Top 5 Educational Baby Toys

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Babies, obviously, cannot play with the same toys as older children and therefore need to be given toys that are age-appropriate. The top 5 educational baby toys are the Fisher-Price Laugh And Learn Learning Puppy, Hasbro Playskool Busy Ball Popper, Peek-A-Blocks Incrediblock From Fisher Price, Learning Drum From Leap Frog, and Brilliant Basics Snap Lock Beads From Fisher Price, although these are just a few of the many toy options that have over the years been specifically designed for babies to play with safely.

Great Types Of Toys For Babies

There are a number of toy types that are more appropriate for babies than for children in other age groups. These include:

Wooden Blocks
Balls
Toy Telephones
Containers
Push Toys
Noisemakers
Sorting Toys
Stacking Rings
Soft Blocks
Large Shape Puzzles
Activity Mats

Soft blocks are for younger babies while wooden blocks are for slightly older babies. These give the baby the opportunity to begin constructing and stacking things and seeing them fall down again. I also recently found Inspiring Toys which is a brilliant web site for toys, so check them out if you want to find some really good toys for kids. Toys that make a noise may be annoying for parents, but they are valuable toys in teaching the laws of cause and effect to your child. Shape puzzles encourage the development of problem solving skills form an early age and your children will be also learn fine motor skills slowly but surely through placing the shapes in exactly the right place. We also recently found Toy HQ and it’s a brilliant place to find all of the best kid’s toys, so give that a look if you are struggling.

Top 5 Educational Baby Toys

1: Fisher-Price Laugh And Learn Learning Puppy

This toy is great for starting the learning process early. With the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Learning Puppy your baby will be able to learn names for the different parts of the body as well as colors and the alphabet through this interactive toy. In addition to this there are 10 lovely songs included. The toy is activated through your child’s squeezing and playing activities and you will be surprised at how early a child can be taught the various skills learned through this toy. They toy is appropriate for babies as young as six months old and continues to be appealing to children up until the age of three. Although the toy may be a little more expensive to buy than other options it makes up for this by being usable for a long time.

2: Hasbro Playskool Busy Ball Popper

This game is an excellent one for babies and is very useful in assisting them in developing an understanding of cause and effect which is why it is on this list of top 5 educational baby toys. The game works as follows:

The baby places balls on the track
The balls roll down to the bottom of the track
Once they reach the bottom they reappear once more at the top of the track
The process repeats itself

This can provide hours of amusement to a baby. There are three main advantages to choosing this baby toy:

It teaches baby basic skills of picking up and grasping
It provides baby with an excellent educational experience
It strengthens baby’s hand-eye co-ordination
It keeps baby happily occupied for long periods of time

3: Peek-A-Blocks Incrediblock From Fisher Price

This is a toy that is suitable for babies who are 9 months old or older. The game consists of six fascinating blocks full of discoveries for your baby to make. There are pals (like a panda, puppy, and penguins) and patterns that offer high contrast appeal, plus intriguing actions and sounds. Because this particular toy requires a fair amount of action from the baby in order to be activated, it is only suitable for slightly older babies. Babies can do several different things with the Peek-A-Block Incrediblock game:

They can stack the blocks
They can put the blocks through the holes
They can watch them disappear
They can watch them spin to music and lights

Generally speaking the batteries for this toy are not included when you purchase it, but buying additional 3 C batteries will not set you back by very much.

4: Learning Drum From Leap Frog

The main function of this toy is to teach your baby cause and effect the drum is activated by your baby’s beats and there are a number of settings that you can put the drum on. For example the baby can activate the drum to play music on one setting, to recite the alphabet on another, and to count on a third. In addition the drum has a play along function where the baby is required to hit the drum in time with the beat. This teaches skills of rhythm and begins to instill a musical ability ion your child from a fairly early age. The drum itself offers prompts to your baby in the form of instructions as to how many times the baby should strike the drum. This is an extremely interactive toy that can provide your baby with hours of amusement and is truly a great buy.

5: Brilliant Basics Snap Lock Beads From Fisher Price

Small babies need to learn hand-eye coordination and develop their motor skills, something which occurs gradually with age. For babies who are 6 months old or older the Brilliant Basics Snap Lock Beads from Fisher Price are an excellent tool to speed up the development of these skills. The beads are simple for a small child who lacks coordination to snap together and create different shapes and forms. In addition this is one of the safer toys on this list of top 5 educational baby toys as it is made from durable plastics that are not hazardous to babies. The pieces are also large enough not to prevent a choking hazard.

