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Shopping For Baby Toys: The
Best Choices for Baby’s Development
By:
Jennifer Kirkpatrick
Toys do more than just keep babies entertained – they’re
extremely important for their mental, physical,
intellectual and social development. They are the tools
that teach baby about their world and their place in it.
They add excitement to learning about life, how things
work and how to get along with others. Good toys will
give your little one the motivation to play and develop
basic skills.
This article provides suggestions on choosing age
appropriate toys and activities during baby’s first
year. Following these guidelines will help you be
continually expanding baby’s horizons and encouraging
healthy development.
During the First 3 Months
For the first few months babies do little more than
sleep and eat. In fact some sleep as much as 20 hours a
day! Make the most of the time they’re awake by choosing
toys and nursery accessories that stimulate them and
encourage them to use their developing senses.
When playing with a newborn, remember that they see best
when objects are about eight inches away from their
face. Make sure they can see you by leaning in when
talking to them and holding toys close.
At this stage introduce…
- A Mobile: Scientific research has shown that babies
who are given appropriate stimulation show sustained
developmental advantages over babies in less stimulating
environments. Although they won’t be able to focus on
the specific shapes hanging from the mobile, babies are
fascinated by the movement of a mobile and it encourages
skills such as pattern recognition, eye/hand
coordination, gross motor activity, and a sense of
object permanence. Choose one that plays music and it
will do double duty!
- Music: From the time they’re born, babies can hear
high pitched noises and are soothed by low pitched
noises. Numerous studies have concluded that playing
music to babies in the womb and in the early years helps
build the neural bridges along which thoughts and
information travel. It\'s known as the Mozart Effect, a
theory which is credited with boosting IQ, improving
health, strengthening family ties and even producing the
occasional child prodigy. It has also been shown that
music can also stimulate the brain\'s alpha waves,
creating a feeling of calm.
- Simple Toys: Experts agree that babies get a great
deal out of the toys that they can amuse themselves
with. They learn many different things through their
senses at this time, and through their senses, they
discover their world. The most fascinating toys to a
baby at this stage are those that make noise, or that
use a lot of high contrast black and white, or bright
colors such as red and yellow.
3 – 6 Months
By 3 months old baby has discovered her hands - and her
mouth. Her fists will uncurl more and she’ll be able to
start grasping. She may hold things for a moment and
then lift them to her mouth to suck. Almost everything
she grabs is likely to end up in her mouth.
During this stage babies also become much more aware of
their environment. They respond to tickling, and other
games you play with them. Now is the time to start
introducing more interactive toys and activities that
promote bonding and encourage baby to expand her
boundaries.
At this stage introduce…
- Nursing Necklaces: At a few months of age babies start
to pinch, and pull at mom during feeding. Nursing
necklaces (also called breastfeeding necklaces) give
baby something else to hold to prevent mom from being
hurt. They also provide baby with visual and tactile
stimulation that furthers cognitive development.
- Books: Baby is now able to focus on objects at
different distances so it’s a good time to start reading
to her. She’ll be able to see the pictures and words on
the page and even at this young age will begin to
associate words with sounds.
- Handheld Toys: Baby can now hold onto objects and wave
them around. She’s also aware of the differences between
her toys. Now is a good time to introduce different
textures and sizes of toys that she can use by herself.
She’ll love the independence and you’ll notice her hand
eye co-ordination greatly improving.
- Varied Music: Now that baby is more aware of her
surroundings, you’ll notice that sometimes she’ll prefer
to listen to a gentle lullaby, while at other times
she’ll want to hear more active music. Introduce a range
of music at this stage so that she hears different
musical instruments and tunes played at various speeds
and volumes.
6 – 9 Months
By the time babies are six to nine months old, they are
usually able to sit by themselves and are learning to
crawl. Babies will also be learning fine motor skills,
such as pinching and grasping objects with just two
fingers. At this stage you’ll want to provide baby with
a variety of toys to play with in all shapes and sizes
to satisfy the growing curiosity and need to explore.
At this stage introduce…
- Reasoning Toys: Baby can now understand that an object
is behind something and the idea of nesting objects.
Encourage the use of reasoning skills with toys and
games that make him think. Be sure to celebrate when he
figures them out!
- Physical Development Toys: Encourage baby to use his
body in new ways by providing toys that require him to
move and stretch. Balls are great because you can make a
game of rolling them back and forth, as are toys on
wheels that move away from him so he’ll have to chase
them.
- Bath Toys: Now that baby can sit up, he’ll begin to be
more active during his bath. This is a great time to
introduce water toys that encourage baby to learn about
water. Squeaky ducks, cups to fill with water and empty
again and anything else that is water safe and easy to
hold can provide lots of entertainment.
9 – 12 Months
Babies at this stage like to make things happen - they
enjoy pushing a button and hearing a song, or seeing
something light up. Having the ability to interact with
their surroundings is very exciting and once they find
something they like, they do it over and over (and
over!) again.
At this stage introduce…
- Interactive Toys: Babies can now interact with their
toys in a way they weren’t able to before. Anything that
responds in some way to baby’s actions or makes a noise
will become fast favorites and will teach baby about
cause and effect.
- Co-Ordination Enhancing Toys: Babies at this stage are
very mobile and enjoy pushing and pulling items. Toys
that require them to use their whole body are great for
encouraging them to walk. Other favorite games will
include stacking items and then knocking them over and
filling up an item and then dumping its contents.
- Language Development Toys: Baby is now able to say
simple words such as “no” and “dog”. Encourage his
growing vocabulary with toys and games that develop
language skills. Great options are toys that say words
when a button is pushed or videos that focus on language
development. Fabric or board books are also good because
after reading the story you can give the book to baby to
flip the pages and “read” it back to you.
- Role Playing Toys: They watch you and will want to
start mimicking the things you do. Toys such as play
telephones, brooms, shopping carts and steering wheels
will be a big hit and will help baby explore the world
of make believe.
Raising a well rounded child requires knowing what stage
baby is at and introducing ways for them to grow and
develop their minds and skills. Giving baby age
appropriate toys will give him or her the best possible
foundation for mental and personal growth. |
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