The Importance of Educational Baby Toys

From the time babies are born they depend on their parents to take care of them. They need to be fed, burped, changed, and given baths. Despite what many people believe, babies also need stimulation so their young minds can grow and develop whenever they are not asleep. Putting their baby carriage in front of a TV is not adequate and neither is handing them a stuffed teddy bear. The plush companion may be comforting, but it will not teach the child any new skills.

If the baby has no desire to play with a toy, it is pretty much useless. Educational toys, both branded and locally manufactured, are designed to attract a baby's attention. They are colourful, make noise, and are easy to hold. Will, a brightly coloured wriggly critter that easily attaches to prams and cots may not have real musical components, but sure rattles and shakes its brightly coloured body and wings when pulled down and released.

Educational baby toys must be age appropriate. A two-piece Jungleloo monkey or elephant puzzle may be a wonderful aid in the development of fine motor and visual skills for a little while, but would probably bore a three-year old, who needs a bigger challenge. The opposite is also true. A toy saxophone or a stack of building blocks may inspire the imagination of a toddler, but all a 10-month old would do with these toys is put the pieces in their mouth and chew on them - especially if they are going through a teething phase. They would be better entertained with a musical discovery spiral with cute dangling rattle pals. The securely attached activity icons include crinkle sounds, soft gentle rattles, squeakers and mirrors.

Size matters when buying educational toys. A dinosaur pegboard may teach a tot shapes and colour coordination, but if the small pegs get into the tiny hands of a ‘crawler' and make their way up to the mouth, they can suddenly become dangerous choke hazards. If you really want to impress new parents with a special gift and show that you care, you are far better off giving them a ‘Playful Melody" gift box. The package contains a bright and funky caterpillar rattle that squeaks, crunches and has a bendable body, an adorable soft bell rattle with shiny wings and textured teether links for holding and biting, and last but not least, a music CD featuring vibrant and delightful classical melodies.

Most toys manufacturers mark on the packaging for which age group their products are best suited. That is very helpful, but toy shoppers often forget that this information is only a guideline. Each baby develops at his or her own pace and what may be an entertaining toy for one child may be too advanced for another. That is no big deal as babies all go through the same development stages. So, if a shape sorter is too difficult when first presented to a baby, don't worry. Just put it away and try again in a month. You'd be surprised how much progress a baby can make in a few weeks time!

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