Board books and cloth books for patting, pointing and talking
Early role-play toys: play telephone
Shape sorters
Stacking, sorting, and building toys
Why your baby will enjoy this toy now:
As your baby’s skills advance, persistence starts to pay off and more complex achievements are gained. Toys that offer variety, hold baby’s attention, and encourage solving problems help strengthen self-confidence and a positive attitude toward learning.
What you can do to help your baby learn more with:
Approach shape-sorting very simply at first: start with the round shape, and let baby get the hang of putting it through the round hole. When baby’s ready, move on to the next shape—proceed from shapes that have the most simple orientations to those that require more complicated maneuvering to make them fit. When you progress in that order, baby gains confidence along the way.
Build a pile of blocks for baby and a pile for you. Stack up your blocks, pointing out which one is at the “top” and which one is at the “bottom.” Encourage baby to play along, either “helping” you build your pile or building with his own blocks. The most fun is likely to come from baby knocking over your pile again and again!
Use the toy’s features to introduce your baby to various colours, saying each colour name clearly as you point it out on the toy.
Toys to encourage physical development such as standing and cruising
Why your baby will enjoy this toy now:
Your baby is working hard to master physical milestones. Toys that reward such achievements—and encourage baby to keep on trying—not only enhance physical development, they build the confidence that's so important for continued progress.
What you can do to help your baby learn more with:
To make baby’s cruising adventures as safe as possible, make sure you clear a path all around this toy.
Reinforce concepts behind language and words by using descriptive language as you play with this toy: “See the green ball going up and down, in and out?”
Make a game of participating and encourage interactive play by feeding the balls back to baby as baby puts them down the chutes.
Build baby’s excitement and anticipatory reactions by bringing baby’s attention to the toy’s surprises: “Ooh, I wonder where the ball is?” That gets baby to think, even at this young age, about estimation.
All children develop at their own pace, and reach milestones at different times. The highlights mentioned in this web site are meant as approximate guidelines only. If you have any questions about your child's development, consult your healthcare provider.
