Best Baby Toys 0-6 Months – How to Use Toys for Newborns
Best Baby Toys 0-6 Months - Educational toys enable children to learn as they play. Educational toys help a child acquire new skills and improve their current ones all the while having fun. Educational toys are great at this - in encouraging learning in a fun environment. Educational toys are not only fun but practical. Of course, there are important factors that a parent needs to consider in getting the best educational toys for their children:
1. Consider the child's age when choosing educational toys. There are educational toys in the market available for all age groups. Check the labels of toys for age appropriateness. Electronic toys, breakable toys, and those with minute parts are definitely not for infants. Consider safety fore mostly. The best for smaller kids are ones that activate the senses and are good for motor skills - toys producing, sounds, turning buttons, push and pull, filling and emptying, bobbing bath toys, squishy toys, clay or shapes. A one year old would probably only throw number or letter blocks without recognizing the idea of numbers. So not too complicated; neither should you underestimate a preschooler with toys meant only for younger kids. Maybe you should challenge them with more books (picture books and pop-ups are so much fun) or chalk boards, flash cards, toy clocks and globes, and puzzles.
2. Also consider a child's interest. A child could be interested more in sports than in music or art for example. Observe if he likes to bang things more than scribble. Try to get an idea of your child's "field" before buying educational toys.
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3. Let your child's imagination work. Children's play is often centered on their little worlds, and getting their minds working creatively greatly stimulates and develops their minds. The more the toy encourages creative thinking and make-believe, the better. Toys that are good at this are building blocks, arts and crafts, coloring books, stuffed animals, doll set, action figures, cars, and science and discovery toys like binoculars, archeology tools, veterinarian kits, habitats, and the likes.
4. Watch-and-learn toys are magnificent. Toys that are imitative of adults' activities always get a child's attention. The average cooking play set goes a long way in a child's learning. So does sports toys like ping pong play or dad's favorite shooting hoops basketball and profession toys like doctor's kit.
5. Educational toys should be fun. The best way for a child to learn is probably by having fun. Whatever that interests your child stimulates his brain to get ready for learning. Educational toys serve this purpose. It is important for educational toys to be entertaining to foster brain activity stimulation. It has been scientifically proven that this brain stimulation through activating interest in a child help develop thought and reflex patterns and a good hand-eye coordination. Plus, fun is an important factor in choosing an educational toy since the child won't even notice that lessons are being taught while he is playing. And lastly, fun is great way to get a child's attention and focus in the first place. Thus, educational toys should be fun in the best way they could be.
Exposure to educational toys in the early formative years of learning, during times of perception with awe and surprise, when a child's brain acts like a quick sponge absorbing great new experiences playing a huge part in a child's capacity for learning in the later stages of his life. It is then responsibility of every parent to provide educational toys for their child to get them a head start in early development helping them explore the world around them. Grab some of these tips and watch your child maximize his abilities.
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Comments on Best Baby Toys 0-6 Months – How to Use Toys for Newborns
9:10 am
Not much. But Mom should cuddle and talk and sing to the baby. That's about as much interaction a newborn can handle. Newborns need a lot of sleep. So in between eating & sleeping, the baby loves to hear Mom cooing & singing to them. I used to put on music made just for babies (soft instrumentals & luluby type singing) when I put my son in his crib to sleep. He was born preemie so he was in the NICU nursery for 2 months. They had a harpist come in (she volunteered) and play soft beautiful music for the babies. By the time I brought my son home, he would relax as soon as he heard his music I put on. Babies really don't need toys until they can grasp things in their hands. So relax. All your baby really needs in the beginning is Mom to feed & comfort them. If you want, go to the infant area at a toy store and look at the recommened ages on the box of infant toys. It always tells you what age group its good for, plus it tells you what it helps develope in the child.Good luck!
9:23 am
First view I win!!!!!
9:40 am
!!!! WAIT !!!!! ANSWER #1 IS 100% INCORRECT !!!
He states
"Stick with wooden or cloth/plush toys for a baby – that's one option. "
The wooden toys from China are the ones that are painted and have the biggest chance of having lead based paint (LBP). Cloth/plush items will (can) collect lead dust from floors. And then pass it to the kids if they are not cleaned / washed often.
There was a web site for recalled toys but I can't find it right now. But even this site may not list all the toys effected with lead. Its a good start but I would test each wooden OR PLASTIC toy I bought. There can be lead in plastic or vinyl.
edit: found the web site… http://www.babycenter.com
The easiest way to test is with a product call "Lead Check". They are small white tubes that deliver a chemical (sodium rodizinate) to the surface. If there is leach-able lead it will turn color (pink or red). Call around to your local paint stores to find them. There are many types of these chemical test kits but my opinion is Lead Check is the best / easiest.
HINT: They cost about $3.00 each BUT !!! (Lead Check hates me to teach this) … There are 5 to 7 drops in each tube. If you use a clean dry cotton swab on each item, you can get 5 to 7 tests.
(no I don't work for or own stock in this co.) …
For more info plese read http://home.mindspring.com/~wrltc/lswp.pdf A book I wrote for parents doing re-modeling or having it done. And lead issues in general. It was paid for by a fed/state grant. Which means its your book as much as mine. I am NOT trying to sell you anything. Education about this subject is my job.
9:59 am
First view I win!!!!
2:55 pm
She won't be interested in real toys until about age 3 months to 4 months, once she figures out she has hands and can use the hands.
