Top Ten Toy and Gift Ideas for Babies
Bouncer, Jumperoos and Exercaucers
Babies from around 4 or 5 months will love to exercise their legs with a bouncer, jumper or jumperoo. We bought a jumperoo for my own son around 4 months and it was one of the best gifts we had ever bought him. He used to love it in the jumperoo. It was fun for him and comfortable too - he fell asleep in his jumperoo on more than one occasion. We used the jumperoo until he was about 10 months old. It was great to put him in there when I needed to get a few things done and I could keep an eye on him and he was enjoying himself at the same time.
Play Mats and Baby Gyms
We bought our son a baby gym when he was about 5 weeks old. He loved to look at the mobile and the dangling toys at first as well as listen to the music. As he got older he would bat at the toys and try and grasp them. It was also good for tummy time as he used to look at the patterns on the bottom of the play mat. He used his baby gym on and off until he was around 11 months old.
Teethers and Rattles
I would have found it to get by without any teether for my children. Babies love putting things in their mouth to knaw on and relieve the pressure of teething. So a good teether can be a lifesaver.
Babies from around 3 or 4 months love to grasp and shake rattles. A timeless toy.
Babies from around 3 or 4 months love to grasp and shake rattles. A timeless toy.
Balls
Balls are great for babies of all ages. Very young babies will enjoy watching you roll colourful balls in front of them. From around 3 or 4 months they will try and grasp balls (you can get balls which are easy for babies of this age to grasp). From around 6 or 7 months you can encourage babies to start to move, shuffle and crawl towards a ball. And as babies reach the age of 1 they will enjoy trying to throw them.
Bath Toys
Most babies will be in the bath every one or two day so bath toys are always really useful to keep baby entertained.
There are tons of bath toys for babies from newborns to 1. A really simple bath toy for a baby is a set of stacking cups (or just any set of safe containers you may have around the house). Babies will be fascinated by filling them up with water and pouring them out again.
There are tons of bath toys for babies from newborns to 1. A really simple bath toy for a baby is a set of stacking cups (or just any set of safe containers you may have around the house). Babies will be fascinated by filling them up with water and pouring them out again.
Mobiles
Mobiles are lovely to have around for newborns. They really do like to stare and watch the moving objects. You can get all kinds of beautiful mobiles with music and lights too.
Walkers
Walkers are obviously good for younger babies when they start pulling themselves up around 9 or 10 months. As they get older and learn to walk, they enjoy just pushing around walkers. They make a great toy to help keep babies steady on their feet after they've taken their first steps too.
Shape Sorters and Other Sorting Toys
Shape sorters can be used from around 6 months. At 6 months they won't be posting the shapes yet but my kids used to like handling the different shapes for the shape sorter. As they get older they would enjoy banging the shapes together and watching me put them in the sorter. Before long they will be having a go themselves. Shapesorters are great for improving the fine motor skills of young children. My boys love shape sorters until they were around 3 years old.
Plush Toys
You can't have a list of baby toys without including plush toys. There are some great plush toys for babies of all ages.
For very young babies there are teddies that have soothing sounds and lullabies to help them go to sleep.
For babies around 3 to 6 months, look for plush toys that have different textures for babies to explore with their hands and feel. Bright colored teddies are often popular with this age as well.
As babies get older there are lots of plush toys that you can interact with too.
For very young babies there are teddies that have soothing sounds and lullabies to help them go to sleep.
For babies around 3 to 6 months, look for plush toys that have different textures for babies to explore with their hands and feel. Bright colored teddies are often popular with this age as well.
As babies get older there are lots of plush toys that you can interact with too.
Musical Toys
When babies are able to grasp toys from about 3 or 4 month, there are some great musical instruments that they will enjoy. They include instruments such as bells and shakers. These are great for introducing babies to different sounds and rhythm. These kind of instruments will still be enjoyed by toddlers.
There are also lots of other musical toys for babies from baby keyboards and pianos (suitable from around 9 months) to baby mp3 players (check out the baby einstein take along toy). As babies get older they will love banging on drums and even playing the strings of a guitar so there is a lot to choose from.
There are also lots of other musical toys for babies from baby keyboards and pianos (suitable from around 9 months) to baby mp3 players (check out the baby einstein take along toy). As babies get older they will love banging on drums and even playing the strings of a guitar so there is a lot to choose from.
