One of France’s greatest success stories, the Sophie the Giraffe teether toy has been comforting babies for 50 years – so something about it has to be right! Made of soft rubber ideal for chewing, and with a squeaker to entertain, we think every baby should have his, or her, very own Sophie!
When our baby was born we were given a Sophie the Giraffe teether toy from our French friend. I had never come across them before, so I was surprised to hear my friend say that it is a de rigueur piece of baby kit in France. I didn’t quite understand what it was about this funny looking rubber giraffe that made it so popular, so I went home and did a bit of research.
Sophie the Giraffe History
It turns out that 2011 marks fifty years that the company Vulli has been making Sophies. They are still made today in the same classic design, using the same time honoured manual techniques as back then – though the exact process is a closely guarded secret – from 100% natural rubber tapped from Hevea tree sap, a totally safe and natural product.
Since 1961 over 50 million Sophies baby toys have been sold and they can now be found in more than 40 countries. But the real seal of approval is that fact that countless celebrities have also become fans of Sophie the Giraffe for their children, including the likes of Nicole Richie, Sandra Bullock and Sophia Copola!
Sophie the Giraffe Review
So far, so great – but did Sophie the Giraffe meet my now very high expectations? Well, yes, sort of. My baby entered phase one of teething quite early at 3 months, and frankly whilst Sophie provided a welcome distraction whilst changing diapers with her cute little squeaker, she was too big and unwieldy for my three month old to get into her mouth! This was enormously frustrating for my baby, and I ended up finding that the Manhattan Toy Winkel worked better at this age.
However, now that my baby is 5 months old and better co-ordinated and slightly bigger, Sophie is definitely coming into her own! The long neck and legs, and the pointy ears, provide lots of chewable and grip-able surfaces, and I like that it is soft and light so that my baby can’t hurt herself when she misses her mouth and bashes her face with it! But what, for me, really sets Sophie apart from other teethers is that she is clearly an endearing character – my baby has completely identified Sophie as a friend and spends as much time “talking” to Sophie as using the giraffe to soothe her gums!
Heads up!
If you don’t want your Sophie the Giraffe baby toy to lose her squeak the beware of playing with her in the bath! Enough said. She is also on Tommy’s Top 10 Toddler and Baby Toys list
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