The significance of playing with toys in a baby’s early stages of life is huge. The use of newborn or infant toys play an important part in their development and learning process. By playing with such toys, newborns begin to explore and familiarize with their surroundings. This enables them to slowly interact with the world and start establishing essential skills. In this article, we have listed infant toys that will promote social, emotional, and cognitive development. At the same time, there are toys that also help with sensory and motor skill enhancement.
Choosing Infant Development Toys
In the different stages of child development, the use of toys will be present. This is because toys provide a means to stimulate senses and develop skills while having fun. Which is why for a newborn’s case, their exposure to baby toys is a good foundation. All these will help them for their growth in their early infancy stage. With the use of newborn toys, together with ample guidance from mamas and papas, their little ones commence development in terms of building sensory awareness, improving motor skills, and engaging socially as well as emotionally.
Above everything else, the safety and suitability of the newborn toys must be considered by mamas and papas. It is essential to check on the age guidelines when selecting infant toys since these are toys that will be used by babies who likely do not know yet what they are doing with such materials. The toys should be, of course, non-toxic. Another to consider is that the newborn toy should be free of small parts or choking hazards because babies are used to exploring through experimenting with objects. Toys should not have any sharp points or edges, parts that could have their tiny fingers trapped, or also those that have miniature batteries that can be removed easily.
There is a wide variety of newborn and infant toys to choose from – mamas and papas should find those that are specifically designed to cater their little one’s current capabilities. It is acknowledged that babies have their own pacing in terms of developing their skills and senses. Included here in this list are toys that are for 0-6 Months, 6-9 Months, and also 9-12 Months. Progressively, these toys will be experienced by your infant as they grow over time.
Infant Development Toys – 0 to 6 Months Old
Infants who are 0-6 months old are in a stage where they follow objects with their eyes, always sucking and touching different things, exploring with their hands and feet, and enjoying voices they hear around them (Seattle’s Children, 2023). Sensory exploration is an important phase in an infant’s early development as this stage is where senses are highly receptive. It is also at this point where babies are set to kickstart their journey to develop new skills and become more aware of their surroundings which is why one of the best infant development toys they can play with are sensory toys (Hockman, 2023).
Here are some of the newborn toys mamas and papas can get from edamama:
1. Alilo Smarty Shake and Tell Rattle, ₱1800: This highly intelligent and interactive rattle makes your newborn have a fun-filled time! This toy features 15 delightful rattle sounds such as musical instruments, animal sounds, and other sound effects that will engage your newborn’s auditory stimulation. Moreover, the Alilo Smarty Shake & Tell Rattle could identify up to 9 different colors. With that, this rattle also promotes hand-eye coordination as well as sensory development and can serve as a great educational tool moving forward.
2. Infantway Sensofish Sensory Plush Toy, ₱395: This plush toy will be enjoyed by your newborn – thanks to its multiple features! Their sensory experience will be heightened since there are different sounds that they can discover. It also serves as a teether for your little ones to teeth on. A small baby-safe mirror is also attached to the toy which will help your newborn start recognizing their own reflection and see themselves. A cuddly companion that can encourage developing multiple skills anywhere you go!
3. B. Toys Sounds So Squeezy - Sensory Rattle Ball, ₱799: As rattles allow your little one to develop grip strength and tactile sensitivity, baby toys like these will go a long way to boost their skills. This Sensory Rattle Ball consists of four balls that will stimulate your baby’s senses. With its texture, your newborn can build a grasp on it and also serves as a teether to cope with teething.
4. Chicco Baby Senses Gift Set, ₱499.75: A newborn toy the little ones can play with is this Baby Senses Gift Set that comprises four different items. Each is made to promote abundant stimulation to develop touch, hearing, visual, and manual skills. These are crucial aspects to support a newborn’s growth and development. Infant toys like these are great tools to activate your little one’s curiosity.
5. Fisher Price Baby Rattle Plush Toy (Lion), ₱299: This infant toy is an educational toy that perfectly fits your newborn’s tiny hands. It contributes to the development of their grip as well. In addition, it supports intellectual development and musical interest cultivation due to the sound it makes when your little one shakes or squeezes it.
