How can toys help my baby to develop?
Giving toys to your baby will help to;
- Stimulate senses
- Promote their vision
- Spark their creativity and imagination
- Refine motor skills
- Support cognitive development
- Encourage language development
- Improve concentration skills
- Social and emotional skills
- Encourage bonding
So playing with a child will support a young baby, toddler and beyond to develop their ability to understand how the world works around them as they investigate and explore.
'' Play is the highest form of research'' Albert Einstein.
What toys should I buy?
Sensory toys - Created to stimulate your baby's senses from birth. Babies learn through exploration so providing different textures, sights and sounds through sensory toys for each stage of a baby's development will encourage that stimulation of senses and learning in an exciting way. In the first few months Dr Sears suggest that light and dark contrasting colours are purposeful because these images stimulate the development of the optic nerves and encourage young babies cognitive development. See our range of sensory toys our award winning My Sensory Journey Subscription. These boxes can be purchased individually too. All boxes come with a downloadable parent play guide with ideas of how to use the resources to stimulate your babies senses and a wealth of info on development. Or why not build your own sensory box?
Wooden toys - Are durable and sustainable so long lasting. They can stimulate a babies senses and their holistic development. Using wooden toys may support imagination and creativity. See our range of wooden toys on offer to support your baby's learning.
Musical toys - They encourage children to develop creativity, build on cognitive development and develop fine motor skills as they manipulate toys to create a sound. They are great for early recognition of rhythm and rhyme. See our Music Theme Sensory Surprise Box available to purchase.
Books - Exploring books with your baby can stimulate their senses, their vision, their growing brain and holistic development. Books will support a child’s love for stories, rhyme, reading and writing. See our blog on the best books to read and shop our range of children's books
Open ended toys - Open ended toys are anything that a child can play with in a variety of ways - choosing to play their way. The child becomes the leader in their play, they can do whatever they want to, make their own decisions, change their pattern of play, experiment, investigate and learn through their own schema (pattern of play). There are endless opportunities in open ended play. For further reading, see our blog on open ended play. See our range of toys available to purchase. Stacking, sorting and building toys are a great way to encourage open ended play.
Puppets - Puppets can encourage language development, promote development of motor skills, stimulate a child's imagination and creativity. They will encourage self-confidence and social interaction. Purchase puppets and finger puppet sets are available in our shop.
Jigsaws & puzzles - They promote creativity and language. They will encourage a baby to solve problems, developing their cognitive development, manipulate and achieve. They will encourage an early understanding of shape, size and space. Shop our range of puzzles.
Tag us in some of your pictures or stories of your baby exploring baby toys to stimulate their senses on our Facebook or Instagram page.