Baby Toys Developmental Toy Guide | Babies to Children

Christina

Sustainable Toy Shop | Toy Reviews | Eco-mom Powered

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Baby Toys Developmental Toy Guide | Babies to Children

Why Baby Toys Developmental Research is Important? | Complete Guide

Child development is the evolution of developmental changes that occur in babies, toddlers, and children. These changes are defined within four areas: Physical, Social and Emotional, Intellectual, and Language. All babies and children progress at various speeds and most children have strengths and weaknesses within their development. Being able to understand and recognize these strengths and weaknesses will allow the parent to choose appropriate toys that encourage their development. Parents that chose baby developmental toys stimulating toys over off-the-shelf “shiny noisemakers” or “themed toys” assist in their child’s development at every age. Baby developmental toys guide a parent to have a significant impact on their child’s development. Conscious parent toy choices lead to maximizing development in children from birth to adolescence. Every parent wants the very best for their child and to maximize their potential. By choosing baby toy developmentally appropriate for their age to stimulate mental growth, gives your baby, toddler, and child the best possible start.

“Education and Activities are important for enriching the development of children but it starts much earlier than this. It starts with toys.”

By understanding baby and child development early on and focusing your child on the four areas, you are maximizing the development of your child. The four different areas of child development are explained below and why each area and age is important. These are based on the child development model by PlanToys. Every toy we sell is labeled with its child development areas of focus and what the appropriate age is.

“Most think the age requirement is due to safety. Although this is always part of it, a second part is that the toy is crafted for child development for that specific age.”

If a child is given a toy that’s “safe” but at the incorrect age for development, the child may never benefit from development from the toy. For example, if a 12 month old is given the PlanToys Stackable Rocket pictured below, they may play with it or knock it over. When they are at the correct development age of 18 months, they may lose interest and not engage as they would as if they just saw it for the first time through their 18-month-old lens. Recognizing this distinction is helpful when choosing toys. I wrote an entire article on Toy Longevity to help maximize toy life. It’s one of my five toy review categories along with Sustainability, Versatility, Durability, and Playability. You can learn more about how I review toys HERE.

Age ranges help parents make easy and stimulating purchases for their children. This child development toy guide will lead you and your child down a fruitful journey of development together. The sustainable toys available in my store are carefully selected to help parents make great choices for their children. All of the toys we offer give children the tools to learn, grow, and build confidence along the way. If you don’t know much about PlanToys, here is why you should love them as a toy company.

Why do we love PlanToys? Sustainable, Safety, and Baby and Child Development Focused!

They help children develop. Every parent wants to see their child successfully grow and develop. They believe that creative and educational play can help them do this! By playing with their educational toys, children learn and evolve in a variety of ways.
They are passionate about child safety. They pay close attention to the safety standards of their production process. All of their materials are non-toxic and environmentally friendly so parents can let their children play without worry.
They care about the environment. They believe that a quality environment will give rise to quality individuals. At PlanToys, they use water-based colors that are chemical-free, E-Zero glue that doesn’t contain formaldehyde, and they maximize resource utilization by using leftover sawdust to create a new sustainable material called PlanWood™. To learn more about “What is a Sustainable Toy?” Check out my detailed article HERE.

“Playing is a powerful tool for development and learning. The earlier you learn about child development, the more knowledge you have to give your children the best learning experiences. It is important to have someone support them through their learning stages, especially during the first five formative years when their brains are being developed at a rapid rate,” PlanToys. PlanToys does an excellent job of labeling their toys with these areas of developmental focus. The four areas and age development descriptions listed below are what PlanToys refined and utilized to craft their toys to perfection. Baby developmental toys are essential to maximizing the balance of their development.

The Four Areas of Baby & Child Development are:

1. Physical

Fine Motor
Gross Motor
Coordination
Visual
Auditory
Tactile
Physical

2. Social and Engineering

Emotion
Musical
Social
Theory of Mind

3. Intellectual

Cause & Effect
Explore
Concentration
Creative
Memory
Logical
Mathematical
Problem Solving
Imagination

4. Language

Language & Communications
Sign Language
Pre Braille

Child Development Age(s)

Baby Development: 0-6 months

Visual – Stimulate your baby’s visual development by encouraging them to focus on small objects like hanging mobiles and baby gym.