Infant Development Toys – 6 to 9 Months Old
As your infant continues to grow, when they reach the 6-9 month old mark, they have developed a couple of skills at this moment. Babies can now use their hands more by grasping using their thumb and fingers, and even transferring an object from one hand to the other (Seattle’s Children, 2023). In addition, they now exhibit more controlled movement patterns and are now able to sit on their own (Hockman, 2023). With that being said, the infant toys they can play with will now boost their motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Below are infant toys you can purchase from edamama:
1. VTech Twist 'n' Play Koala, ₱1199: Keeping the hands and minds of your newborn engaged, this VTech Twist ‘n’ Play Rattle and Shake Koala infant toy allows them to have a very active playtime. It promotes fine motor skills by allowing your little one to twist the ear of a Koala. Pressing the heart button will produce interactive sounds! For visual recognition, the handle is made with black and white colors.
2. Beiens Soft Building Blocks, ₱680: There are a lot of benefits from playing with these Soft Building Blocks. Starting with grasp training, these 10 soft cubes encourage your infant to hold on to these and squeeze them. Not just that, but the cubes make a gentle squeezing sound too that contributes to improved hearing ability. It also serves as an educational tool as its designs show different colors, numbers, and animals.
3. Infantino Grip and Roll Soft Wheels Police Car (BPA-Free), ₱429: With improved grip, this infant toy will be enjoyed by your little one. Their gross motor skills as well as crawling movement will be enhanced by playing with this Grip and Roll Soft Wheels Police Car.
4. Blue Box 3 in 1 Projector Musical Mobile, ₱1500: A crib night light and projector, your infant will be fascinated with the different crib toys this 3-in-1 Projector Musical Mobile has. It has different melodies that will be played to keep your little one calm and comfortable during sleep time. Their visual recognition and hearing skills will be exercised because of this toy.
5. Fisher Price Laugh And Learn Smart Watch, ₱899.75: As your infant grasps onto things more and explores objects on their own, this Laugh and Learn Smart Watch is a baby toy that features engaging lights, music, and sounds. All they have to do is to press the buttons in the watch and it will then activate different features.
Infant Development Toys – 9 to 12 Months Old
At this stage, babies now begin to crawl, stand, and walk with support. They can now explore toys that are engaging them to try different activities like stacking, moving, and fitting objects together (Seattle’s Children, 2023). At around 9 to 12 months, they are now discovering skills such as coordination and also crawling. Their object permanence improves as well as they now know what objects exist even though they can no longer be seen or heard (Cherry, 2023).
1. ZAZU Peek-A-Boo Soft Toy - Danny the Dog, ₱1999: Your infant will remain entertained with this baby toy! Danny the Dog is a soft toy that sings and engages in a game of Peek-a-Boo. Their playful interaction will keep your little one improving their object permanence and also their awareness in their surroundings.
2. Infantino Rock 'N Stack Rings™ - Developmental Toy (BPA-Free), ₱429: This interactive and enjoyable infant toy fosters parent and baby bonding. Mamas and papas can assist their little ones as they stack up these Rock ‘N Stack Rings. As your baby plays with these, they will discover new textures, patterns, and colors which will stimulate their senses. Essential skills like hand-eye coordination and sensory development will also be tapped through playing this toy.
3. Anko Sensory Ball Pit, ₱1219: Feed your little one’s curiosity and let them play in this Sensory Ball Pit. Having a space like this allows your infant to develop fine motor, sensory, tactile, visual, and cause and effect skills. The activity being promoted in this toy is playing with the 20 colorful balls in a ball pit.
4. Infantway Developmental Baby Mirror Toy, ₱685: Slowly discovering themselves, a way to stimulate your infant’s self-awareness, visual observation, and fine motor skills is by having this Developmental Baby Mirror Toy. An infant toy like this will let your babies see themselves. A good toy for their tummy time too which will help in gaining muscle strength to lift themselves up.
5. Infantino Stack'N Nest Cups™ - Developmental Toy (BPA-Free), ₱369: These Stack ‘N Nest Cups will let your infant activate their logical thinking skills at a very young age. Perfect for play time or bath time, mamas and papas can use these cups to propel skills from playing this toy.
Facilitate their growth and learning by providing your little one the best infant development toys. Make sure to always prioritize safety and suitability to promote a fun playing and learning experience. Purchasing toys for your little one is now made easier with edamama! Check out a variety of toys that your little one can enjoy at https://www.edamama.ph/shop.
