By the time your baby is getting more interactive, you might also be looking for more baby cognitive development toys to help them enhance their overall cognitive development.
There are a lot of baby toys that enhance cognitive development baby. You can just simply give your child cardboard, box, plastic containers, and lids. But you can also invest in baby cognitive development toys that are available in the market.
Baby cognitive development: Choosing the right toys
Infant objects and toys should emphasize items that improve overall skill levels in verbal, social, emotional, and fine motor development.
Choosing the right baby toys for cognitive development
Always consider safety, fun, and durability when selecting gifts for infants. Pick products that let babies explore and connect with one another. The finest toys for infant development usually promote movement, contact, exploration, and imitation.
Baby toys for cognitive development by age
Keep in mind that babies learn and grow at their own pace. What may work in an 8 month old baby cognitive development may be different from the cognitive development of a 6 month old baby. You as a parent will know best what baby toys for cognitive development are fit for your child.
Birth up to 6 months: toys for the cognitive development of a 6 month old baby
- Items that they can hold, grip, suck on, shake, or generate noise. These toys include rattles, squeeze toys, and teething balls.
- CDs of lullabies and simple songs, as well as books with poems and nursery rhymes.
- Unbreakable mirrors and posters or images of people where the baby may view them.
7 to 12 months: toys for an 8 month old baby cognitive development
- Toys for pretend-play like baby dolls, puppets, plastic and wooden vehicles with wheels, and water toys.
- Nesting toys, enormous beads, plastic bowls, and balls
- Massive soft bricks and wooden cubes and other baby cognitive development toys that work as building materials.
- Huge balls, objects where can crawl over, and games that call on powerful muscles
1 year olds
- Board books with simple illustrations or photos of real objects
- Pictures, short stories, songs, and rhymes
- Non-toxic, washable markers, crayons, and paper. Remember to use with adult supervision.
- Good pretend-play accessories like toy phones, dolls, doll beds, baby carriages, strollers, dress-up accessories, puppets, plush animals, plastic animals, and plastic cars.
- Cardboard, wood blocks, and other baby toys for cognitive development are building materials.
- Large and little balls, puzzles, enormous pegboards, toys with functional components (dials, switches, knobs, lids), and similar items.
2 year olds or toddlers
- Wooden puzzles, snap-together blocks, and sorting toys
- Pretend-play and building toys including blocks, vehicles, construction sets, kid-sized furniture, dress-up clothes, dolls with accessories, puppets, and sand and water playthings.
- A large piece of paper for drawing and painting, blunt-tipped toddler-sized scissors, non-toxic washable crayons and markers, a chalkboard, and a lot of huge chalk
- CD and DVD players with a variety of music
- Ride-on toys, tunnels, low climbers with padded undercarriages, big and little balls for kicking and tossing, and hammering and pounding toys
Other toys for baby cognitive development
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Activity or playmats
An exercise gym is a great item for enhancing fine and gross motor skills for baby cognitive development.
In activity gyms, infants are encouraged to kick while lying on their backs and are given appealing overhead things to reach for.
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Floor mirrors
The floor mirror is frequently inserted into a pillow made of soft fabric in the shape of a triangle so it can rest firmly on the ground. When the mirror is held up in front of the infant during stomach time, they can look straight into it.
Looking into a mirror not only gives children a fun opportunity to imitate faces and communicate with the "person" they are seeing but also helps them develop their social and emotional skills.
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Stackable toys
This is a great toy for fostering social and fine motor development. As they age, infants pick up the rings and eventually stack them over the base.
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Teething toys
While there are several teething rings on the market, the freezable chill ring is one of the most calming. The cool texture offered by being in the freezer has a chance to numb the baby's gums to reduce any teething pain.
The teething ring aids in developing the baby's fine motor skills by teaching them how to grab and hold objects independently.
Baby room colors and cognitive development
To ensure that babies are comfortable and happy in their rooms, it's important to understand how babies perceive color.
According to the American Optometric Association through Toll Brothers, infants don't fully comprehend color until they are five months old. A newborn's main color vision throughout those early months is black, grey, and white.
The strongest signals to a baby's brain to help speed brain growth and aid visual development, according to Dr. Sears Wellness Institute, come from contrasting hues.
By the third month, newborns can see color, and more vibrant primary colors are essential for their development. Between 5-8 months, a baby's color vision is completely developed, so this is the optimum window to paint the nursery.
Psychological studies show that color also impacts emotion, behavior, sleep, memory, and even health in addition to generating visual excitement.
Safety tips for toys for baby cognitive development
- Choose baby toys for cognitive development based on your child's age and capabilities.
- Pick toys made of organic materials like wool, cotton, and untreated wood.
- Avoid secondhand wooden toys with cracked paint. The paint can contain lead.
- Check to see if fabric toys can be washed.
- Choose toys free of phthalates, PVC, and BPA. Stay away from toys with the recycling codes #3, #6, and #7.
- Choose "non-toxic" paints, crayons, markers, and other painting supplies is a good idea.
- If required, purchase any additional safety gear, such as a bike helmet.
Keeping toys after playtime
- Toys should not be left lying about. All toys should be stored and kept off the ground while not in use. If you have a toy chest, it should have air openings and be easy to get inside. Ensure the container has support that keeps the lid open in any position.
- Check toys for damage regularly Look out for splinters or sharp edges on wooden toys. Sand them if required. When painting toys, use fresh paint because old paint could contain lead. Check for rust on outdoor playthings. If a toy cannot be fixed, throw it away. Make sure there are no loose or missing magnets before using any magnetic toys.
- All packaging, including plastic wrap, should be thrown away right away.
- You should read and go over the toy's instructions with your youngster. Keep the instructions.