La Fonis is really serious about child development and care.

During CNY I heard from La Fonis that they’ve changed up the packages a bit but each item will still correspond to an essential developmental skill.  If you go to their shop they will probably explain to you.

La Fonis is located at Level 5, Gurney Paragon, 163D-5-41.

I asked if they were planning to open a branch in KL and they said yes!  But it depends on the interest shown so KL mommies please support!

For now you can visit their FB page for more info or WeChat them LafonisParagon and email Gurneyparagon_penang@lafonis.com.my

all photos taken with the Sony Xperia Z1