Choosing top toys for 0 to 12 month olds can be a daunting task, because apart from knowing what the baby likes, you also need to think of safety concerns. There are certain baby toys that cannot be given to babies younger than three-month old; other baby toys should not be used by children who are still putting things in their mouths; while there are some baby toys that will only be effective if the child is over six-month old. Anyway, here is a list of top baby toys for 0 to 12 month olds (with the youngest ones between 0 and 3 months): 1. Rattles (0 to 3 months and older) This type of toy has been around since ancient times, but it still remains one of the best toys for babies. Nowadays, rattles come in many shapes and styles; there's the classic rattle with two beads inside a ball; there's also rattles with animal-shaped handles, and there are even electronic rattles that make sounds when you shake them. Rattles can be made of different materials, such as plastic and rubber; but the safest ones are those made of natural materials such as wood and ceramics. One reason why rattles make a great baby toy is that they can provide auditory and tactile stimulation. Many moms like to give their kids wooden rattles because they can be easily engraved with the baby's name. [amazon box="B071FLSWBS"] [amazon box="B008J1QP7Y"] [amazon box="B00083D754"] [amazon box="B019D3SHOA"] [amazon box="B07N14XS4X"] 2. Soft Teethers and Teething Toys (3 months to 7 months and older) Teething is a painful process, but fortunately there are plenty of teething toys that can help - such as soft teethers and toys. These baby toys provide relief to your baby's sore gums by giving them something to chew on; besides, the chewing motion involved in teething can also help strengthen your baby's jaw muscles. You can find a good range of teethers and toys made from silicone, plastic, rubber and fabric. Many moms like those made from 100% natural materials such as wood, silk and cotton because they are free from harmful chemicals. [amazon box="B003N9M6YI"] [amazon box="B075FC7LXD"] [amazon box="B00913DY1O"] [amazon box="B084DLD1LP"] 3. Activity Toys (4 months and older) Activity toys are also known as busy boxes because they are designed to keep your baby engaged for hours. These types of baby toys may come with different components, such as rings that slide along a string, wheels that turn when you press them down, and hinges that open up when you push on them. You can also find activity toys with different shapes that are easy to hold, such as cubes with animal patterns. Many of these baby toys also come with bright colors and sound effects. Remember, your baby's safety should be your top priority when choosing activity toys because some of them have small pieces that can fall off or break. [amazon box="B000BNCA4K"] [amazon box="B01GOI5V2I"] [amazon box="B09FJQS64S"] [amazon box="B004AHMCKA"] 4. Play Gym (3 months to 6 months and older) Play gyms are among the best baby toys for babies because they can develop your child's physical, cognitive and sensory skills. Many play gyms come with hanging toys that make sounds when pulled; others come with mirrors and plushies; but whatever the design of your play gym, you should always choose one that has safe materials such as 100% natural wood and organic cotton. [amazon box="B072LPBHY8"] [amazon box="B01EUNA0WK"] [amazon box="B0793D9WBY"] [amazon box="B07V7H6PK9"] 5. Soft Blocks (6 months and older) Soft blocks are perfect for babies who are just learning how to build things, because they provide tactile stimulation while allowing the baby to practice their gross motor skills. You can choose soft blocks that feature geometric shapes or letters; but whatever the design of your preferred toy, it should be made from 100% natural materials such as wood, silk or cotton. [amazon box="B00EIGLDN0"] [amazon box="B00005OB9I"] [amazon box="B07LB5FNGL"] [amazon box="B07DFHCYJV"] 6. Stacking Toys (12 months and older) Stacking toys are among the most popular baby toys because they help enhance your baby's dexterity and motor skills. Nowadays you can find various stacking toys with different designs; for example, there are those that feature animal shapes with movable parts, while others have multicolored rings with different shapes. Stacking toys that are made of 100% natural materials such as wood, silk or cotton are considered safer for your baby; besides, they can be easily engraved with the baby's name. [amazon box="B07CSLKG5H"] [amazon box="B077H5G2Q3"] [amazon box="B00005C5H4"] [amazon box="B07NXDJ52C"] 7. Blocks (6 months and older) Blocks come in many shapes and sizes; some are designed to look like animals while others feature letters and numbers so that your little one can easily associate them with words. Blocks are a great way to introduce your baby to counting and logic, because they can learn how to stack and fit different shapes; for this reason, we recommend that you include some blocks in your baby's toy collection. [amazon box="B00DJPK9GI"] [amazon box="B082TXP3FQ"] [amazon box="B085XKQXQG"] 8. Musical Toys (3 months and older) Baby musical toys can provide auditory stimulation and help in the development of fine motor skills, such as hand-eye coordination. Musical toys come in many forms; you can choose from musical mobiles that feature rattles and stuffed animals, to instruments such as xylophones and drums. Musical toys made from 100% natural materials such as wood, silk