Baby Educational Toys - Infant Educational Toys
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What Makes A Baby Educational Toy?
Infant educational toys...
1. Are textured. They are smooth, rough, slippery and rubbery. Not only do baby educational toys feel good, they taste good--babies do a lot of exploring with their mouths. All baby toys should be safe to put in the mouth.
2.Make noise. From musical instruments to singing simple songs, noise teaches a baby about cause and effect. Songs have the added benefit of providing language instruction.
3.Use strongly contrasted graphics. An infant doesn't have full use of their eyes for the first few months making black and white graphics easiest and most interesting to look at.
4.Bounce and swing. Movement help develop a baby's sense of balance which is important when learning to walk. Stimulating the inner ear with lots of movement will pay off when baby is learning to walk on his or her own two feet.
5.Use mirrors. Babies love to look at themselves. Aside from being entertaining, mirrors help babies develop an awareness of their bodies.
6.Allow babies to practice important skills such as their pincer grasp, reaching, shaking, crawling, and rolling over.
7.Live life. Babies love to watch the world go by, especially if the scenery changes every few minutes. A trip to the mall or grocery store is full of new things that will keep baby occupied and stimulated. Even loading the dishwasher can be exciting for babies.
Read on to find recommendations for 10 toys for baby's first year. In the interests of being economical, most of the recommended toys will last beyond the first year and well into toddlerhood.
Top 10 Infant Educational Toys
Below is a comprehensive listing and detailed reviews of top developmental infant toys. Some of these toys will take baby beyond the first year and into toddlerhood. Several have a high resale value.
| 1. |  | The Mozart Music Cube is a toy that will provide at least 2 years of play. Infants will enjoy the music and lights while being exposed to classical music, whereas toddlers will relish the ability to pick and choose instruments. This is a durable toy that will really get brain cells churning. Bonus for parents...the music is not shrill or annoying. Amazon Price: $17.29 List Price: $24.99 |
| 2. |  | Xylophones are excellent musical instruments for infants. They offer a chance to experiment with cause and effect while providing exposure to different music notes. Xylophones with piano keys offer greater variety--infants with nascent hand-eye coordination will opt for the piano while more coordinated babies will enjoy trying to hit the xylophone. Most Xylophones come with instructions on how to play simple children's songs. Buying a Xylophone where the sticks are attached is a nice feature and ensures the toy stays intact and usable. Amazon Price: $18.02 List Price: $28.99 |
| 3. |  | Tambourines are another excellent cause and effect toy for infants. Amazon Price: $6.44 List Price: $7.99 |
| 4. |  | The Tiny Love Activity Center is a great crib toy even if the colors are garish by most standards. It allows babies to practice all their fine motor skills along with a mirror. The activity center has two sides, one with 'easier' manipulative toys and a second side for more advanced babies with more challenging toys. Amazon Price: $59.99 List Price: $39.95 |
| 5. |  | This unbreakable crib mirror will provide hours of fascination for your baby. And once baby is walking, it can be attached to a baby gate to extend its use. Babies and toddlers love to watch themselves in the mirror--not only will they entertain themselves, they'll crack up their parents by practicing their tantrums in the mirror.(They really will do this!) Amazon Price: $12.99 |
| 6. |  | Songs and fingerplays are an excellent way to keep babies happy and entertained while at home or while out on the town. They also build language skills by introducing vocabulary and conversation via call-and-response formats. Having a good repertoire of songs and fingerplays prevents public meltdowns. Amazon Price: $5.29 List Price: $10.99 |
| 7. |  | Play silks are 'open ended' toys that allow the baby's imagination to take over. They are great for peak-a-boo, dancing, or just putting over the head and watching how the light changes. Toddlers turn them into capes, dresses, and skirts. Amazon Price: $13.95 |
| 8. |  | This is hands down, the best walker for older infants. It is safe, with a sturdy base and an excellent activity center. Once babies can sit, they will happily spend up to a half hour (or more!) playing with the toys and practicing putting weight on their feet. Crawling babies will be able to pull up on the table and then hold onto the chair and push it around the table. Early walkers will run in circles and giggle with joy. The seat swivels allowing for side stepping or regular walking. Because the walker goes in a circle, it doesn't pose the safety concerns of mobile walkers. Amazon Price: $79.99 |
| 9. |  | This crawl tunnel/play mat will keep a baby busy their entire first year. Newborns will enjoy trying to focus on the bright colors while mobile babies will love crawling through the tunnel. Amazon Price: $49.99 |
| 10. |  | These blocks are another long lasting developmental toy. For infants, looking at the colors is entertainment enough. Knocking over towers that mommy or daddy build is even more delightful. After the age of one, toddlers will be building their own towers with these blocks. Haba, the manufacturer, offers a high quality product in these blocks, that will last for years. Amazon Price: $35.99 |
Video on Baby Educational Toys
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Infant Educational Toys for the First YearLoading...
Love the photo. Good toy selection. I never considered a tambourine for a baby but I can see how that could be good cause and effect toy. Thanks for some interesting ideas.
Yes, agree with Tesa, a good selection of toys and I can vouch for the Baby Einstein Animal Exploration Tunnel which provides my niece with hours of entertainment and explorations. Good One!
Great tips! She yours?...really cute!
creativeone59 Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
Thanks for your hub on educational toys for babies, thank you for sharing. Godspeed. creativeone59