The short version
Soft toys should not be in a baby's cot in the first year (suffocation risk, per the AAP) and are a known dust-mite reservoir. Keep one washable favourite off the bed and gift stacking cups or board books instead.
What happened
By the time he was two months old we had eleven soft toys. A bear from each set of grandparents, a lion, two rabbits, something from the hospital, and a giant panda from a colleague that was bigger than he was. They sat in the cot because that's where you put a baby's things. The panda was his pillow in a photo I'm now embarrassed by.
The paediatrician, at the two-month visit, looked at a photo on my phone and said the cot should have nothing in it but him. Nothing. Not a toy, not a pillow, not the panda. That's the safe-sleep rule for the whole first year, and I'd been breaking it in every nap.
Then I read about dust mites, which was worse. Every study that has looked has found mite allergen living in soft toys, more so in older ones that sit on beds and don't get washed. We were in a humid city with a family history of asthma. Eleven unwashed reservoirs in the cot.
The toys moved out. The ones he loved got a hot wash every fortnight; the ones he didn't went to a charity. And I changed what I ask for when people want to give him something. Under one: a board book, a set of stacking cups, a muslin, a wooden rattle. Over one: a ball, blocks, crayons, a tricycle. He's three and owns two soft toys, both washable, both kept off the bed.
The panda is in a cupboard. I can't throw it away. But it never went back in the cot.
The AAP's safe-sleep recommendations, which apply for the first 12 months, say the sleep area should be free of soft objects, including stuffed toys, pillows and bumpers, because of suffocation risk.
AAP, A Parent's Guide to Safe Sleep (2022 policy). SourceA literature review of six studies since 1982 found dust-mite allergen on soft toys in every study, with levels depending on the toy's age, where it is kept and how often it is washed; the authors describe soft toys as an important source of allergen exposure for infants. Since January 2021, every toy sold in India must carry the ISI mark under IS 9873, which includes a choking-hazard test; still check that eyes and noses are embroidered, not buttons.
Kuo IC et al., Inhalant Allergens on Soft Toys: A Literature Review, WAO 2015. Source · BIS, Indian Standards on Toys. SourceThe verdicts
Stacking cups (any ISI-marked set)
The gift I now ask for. Stack, nest, bath, sandpit, kitchen. Used daily from six months to three years.
Board books (any; Pratham and Tulika for Indian stories)
Chewable, washable, and the research says books get parents talking more than any toy.
Cubworthy, with a catch
One washable soft toy with embroidered eyes, kept off the bed
He's allowed a friend. The rules: machine-washable, ISI mark, no button eyes, not in the cot under one.
The giant panda, and any soft toy in the cot
Suffocation risk under one, dust-mite reservoir always. Cupboard, not cot.
Product details are as we used them; the version on sale now may differ. Check the exact model and the manufacturer's instructions.