6
Jun
2010
Sophie – baby’s first status symbol? And our very first giveaway.
This is her. Skinny, Parisian and chic.
I don’t know if it has hit other parts of the world yet, but here in Europe if you don’t own Sophie, you may as well stay home – or stay hidden underneath the sun protector in your buggy or other baby anti-humiliation techniques. There is no way you could face life in the sandpit without knowing that you had Sophie waiting for you at home. Yes my friends – it’s not about highchairs or cots or even your designer buggy – if you don’t own Sophie La Giraffe, you are nobody.
Furthermore, if you don’t buy your baby one immediately, you are probably sentencing your child to a lifetime of lunches alone and dodgy denim choices (I have no memories like this to relate to, only ever having been seen wearing cool, up to the minute, always in fashion jeans. Cough denim hotpants cough).
But why? Why this French phenomenon? There are fifty five million different squeezy toys for babies (I counted), what makes Soph different? I’ll hazard a few (dodgy) guesses….
- She is French. Probably Parisian. And female. All Parisian women are skinny, chic, classic and colour coordinated. So is Sophie.
- Babies actually love Sophie. Maybe this is millions of people forcing the must-have accessory on their babies for many decades? I don’t know – having just googled her I found pictures of Naomi Watts, Kate Hudson, Nicole Richie and Isla Fisher all with Sophie. I’m not sure what that says about her – maybe skinny celebrities all relate to Soph? 9 out of 10 French babies are given Sophie at birth. For real. I think it must be part of some government giving scheme. In England we get 150 quid towards healthy eating – in France you get Sophie. Vive la Différence.
- She has big dark come-hither eyes which babies clearly like.
- She smells a bit better than normal rubber toys, and certainly better than I imagine a real giraffe would smell in the nursery. In fact she is 100% rubber which is apparently something of a selling point. I am unsure about what other teething toys are made of – asbestos? This is why you should have a Sophie.
- She squeaks. I know, so do most of them. Her squeak is not overly annoying or loud which is a definite selling point the seven thousandth time you hear the squeak.
- She’s old (born in 1961) and yet does not look her age. Has she had some subtle work, a little filler round the nose perhaps? I certainly don’t think that is her original tail. Whatevs, she’s holding up well – and in the light of the rise of Disney characters, Bob, and the rest, Sophie just seems well, classic.
- Despite her age, she is technically quite with it. You can follow her on facebook, her webpage and she even has her own Twitter account. Yes, for real people. Am picturing millions of babies around the world pushing their mothers off the laptop and rushing to sign up to Twitter on that news.
- She has a cameo appearance in the new Sex and the City movie. I KNOW – this is possibly the reason that the movie got one star in most reviews. Sophie’s appearance single handedly saved the movie.
Now, thanks to the very nice people at Hello Baby (quick, run off and buy stuff from them), we have a Sophie La Giraffe to give away. If you can bear to show your face in the comments (and thus admit you don’t already own a Sophie – WHAT???? What is WRONG WITH YOU? ), leave us a message telling us about your favourite baby toy or of course, your history with Sophie, and you might have your very own ageless, techo, squeaking, sweet smelling chic giraffe heading your way.
Like
OMG – not only do I not have a SOphie, but I have never heard of Sophie. Does this mean my child will be spending every lunch hour in the library friendless? Quick, send me one. x
My child do not have a Sophie though all my friends’ children do. I was planning to get one but my DH said “why do babies always have to have this these days. My daughter doesn’t need to have it. “. So she ended up without one.
I have always wondered why my daughter smiles a bit less than my friends’ children. I think I have just found my answer.
We do have a Sophie and agree she is a chic essential. However, our favourite toy is a Flatout Bear – both our children have absolutely loved them (to the point of eating them at times….)
I have to admit I have never heard of Sophie either, perhaps they don’t stock them outside of the home counties? She does, dare I say it, sound rather like a rubber dog chew. Maybe that’s where all the country Sophies end up – snatched from the hands of babes by slobbering chocolate labradors. My children, of course, only play with wooden bricks and listen to radio 4. Not a brightly coloured battery operated chunk of plastic in sight, honest.
Hi,
Thanks for the review. According to the blurb, 9 out of 10 French newborns receive a Sophie, but I have to confess I find that hard to believe!
Trevor
Hi there. I’m with Alex (above) who says that Sophie sounds like a rubber dog chew. That being said, I think Sophie’s charming, though I had never heard of her before. And who says dog toys are inferior to kid toys, anyway? These days, a kid would be lucky to have a toy as nice as her dog has! If I win Sophie, I will be keeping her away from our dog! She will be for the baby only! After all, the dog already has plenty of toys! It’s the baby who needs more.
I can confirm that Sophie has reached the antipodes. I bought a Sophie in a shop in Sydney airport. I can confirm that dogs will go NUTS about her so you’ll need to make sure she stays close to baby when dogs are around. Natural rubber is a BIG deal. Increasingly difficult to secure supply and getting expensive for manufacturers. Consequently everyone (toy) who is no one is made of synthetic rubber while the Sophie makers stick to their quality guns. And my Sophie information pamphlet told me that the company is still run by the same family that founded the company way back when it started, which is a story that warms my heart.
This is my first exposure to Sophie, but I love giraffes, and think she’s adorable. However, since my favorite baby toys tend to be things like balls, blocks, and dolls, I am a bit old-fashioned, which probably explains why I’m not very “with it” when it comes to Sophie! I love that she’s a Parisian sophisticate because even baby’s need a bit of sophistication in their lives!
We too have avid adoration of flat friends & flatout bears and like Ronnie have just reached the “flatout eating stage”. Last night I was forced to confiscate my baby’s flatout bear from her cot minus foot and ear (and a very large fur ball from her mouth). Sophie is a more sensible option and her squeak could serve as an “eating toy alarm”!
Is 2.5 years old too old for a Sophie?
Yeah kind of Virginia. Although, while teething benefits may have passed she would be an excellent addition to any animal scene.
I love Sophie!!!
Despite my lack of Sophie awareness this did get me thinking what my favourite baby toy is. The one my three have loved the most in the first few months is the Tiny Love ‘double sided first book’. It has bold black, white and red pictures of faces and animals on one side for the first few months and more colourful pictures with tactile bits on the other. I have lots of other black and white books and toys but there is something about this one that seems to mesmerise the tiny babes. Now no.3 is 4 months I have it in his cot (it can tie to the side securely like a bumper) and he loves to chat to it when he wakes up or I put him down for a nap.
Your 4 month old can talk? Bloody hell, I have some work to do with my baby. Imagine what yours could do if he was blessed with a Sophie.
My mum just bought our not yet born baby one of these – 0 – 3 years – giraffe upon arrival!