or cotton are considered safer for your baby and can be easily personalized with the baby's name or initials. [amazon box="B092DV3RZY"] [amazon box="B0148NCN9A"] [amazon box="B00MXS4UTY"] [amazon box="B00TFAOIY0"] 9. Baby Books! (6 months and older) Last but not least, books are among the best types of baby toys because they can foster a love for reading at an early age. Books don't need batteries to make them entertaining; plus, some board books feature pop-up features that will keep your baby entertained for hours. In addition, soft baby books can help your baby discover shapes and colors but also enhance their cognitive development by teaching them the alphabet and numbers. You should always remember to choose a book made from 100% natural materials such as wood, silk or cotton; besides, you need to make sure that the pages of your baby's favorite book are sewn in, not glued together. [amazon box="B00CDJH4XC"] [amazon box="B07QJVHBVN"] [amazon box="B0838177ZX"] [amazon box="B07NDD2YBQ"] [amazon box="B0043D28B4"] As we have seen, there are plenty of natural and safe materials that can help you choose the best baby toys for your kid; always remember to read toy labels and make sure that any toy you purchase is made from 100% cotton or wood with no glue or harmful chemicals.In addition, make sure to introduce your baby to different types of toys at an early age in order to enhance their cognitive development and improve their fine motor skills. Infant's Eleven: 11 amazing milestones that your child will reach in the first year of his/her life In the first year of his/her life, your child will go through an absolutely stunning metamorphosis. The baby will turn into a toddler with a personality, a wide range of emotion, and countless social capabilities. There are many unbelievable things that will happen in this first year, ranging from small steps like clapping hands to large steps like, well, literally taking steps. Here are eleven of the most impressive and interesting things that your child will learn to do in the first year of his/her life. Heads Up One of the most stereotypical qualities that a newborn baby has is the inability to control his/her neck muscles. It’s always important to support a newborn’s head while holding him/her, because the newborn cannot hold it up on its own. Well, within 4 months, this slowly starts to change. The first indication of increased head control comes when the baby learns to lift his/her head 90 degrees from a prone position (lying down on his/her tummy). This increased level of muscular dexterity comes from the rapid development of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, or the primary muscle in our beck. This muscle eventually connects with other muscles to give us abilities such as looking around and looking down. The ability to look up from a prone position is the first major development in terms of a newborn’s head control. All Smiles Everyone loves a cute, smiling baby. We spend countless hours trying to make babies laugh by playing games or making funny faces. Babies learn to smile around 5 months into their lives. New scientific research actually shows that smiling is an acquired trait, not one that the baby is born with. Early in a newborn’s life, smiling is controlled by mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are cells in the brain that activate in response to a certain activity going on outside the body. Take smiling. When a baby sees someone smile, their mirror neurons will activate, and they will attempt to smile as well. Within 5 months, they will succeed because the muscles of the face have developed to the point that makes smiling a possibility. The Reach get Reacher Babies aren’t truly able to vocally express themselves until the end of their first year of life. However, other forms of communication come more quickly to them. One such form of communication is reaching out to convey desire for an object. Babies are able to reach out for objects by the end of their third month. This ability comes primarily through an increase in shoulder and arm muscle dexterity. However, it is also partially thanks to development of the spinal cord and the brain. The brain and spinal cord help coordinate muscle movements and their development allows babies to reach out. The Eyes Have It Babies are born with the ability to see in color. However, the capabilities to understand and control what they are seeing do not develop until later. One of the first major changes that goes along with a baby’s visual world is the ability to track objects. This is something that develops from a neurological and muscular standpoint. The occipital lobe, the part of the brain that controls vision, becomes able to follow along with objects in motion. In addition, the rectal and oblique muscles in the eyeball become better adapted to functioning together and help move the eyeball. Getting a Grip Many of the activities we associate with a growing infant - playing with toys, holding hands, pulling your hair during a temper tantrum - can all be traced back to one simple motion - hand gripping. About 3 months into his/her life, an infant will develop the ability to grasp objects. This is, once again, thanks largely to the development of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system. There are many muscles involved in the act of gripping, but four of the most important ones are the four flexors (also referred to as the digitorum muscles). This