This toy comes with a number of educational and developmental opportunities for your baby to develop through play:

It helps in the development of eye-hand co-ordination
It helps in the development of problem solving skills
It teaches baby about sizes and colors

Age Appropriate Baby Toys

Best Types Of Toys For Babies Aged Birth – 6 Months

Babies are able to sense what is going on around them form a very early age, so toys that assist them in making sense of the world around them should be used. Although their vision is limited at birth it develops very quickly over the first 2 months and appropriate stimulation should be prided to encourage your baby’s development. According to onestepahead.com appropriate toys could include:

Rattles, teethers and other sensory toys that expose baby to a variety of sounds and textures

Colorful mobiles and banners that stimulate vision

Baby safe mirrors (babies are drawn to faces)

Activity centers and baby gyms that encourage reaching and grasping

Tummy time toys that help build abdominal strength (a must for back-sleeping babies)

Age-appropriate educational videos and music that stimulate vision and hearing

Best Types Of Toys For Babies Aged 6 – 12 Months

As their hand-eye coordination begins to improve babies at this age begin to understand the basics of cause and effect. To help them develop these skills educational toys should include shape sorters and nesting cups (to reinforce the concept that objects have permanence), activity centers and push/pull toys (these allow baby to create movement), adventure courses (these encourage creeping and crawling), musical and sound-making toys, first photo albums, gentle rockers and bouncers (to satisfy baby’s love of motion), stuffed animals, dolls and “blankies” (for cuddling), age-appropriate educational videos and music, and storybooks that you read to baby (this is the first step in the development of reading skills). This is a critical stage for the development of a number of different skills and you must not lose out on the opportunity to provide your child with knowledge as early as possible.

Best Types Of Toys For Babies Aged 12 – 18 Months

At this age babies begin to walk and explore and their behavior becomes largely goal oriented. They also begin to imitate the adults around them. The toys appropriate for this age include:

Toys that are hands-on such as a jack-in-the box or a bucket and spade

Building blocks and play sets as well as other toys that encourage experimentation and help develop fine motor skills are appropriate for children of this age

Babies at this age love to move, so activity toys, such as tricycles, are a great way to get them moving

Simple musical instruments that will begin to prepare them for any musical ambitions you may have for them

Stuffed animals, dolls and “blankies” for cuddling are also appropriate at this age, as are age-appropriate educational videos and music, and storybooks that you read to baby (although options should be more advanced to match your child’s age-related development)

Best Types Of Toys For Babies Aged 18 – 24 Months

Babies at this age are able to engage in make-believe play and are also able to begin problem solving activities, all of which are important skills that will help them later in life. IN addition their ability to acquire new words at this stage in their development is astounding. Toys for children of this age include puppets and dolls which can be used to act out scenes and stories, costumes for dress up, rocking horses, playhouses, miniature appliances and other toys that foster imitative play, puzzles, blocks and construction sets that create opportunities for problem solving, active toys, such as toddler swing sets, safety tricycles and vehicles that encourage muscle growth and control, simple musical instruments to inspire a love for playing music form an early age, and, again, stuffed animals and “blankies” for cuddling, age-appropriate educational videos and music, and storybooks that you read together are good toys for babies of this age. If you find it hard to choose toys for your kids then have a look at that as you can quickly find some amazing toys there.

Best Types Of Toys For Babies aged 24 – 36 Months

According to http://www.onestepahead.com/custserv/shop_smarter_article.jsp?pageName=Best_Toys the following toys are appropriate for babies in this age group (actually termed toddlers as they have more advanced skills):

Art and craft supplies, such as finger paints, chalk boards, easels and modeling clay
Simple board games for beginners
Train sets and cars; dolls with accessories
Rocking horses, playhouses, miniature appliances and other toys that foster imitative play
Costumes
Puzzles and construction sets that create opportunities for problem solving
Swing sets, sand boxes, tricycles and other riding vehicles
Electronic educational games and workbooks that introduce kids to phonics, the alphabet and numbers
Simple musical instruments
Stuffed animals, dolls and “blankies” for cuddling
Age-appropriate educational videos and music
Storybooks that you read together

Choosing The Best Educational Baby Toys

Tips for choosing the best baby toys include:

Bigger is better as this reduces the chances of choking and is in line with the developmental stage of babies

Weight is important as it must be light enough for the baby to lift

The safety of the toy for your child is an important and essential consideration

Does the toy contain any sort of sharp edges on it that could harm your baby, or any other small pieces that he could easily break, or fall off that he could possibly try to place in his mouth? Is the toy good enough that he can’t fit it into his mouth? Stay away from toys which have materials sewn on them, or even button eyes which are glued on and can easily take off.

Choose toys that will help your child learns and promote their brain to develop

Many parents buy toys that they would like to ‘play’ with rather than toys that are good for their baby – avoid this

Don’t assume that the safety directions and standards on the box are accurate and do your own safety inspections before giving the toy to your child

Consider the age and stages development of your baby to choose toys that are appropriate

Consider the toy’s life duration as you do not want something that will not last a long time and that can potentially be passed down to a younger sibling

Because there are so many accidents and other things that can go wrong within your home, it is important to consult lists of the best baby toys on the market. Then also be sure to get your baby an activity centre as they are such wonderful toys. They are lots of fun and educate too so are just brilliant, so we highly recommend them. Remember that in many ways these toys simply need to meet basic safety standards and there is no obligation to purchase the top 5 educational baby toys that are mentioned here. The primary aim is to do your toy shopping wisely and with the best interests of your baby in mind at all times. Quality toy stores will include directions on the packaging relating to how to use the toy safely and what ages the toy is appropriate for.