Best toys for babies
1. A Baby Gym
When: From birth
What it does: Encourages and improves hand-eye coordination; tactile stimulation; and visual development. Babies quickly learn that if they “act”, certain toys “react” and the mirrors, soft toys and rattles hanging on their gym do different things. The shapes, colours and textures also encourage babies to kick and to reach out and grab the objects.
2. Ball
When: From birth
What it does: Develops hand-eye coordination; teaches cause and effect; develops fine-motor skills; and offers sensory stimulation. Soft balls help teach the concept of cause and effect – if you touch a ball, it rolls. From around three months, if you put a coloured ball just beyond your baby’s reach, it encourages him to reach out, crawl or roll over and stretch.
3. Mobile
When: From birth
What it does: Provides auditory and visual stimulation. Babies are intrigued by noise, so the tunes that mobiles play are designed to captivate them. A moving mobile will also catch a child’s attention, so hang it where he can easily see it.
4. Rattle
When: From birth
What it does: Encourages auditory and visual stimulation; helps an understanding of cause and effect; and develops fine-motor skills. If you shake a rattle, your baby will turn towards it. At three months, attach a rattle to his wrist and he’ll experiment with cause and effect – if he moves his wrist, the rattle makes a sound.
5. Soft toys
When: From birth
What it does: Encourages hand-eye coordination; fine motor skills; cause and effect; and visual development. Size matters – keep these toys small. Babies like sights and sounds; at eight weeks, a supported baby will swipe at things; at 12 weeks, small toys can be grasped. Surrounding your baby with touchy-feely objects encourages grasping – especially if such toys make noises. If you need to squeeze a toy hard to make a noise, under-fives won’t manage this as their grip isn’t there yet. Bright colours appeal from three months as well as different textures.
6. Blocks
When: From six months
What it does: Aids hand-eye coordination; helps develop fine-motor skills alongside grasping and holding. From six months, babies can pass bricks from one hand to the other, so large blocks can be used for building. Babies also enjoy throwing them and knocking over a pile is learned more quickly than building one.