Things you want now though are some kind of crib light up musical device. FisherPrice makes really cool crib aquariums and my guy loved them from about 3 to 4 weeks old on.
A swing – I love my Graco Lovin Hugs. Rated from 5lbs to 30lbs with a 5 point harness, adjustable seat, music and white noise plus a heart beat sound! Just don't use the mobile and know that the tray takes a while before it becomes easy to snap open and close.
Anything with the heartbeat sound will be calming to baby for the first few weeks. They have bears for sleeping with that have the sound too.
Mobiles, she'll start to notice them, again around the 4 week mark however my son quickly lost interest in them when he started reaching for things because it was out of his reach.
Activity Mat/Activity Gym – place baby on her back and toys hang down she can bat/kick at, music and lights and she'll be fascinated starting at around 6 weeks old. Kicking is the first movements she'll master so make sure there are things that make noise when she kicks them to make it fun. Buy lots of links so that as she starts exploring the world you can hang things lower for her to grab at and have things ready to change up when she gets bored.
Baby Sling – I wish I had gotten one when my guy was young enough. It allows baby to feel close and secure but keeps your hands free so you can eat/go to the bathroom and all the other little things you took for granted!
1:10 am
Pampers makes a spray that is supposed to be anti-bacterial and safe to use on kids things….we use that on toys, cribs and high chairs.
5:42 am
She is probably very confused, for three reasons. One, all toys previously were for her alone. Two, many baby toys are very similar to dog toys. Three, she never had to share you/her toys/play with anyone, now you're spending all your time paying attention to and doing interesting stuff with this strange smelly 'interloper' who has apparently brought new interesting toys!
To make this easier on you both, keep her toys separate from the baby's toys, and try to keep her toys as different from the babies as possible. Make the baby's room off-limits, and limit the amount of baby toys that are outside of the baby's room. If you can, also make an area that is only for dog toys, and no where else is allowed.
There is probably jealousy here from several sides. You, of the dog (time with baby/sleep), the baby (time with dog/sleep) and the rest of your life. The dog, of the attention and stuff the baby is getting from you (Eventually, she may become jealous of the attention the baby gives to you. There are several things you can read about how you can prevent that). And of course, the baby of the attention you are giving anyone/anything not baby.
Hopefully, in the end everything will be balanced, and you won't have such a hard time trying to make sure everyone shares. For now, though, you will have to make sure to set aside special time just for dog and baby (and don't forget yourself! Relaxing = good). Once the baby is old enough, you may be able to allow *supervised* gentle play [e.g. fetch, hide & seek/search (with toys), tricks (e.g. roll over, play dead, hi-five, etc)], but not yet.
To teach the dog to allow you to play in peace (this may take a lot of effort, and you may only be able to get as far as step two) -
Step One: Teach her the "go to" and "sit/long down/stay" commands. Use whatever method works best for you and your dog. You may already know something similar from an obedience class.
Step Two (you may need to use a room/crate/barrier): When you want to play with the baby, make the dog "go to" the chosen location where she cannot see you using toys to play with the baby. Make sure that she is in a "long down/stay" at that place (you can use this opportunity to give her a special calm toy or busy treat [e.g. hoof chew or peanutbutter kong]). Play with baby. When you have finished playing with the baby; come back, remove any unfinished treat or toys, and release her from the stay. Remember short periods of play are good for everyone. Make sure that you take time to play with, and pay attention to, the dog also. This is step two, and may be as far as you want to go.
Step Three (you will probably need someone to help): Pick a stay location where the dog can see you play with the baby. Repeat as per step two. Don't allow her to get up or leave that spot while you or someone else are playing with the baby (very hard at first, you may need to use a tool***). At first, play with low keys toys in a non-antagonizing manner for a very short periods of time. Gradually increase play time and difficulty until she stays reliably until released. This step may need to be re-trained on a regular basis, and every time a new toy is introduced.
***leash, tether, vibration collar, person, or other method of gentle correction/restraint.
Teach her "drop it" and "leave it". Practice on things and at times that aren't critical, and work your way up to things that *are* important, like baby bottles, or when your child is about to drop a piece of chocolate. Unless you invest in some sort of special signalling collar (like a vibration collar or a flashing light), you'll need to think at least 2 or 3 steps ahead of the dog, and 5 or 6 steps ahead of most other owners, to be able to be in a position to sign this to your dog.
Finally, just like those who have to teach their dogs how to "speak/shush", teach her a command for when she *is* allowed/expected to play. You may need to create several different commands for different games, such as "chase" (a lure***), "tag" (object *only*, e.g. flyball/agility), or "tug" (tug-of-war***).
***I would be *very* wary of teaching these games that encourage prey-drive, dominance, or aggressive behaviour. These games are hard enough to keep healthy in normal hearing dogs, and can completely destroy the owner-focus in non-hearing dogs.
Remember, it's difficult for your dog to focus on multiple things at once, if you give her an appropriate "task" to do, and a signal when she's released from that task, it makes it a lot easier to keep her from doing the things you don't want.
4:29 am
they will have on the toy for what ages or 6m+
mmm…My baby really started playing with toys around 3 months?
Wrist rattles and really anything bright.
my 6 month old has a fasination with bright colored cups right now. and loves her toys but of course loves random objects around the house even more…especially the remote to the TV.
9:21 am
9:24 am
i would think it helps them learn sound , color & texture
9:49 am
so make a day or two to have one big trip to get what you need. not all toy r us have a babies r us inside and some babies r us stand alone. walmart and target also have baby items.