Parents usually buy toys for their kids so they will be entertained. However, we sometimes tend to forget that these items are very important for baby’s and child’s development. They can help increase creativity, develop certain parts of the brain, help them speak, read, write etc.
Because of this, you need to be very careful when purchasing toys. By simply buying all these toys at the same time, you’re not actually helping your child. Instead, it’s much better if you focus on products that are beneficial for their development.
Here is the list of some of the best toys for a child’s development. Have in mind that the certain toys help with the development at the certain age; not one of these toys should be used exclusively but instead paired with other items and during different periods of child’ life.
- Activity mats (newborn babies)
Activity mats are very important during the initial stages of baby’s development. Baby absorbs everything from its environment. This is why it has to be surrounded by lots of contrasts and patterns (babies don’t recognize colors until they’re 3 months old). Have in mind that these mats often come with overhead parts. You might have to consider removing those as the baby can get overly stimulated.
- Plastic grasping toys (2 to 3 months)
At this time baby is slowly starting to develop its basic motoric skills. It’s necessary for you to facilitate the process by purchasing toys which can be pulled or grabbed. Baby will slowly start developing its functions and with these items, it will be able to do it on a constant basis.
- Toys that create music or sound (3 to 6 months)
Whether we’re talking about different music toys or rattles, this is the right time to start stimulating a baby in this direction. Although the baby was able to recognize sounds prior to this, 3 to 6 months is the ideal period to work on its hearing.
- Stackable toys/combining toys (6 to 9 months)
When baby reaches 6 months, it is proper time to start learning more about dimensions and shapes. Best toys for this particular purpose are toys that can be stacked or combined; for example, toys where you have to match cube object with cube hole.
- Fluffy toys and dolls (9 to 12 months)
While it’s possible to give your child fluffy toys from 3rd month onward, they are perhaps better when introduced a bit later. Modern toys like reborn baby dolls and fluffy toys are relaxing for children and they are a great way to provide some independence: when a parent cannot be there, a kid can grab hold of a reborn baby doll and interact with it.
- Large blocks (12 to 18 months)
Block toys can be very important for child’s creativity and should be introduced as soon as possible. There are some indications that these toys can help kids learn more about physics and math. By combing various elements, children are able to learn how they can produce similar results with different elements and in general; how to improvise.
- Crayons/drawing tools (18 to 24 months)
As previously mentioned, at this time child can already develop its creativity. While blocks would take a child in one particular direction, crayons can provide a different outlook. Kids who drew a lot during their childhood are usually more prone to attend an art school or do graphic design.
- Various toys (from 2 years and above)
When a child reaches its second year, it’s able to understand various concepts. If you introduced all of these toys slowly, a child will be rather dexterous and versatile. In general all these toys are spinoffs of previous toys; for example LEGO cubes, reborn baby dolls, jigsaws, instruments for kids. Each one of them has a particular role. You can combine them, use all of them at the same time or simply give a child its favorite toy. At this point in time, your kid is able to make its own choices and will have certain preferences. Already at this young age, you will be able to determine what kind of things are interesting to your kid.
Hopefully, this article will help your child develop properly and learn various skills as it grows up!
Author: Nik Stoyanov
