Wooden Lion Baby Xylophone

Five bars, one mallet and a lion's face: the Wooden Lion Baby Xylophone keeps a first instrument as simple as it should be at 12 months. There is nothing to wind up, switch on or assemble. Your child grips the mallet, brings it down on a bar and hears a sound that they made themselves.

A flat lion-shaped board, not a push-along

The lion xylophone measures 14 x 24.5 cm and is only 1.4 cm thick, for a weight of 310 g. Picture a slim board, a little shorter than a sheet of A4 paper. It lies flat on a play mat, on a low table or across your knees, and it slips into a bag for an afternoon at the grandparents'.

It has no wheels and no handle. This is an instrument to sit down with, not a toy to push around the room, which is worth knowing before you order.

The lion shape does a quiet job of its own. A one-year-old soon recognises "their" instrument on the shelf and goes to fetch it when they want music. An animal they can point to is also an easy way into a first word game: where is the lion, and what does the lion say?

What a one-year-old does with five bars

At 12 months, playing means striking. The first sessions are all arm: big, enthusiastic swings that land on a bar, on the lion's mane or on the floor. That is exactly the point. When the mallet meets a bar, a sound rings out; when it misses, nothing happens. Your child works out the link between the gesture and the result, one swing at a time.

Over the following months the movement becomes smaller and more accurate. The whole-fist grip on the mallet loosens, the wrist starts to do the work, and your child begins to aim at one bar instead of at the lion in general. With only five bars, the target stays big enough to hit and the choice never becomes overwhelming.

Later still come the games you can share: running the mallet along the row, tapping very softly and then loudly, or copying two beats that you have just played.

How to introduce it, and where the mallet lives

Sit facing your child with the wooden lion xylophone between you, and play first: three slow taps, then stop and hold out the mallet. Resist showing them how to hold it "properly". A grip that looks clumsy at 13 months sorts itself out with practice, and the pleasure of making the sound is what brings them back the next day.

Two habits make life easier:

• Stay close and keep sessions short. A mallet is a stick, and at this age it goes to the mouth or waves through the air as readily as it lands on a bar. Five minutes together is plenty.
• Give the mallet a fixed home. Rest it on the board when the game is over, or keep both in a shallow basket. A lion without its mallet soon gets left on the shelf.

To clean it, wipe the wood with a soft, barely damp cloth and let it dry in the open air. Do not soak it, and do not store it in a steamy bathroom.

Lion, bear or rainbow: which one suits your child?

The closest neighbour in the shop is the Children's Wooden Bear Xylophone, also for ages 1+. Between the two, the animal is the real deciding factor: choose the one your child already points to in their picture books.

For a toddler of 18 months or more who has moved past the first tapping stage, look at the Montessori Rainbow Xylophone instead. And if your one-year-old loves the lion, shakers and rainmakers ask for a different gesture, shaking and tipping instead of striking: they are grouped with our other musical toys for 1 year olds. For ideas beyond music, the home page gathers all our Montessori toys for babies.

Lion xylophone: questions from parents

What age is the lion xylophone suitable for?

It is designed for children from 1 year. At that age a child can sit steadily, hold the mallet in their fist and strike a bar. Play alongside them, as you would with any toy that includes a stick.

How many bars does the lion xylophone have?

It has five bars: enough to move from one to the next, few enough for a 12-month-old to aim at.

Does it come with a mallet?

Yes, one mallet is included, so the instrument is ready to play as soon as it is unwrapped.

How big is the lion xylophone?

It measures 14 x 24.5 x 1.4 cm and weighs 0.31 kg. It is a thin, flat board that is easy to carry from room to room.

Specifications

• Wooden Lion Baby Xylophone, lion-shaped board
• 5 bars and 1 mallet
• Age: from 1 year
• Dimensions: 14 x 24.5 x 1.4 cm
• Weight: 0.31 kg
• Reference: REFG61876
• 2-year guarantee