Can Educational Toys For Babies Also Be a Baby Gift?
If we follow what most psychologists under the Freudian and Neo-Freudian school of thought, we could say that what a child becomes later on in his life is, somehow, related to how we was brought up. This bringing up usually refers to the early development years of a child.
Although most people are not aware of it, one of the ways by which you can develop a child’s mental abilities is with the use of toys. As early as a few weeks after birth, babies can already recognize shapes, colors and patterns. It is also during their first few months that babies are able to absorb as much information as possible. Needless to say, you should take advantage of these early years in order to shape your baby’s future.
Toys have been known to stimulate the following senses:
Sight – Aside from easily catching their attention, toys that are brightly colored or have contrasting colors allow a child to differentiate shades as well as get to know what the different colors are. This allows their sense of sight to become sharper and allows their visual intelligence to be enhanced.
A crib mobile is one good example of a simple yet educational baby toy especially if your baby is just a few weeks old and has not learned yet to crawl or sit up. Your baby is also sure to have loads of fun playing with mirrors. Make sure, however, that you keep an eye out for your baby as they could easily get hurt by shards of broken mirror. Stacking rings of different colors help improve not only your child’s sense of sight but also his or her hand-eye coordination.
Touch – When it comes to the sense of touch, babies will run their hands against anything within their reach. The different textures allow them their sense of touch to be heightened. Simple toys such as rubber balls and building blocks also help your bay learn about the different shapes.
Building blocks, specifically, can also help your child refine his or her motor skills. It is also known to improve a child’s planning and designing skills. If you are on a budget, a simple baby blanket that has fun designs in them should do the trick.
Hearing – A newborn baby’s hearing might not be that refined, they can still react to sounds. A number of studies have also proven that classical music help enhance a child’s intelligence level. Crib mobiles that produce melodies as well as a simple rattle can, not only help your baby distinguish between sounds, but can also help them develop their ability to relate cause and effect. Even a simple play hammer that produces a squeaking sound every time it hits something would also suffice.
Keep in mind that every baby will react differently to toys so make sure that you also consider what interests your baby the most before you go buying one. You would also need to consider the age-appropriateness of toys, i.e.; toys with small parts should not be given to babies as there is a great possibility of them choking on it.
