Stages of Play Development - Baby Activities & Toys



Crawls forward or backward, sometimes while holding an object. She is beginning to string two behaviors together. She is developing small-motor skills such as the pincer grasp, used to pick up small objects between thumb and fingers. She can recall events in the recent past. She knows that toys don't disappear when they're hidden; they still exist somewhere. She starts to investigate the world. Your baby is beginning to articulate sounds. She starts with vowels and moves on to all the other sounds made in every language.



Musical toys Entertainment centers that encourage standing and cruising Sorting and building toys Toys with dials, levers & buttons Easy-to-activate pop-up toys Large plastic snap-together beads



Little Superstar™ 2-in-1 Singing Band Walker™	Laugh & Learn™ Sing-With-Me CD Player	Little Superstar™ Sing-Along Stage™

For baby’s first play session with this toy, set it on its music mode and simply investigate this piano’s fun features together—show your child how to press the keys; point out how to flip the song book pages and bat the metronome. At this age, it’s probably best to focus on action/reaction rather than moving into the ABCs and 123s.
This is the time when babies are building their receptive language, so the more words they hear, the more words they become familiar with and the more they’re able to make sense of things. Reinforce these skills by saying the names of the colors, shapes and animals that you see. “Do you hear the horn?” “Let’s make the kitty go up and down.” “What do you think the kitty says?”



Laugh & Learn™ Learning Farm	Little Superstar™ Jammin' Band™ Musical Microphone	Go Baby Go!™ Crawl & Cruise Musical Jungle™

The way you and your child play with this type of toy will change and develop along with your child’s skills. Start out using it as an activity center, with your child seated on the floor. Playfully point out the different surprises, colors and shapes. Most of the toy's easiest features to activate will be near the bottom of the toy, within easy reach for baby.
Use words and descriptive terms as much as possible in your “conversations” with your baby; children of this age enjoy listening, plus, it encourages them to vocalize.
Exercise baby’s growing muscles by encouraging her to push the toy if it rolls or to crawl along after it. Can she pull herself up and stand holding onto the toy? Give her lots of encouragement and you'll find out!



Brilliant Basics™ Baby’s First Blocks	Stack 'n Surprise™ Blocks Songs 'n Smiles Sillytown™

Before shape sorting, help your baby concentrate on learning “empty” from “full” and “in” from “out”. Narrate as baby plays: “You’re putting the red block in. It’s round.” Deliberately say the shape and the color, and whether it’s going in or out. When all the blocks are out, say “empty.” When they’re all in, say, “full.”
When baby is ready for shape sorting, put away all of the shapes except for the round ones. Let your child experiment with getting the circle in the correct opening. If your child has trouble, point out the round opening and say, “Try this.” Baby might get it, but if not, have the patience for trial and error.
When baby has mastered the round shape, put those blocks away and say, “Now let’s try the square ones.” And when baby can sort that shape, try the two shapes together—this may be the same day, or the next day, or in a week or so. It all depends on when baby’s ready.
Be there to prompt and encourage—“Great job!”—but know that babies learn more through experimenting and exploring and problem solving than when you do something for them.



Laugh & Learn™ Learning Home™	Laugh & Learn™ Fun With Friends™ Musical Table	Laugh & Learn™ Rumble & Learn Driver™

Demonstrate how to operate all the fun gadgets on the toy. Then encourage your child to do the same: "I turned the dial...now it's your turn!" "Do you think we'll hear a squeak when you press the button?" The toy's simple mechanics will hold your child's attention - and improve his fine motor skills at the same time.
Help your child learn to recognize colors by pointing out each one and slowly saying its name. Reinforce the learning by pointing out things in baby's world that are the same color: "See? Mommy's shirt is red too."
Reinforce the numbers concepts introduced in this or any of your child's toys by talking about them as you go through your daily routine: "You may have one banana and two crackers." As you give the items to your child, count them off out loud, "One, two, three."
Down the road, your child will be ready for letter, number and shape recognition. You can help things along by pointing these out on the toy and then pointing out matching ones you see in everyday things around you.




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.

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