Five Classic Baby Toys

Written by Janet Rorty

There are a lot of baby toys on the market today. Many of them are large enough to fill up most of your living room. Some come with claims such as “increases fine motor skills” or the more dubious “raises your child’s I.Q.”

Most importantly, you want to find something that your child will enjoy playing with. Toys are fun for infants starting at about 5 or 6 months old. Younger infants don’t really play with toys.

Your child will begin to enjoy toys once he has learned how to grab and release objects, and can sit unassisted. Here are some classic toys that never go out of style.

1. Stacking cups. This is a toy your child will return to again and again over a period of years. Babies like to pick up the cups, or put things inside and take them out again. Toddlers will actually use them to make a stack, and will learn how to fit them inside each other in the right order. Stacking cups are also lots of fun as a bath toy, because babies and toddlers love pouring water.

2. Stacking rings. This is another classic stacking toy that consists of a series of coloured rings that fit over a central pole. Babies like playing with the. They will chew on them, throw them, or wear them around their arms. As your baby graduates to toddlerhood, he will begin to try to put the rings on in the right order.

3. Teethers. There are a lot of teething toys available. When you choose one, you are looking for something that is just a little bit sqiushy. Some teethers are filled with water so you can chill them in the fridge before letting baby chew on them. Don’t chill them in the freezer – you don’t want your baby to get frostbite! Avoid teething toys that are covered on lots of small raised bumps or other patterns, since these can actually cut your baby’s gums. One great teething toy is the ever popular “Sophie the Giraffe”, which is a squeaky rubber giraffe.

4. Beach ball. Balls are great toys. Babies that can’t yet throw them yet love to roll them on the floor. A beach ball is a good toy, because if it is slightly deflated, a baby can grab it and hang on more easily. When buying balls for infants, make sure that they are large enough not to be a choking hazard.

5. Shape sorter. There are many types of these available as well. They are best for babies over a year old, since they are capable of figuring out which shapes go in which holes. It’s just as fun to dump the shapes out as it is to put them in!

Janet Rorty has been writing for the internet since 2003. She lives in Toronto with her husband Alexander and their two children. Their latest website sells flat screen computer monitors and is called Flat Screen Computer Monitor. It can be found at http://www.flatscreencomputermonitor.org/.

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