Newly mobile and more vocal, your little explorer is full of enthusiasm and—sometimes—a very strong will. Find out about toys that lend support as first steps lead to confident walking. And there are toys and activities to help your child absorb ideas and learn to respond to others during play.
She's better at entertaining herself and more deliberate in her exploration
He can string together ideas to form a basic plan
She shows affection with hugs, kisses, smiles and pats
He can put objects in and out of a box
She starts to treat objects in an appropriate manner—for example, cuddling a teddy bear
He likes to imitate familiar household routines
Musical toys
Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Musical Table
Help your baby learn more:
You can do it! Let your child play with the toy independently. Be there to help him if he needs you, and offer your encouragement: "You can do it … go ahead."
Play a game with your child to make up a song—make a sound with the toy and ask your child to mimic you. Or just follow what your child does.
Attach words to your child's movement with the toy, and also to the toy's features. Say “back and forth” or “side to side” as your child moves the toy.
Clap or sing along to encourage your child; you may even want to accompany him on another instrument. These "I can" play activities get filed away in your child's memory bank and boost self-confidence.
Toys for new walkers
Activity Walker
Help your baby learn more:
Boost confidence. Help your new walker practice balancing and walking by encouraging her to bring a toy along on little excursions through the house. It will boost her confidence until she's more secure with her balance.
What’s different? For a lesson in action/reaction, point out how the sound and speed of the toy can change: “Push it along slowly…now faster! You’re making the music play!”
Children develop at their own pace and reach milestones at different times. The highlights mentioned in this website are approximate guidelines only. If you have any questions about your child's development, consult your healthcare provider.
Box-in-a-Box
Average Rating
Part Jack-in-the-Box, part Guess-What’s-Inside, this game will keep baby guessing—and giggling. Be sure you have something special at the end of the game to make the wait worthwhile!
Materials
Variety of boxes in different sizes, nesting one inside another
Toy or treat
Instructions
Collect a variety of boxes that will nest one inside another. Try to get very large boxes and very small boxes, as well as everything in between.
Place a special toy or treat in the smallest box for your baby to discover at the end of the game.
Close the small box and place it in the next larger box; close the outside box.
Continue until you’ve nested all the boxes inside each other, ending with the giant box.
Bring your baby into the room and show her the box.
Ask her, “What’s inside?” and help her open the box.
When your baby sees the next box, say, “Another box!” Lift that box out of the bigger box and ask your baby to open it.
Continue until you get to the smallest box, then let your baby open up the surprise!
Safety
Make the boxes easy to open so your baby can do the task herself without getting too frustrated.
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