muscular group is located in the forearm and helps give the hand a large range of motion. Hand in Mouth "Disease" Not only do infants learn how to grip objects in the third month of their lives, but they also start to learn to raise their hand to their mouth. This is important because it later develops into some crucial body languages and is also the root for the infamous thumb sucking that is so prevalent in infants. Raising the hand to the mouth is possible thanks to developments within the brain’s somatosensory cortex, the part that is responsible for perceiving touch stimuli. When the infant feels an appropriate stimuli, this sensory center sends a signal to the spinal cord, and the hand goes to the mouth. Babbling Away In the sixth month of their lives, infants start to develop their trademark babbling ability. This is often associated with the start of language development. Babbling itself is an innate form of imitation. The infant sees and hears everyone around him/her speaking and interacting, and wants to also participate in the conversation. However, the language centers in his/her brain aren’t fully developed yet and the infant can’t produce legitimate words and sounds that flow cohesively. So, he/she is left to babbling. The real language will have to wait a couple more months. Even so, the speed at which infants pick up the ability to imitate speech is astounding. Just Keep Crawling Crawling may seem like a basic infantile behavior, but it is actually one of the most complex skills developed in the first year of life. At around 8 months, infants start to be able to travel on all fours. This ability combines a plethora of muscular and nervous system milestones. The infant must be able to move his/her arms and legs together to produce forward locomotion. He/she must be able to adjust this movement in response to stimuli that require a change in direction. The infant must be able to balance themselves on all fours (it’s not that easy). Eventually, the infant will also learn to pick up toys and sit up while crawling. Crawling is the first step (pun intended) in the long march (pun intended) to an infant ultimately being able to walk. All Fun and Games Infants, like the rest of us, like to have a good time. Their ideas of fun are slightly different than ours though. For entertainment, infants like to play games that combine social skills with receiving attention. Such games include pattycake and peek-a-boo. Like crawling, playing a simple game like peek-a-boo isn’t so simple after all. It requires supreme coordination of the arms and hands. It also requires at least a basic understanding of what is going on and an ability to respond to stimuli logically. Finally, if of course, the infant is having fun, it requires the ability to smile and laugh. And, it requires the skills to do all these things at the same time. So, next time you cover your eyes and say “peek a boo” to a baby, take a moment to appreciate the copious amounts of effort that the baby is putting in to laughing and saying “peek a boo” back. The Mamas and Papas No, I don’t mean the band. At around 10 months, an infant will finally say his/her first word. This word is usually “Mama”, or “Papa”. This is a much more important milestone than the babbling mentioned earlier, which is just a cuter version of mimicking. Speaking actually requires the infant to know what he/she is saying. Language is developed in two main brain areas - Wernicke’s and Broca's areas. Wernicke’s area is responsible for production of language and Broca’s area is responsible for interpretation of language. The development of these areas during the end of the first year of life results in an infant’s first word. It is also a reason why infants learn foreign languages better than adults. One Small Step for Infant Just as the first year draws to an end and you begin to appreciate everything your infant has learned, they pull out one last major milestone. This milestone is arguably what separates primates from other animals and is one of the defining characteristics of the human race. No, the infant does not develop a hatred for the IRS at 12 months. He/she learns to walk. And just in time, because the walking puns were just starting to get unbearable. Walking develops from a complex version of crawling, and utilizes many of the same muscle groups. However, it requires an even more acute ability to respond to stimuli and an even more developed sense of balance.
Sensory Play with Fill & Spill Basket
Insects & Bugs Educational Playset
Giant Soft Building Blocks for Little Minds
Delightful Doughnuts for Early Learning
Mooosical Gears for Learning Fun
Bubble Fun with Elephant Bubbler
Kidoozie Animal Adventure in Learning
Dino Delight: Triceratops Activity Wall Panels
Explore Learning with Peekaboo Farm Fun
Explore and Learn with Treehouse Fun
Musical Play with Leo & Friends
Sensory Fun with Ball-a-baloos
Splash and Learn with Bluey!
VTech Little Smartphone Fun
Colorful Keys for Tiny Explorers
Undersea Learning Adventures Await
Caterpillar Splash Stackers
Beach Playtime Learning Adventure
Disney Magic for Little Hands
My First Farm Training Adventure
Bubbly Learning with Chomp Whale
Pastel Wood Activity Cube for Learning
On-the-Go Vehicle Puzzle Fun
Itzy Ritzy Sensory Popper Toy
Cuddly Learning with La Baby Doll
Splashing Fun with Stacking Bath Boats
Fresh Picked Learning Fun
Playful Learning with Slinky Dog Fun
Mini Adventures with Pull-Back Vehicles
