Drum Toy for Tots

Rhythmic Patter for Little Hands

• What: Ocean Wave Drum
• When: Birth to 3 years
• Why: Multiple means of fascination, appeals to broad age range
• Where: Amazon

We got an Ocean Wave Drumduring our first child’s infancy. I immediately put away the drum stick that came with it as well as the plastic attachment piece, and let my infant whack away with his hands. He loved the tiny colored beads that roll around inside, creating a din of sound that might resemble an ocean noise if you’ve never been anywhere near an ocean. Otherwise, it sounds much like you’d imagine a bunch of tiny beads rolling around on a taut plastic surface sound, i.e. similar to a rainmaker with a bit more resonance.

Because of the clear, flat surface, you can watch the beads hop around as you whack it. The bright colors of the ocean background and the beads themselves seem to fascinate younger children. Older kids just like to make noise, and the volume this drum makes satisfies them without driving me crazy. It fits into a small bin for storage, but doesn’t need any accessories to pull out and enjoy.

Full disclosure: the manufacturer’s recommended age is two years and up. I assume that’s because of the drumstick or the holder that attaches to the drum. But my infants have all played with it with nary a side effect. The plastic can support a two year old standing on it as a stool (which is not very effective as it doesn’t add any noticeable height).

After three kids, it still looks brand new without a single ding, even after some hard hits. I’ve never even attempted to reunite the drumstick with the drum, but plenty of other things have hit it, both intentionally and unintentionally.