Gross Motor/Fine Motor – Support your newborn’s development of fine and gross motor skills with baby gyms.

Auditory – Soothe your baby with gentle and playful sound with music boxes or rattles mirrors.

Tactile – Enhance your baby’s understanding of temperature, texture, and other touch sensations through sensory play.

Intellectual Stimulation – Tell stories, create scenarios and sing a song with your newborn to support cognitive development by using floating baby books or photo books with vivid colors.

Explore – Encourage your baby to learn about the world around them via imaginative exploration with unbreakable safety mirrors.

Areas of Focus 0-6 months:

Physical: Visual, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Auditory, Tactile

Intellectual: Explore

5270_PlanToys_Play_Gym — 5270 PlanToys Play GymWooden

Baby Development: 6-12 months

Touching and Holding – Develop tactile skills by exploring soft, smooth, rough, and patterned surfaces during play with Sensory Tumbling, teethers, and gummy rings.

Social and Emotional Development – Support the development of language, communication, and social skills by playing with your baby one-on-one and in groups with toy-like Baby Car.

Muscle Development – Develop larger muscle groups while improving balance and body awareness during active play by using rollers, clutching toys, and walkers. Enhance fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination with hands-on play such as softballs and clutching.

Intellectual Stimulation – Invite your baby to begin exploring and enjoying free play on their own by playing with Sensory Tumbling. Encourage your baby to start communicating through storytelling by helping them recognize pictures and objects such as the mirror baby book and Penguin. Incorporate water toys like Sea Life Bath Set into bath time to enhance development and imaginative thinking.

Areas of Focus for 6-12 months:

Physical: Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Tactile

Social & Emotional: Social, Emotion

Intellectual: Explore, Creative, Imagination

Language & Communications: Language & Communications

Toddler Development: 12-18 months

Muscle and listening Development – Improve gross motor skills and understanding of balance through active play such as push & pull toys. Boost fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination through hammering and pounding toys such as Pounding Bench and Hammering Balls. Engage the auditory sense by helping your child differentiate between different sounds and rhythms. musical toys such as The Fish Castanet.

Social and Emotional Development – Make bath time exciting by exploring the properties of liquid and force and discovering how different objects float, sink and move through the water by playing with bath toys like Sailing Boat.

Intellectual Stimulation – Learn about shapes, colors, order, size, and patterns by playing with stacking, nesting, and sorting toys like Owl Sorter and Nesting Boxes, they help to improve mathematical skills as a result. Encourage imaginative and creative play by exploring patterns, colors, and designs of different sizes, shapes, and combinations through playing with My First Phone and The Dino Car.

Areas of Focus for 12-18 months:

Physical: Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Coordination, Auditory, Visual

Social & Emotional: Social, Emotion

Intellectual: Mathematical, Imagination, Creative

Language & Communications: Language & Communications

Toddler Development: 18-24 months

Fine Motor and Coordination Development – Support children in fine motor skill development and hand-eye coordination with wooden blocks, small sorting objects, and pretend-play toy sets like cutting wooden fruit and vegetables.

Emotional Stimulation – Build excitement around imaginative free play with emotionally stimulating musical toys such as Solid Drum and Concertino.

Intellectual Stimulation – Encourage cognitive development through educational play with toys that require categorizing, comparing, counting, and ordering like Stacking Ring, Sort and Count Cups, Sorting Puzzle. Strengthen logical thinking and problem solving while helping children understand cause and effect relationships.

Language Development – Assist kids in language development with toys that inspire communication and emotional awareness by playing through My First Camera.

Areas of Focus for 18-24 months:

Physical: Fine Motor, Coordination, Visual

Social & Emotional: Emotion

Intellectual: Mathematical, Creative, Logical, Problem Solving

Language & Communications: Language & Communications

Child Development: 2 – 3 Years

Fine and Gross Motor Skill Development – Further develop gross motor skills and physical strength through active play like Rocking Horse and Deliver bike. Strengthen fine motor skill development and hand-eye coordination with puzzles, games, and construction play, like Geo Lacing Beads and Twisted Blocks.

Social and Emotional Development – Help your child better understand their moods and emotions through intentional play with toys like the Mood Memo or Build-a-Robot.

Intellectual Stimulation – Utilize sorting boards, puzzles, and mechanical toys like Geometric Sorting Board, Geometric Peg Board, Shape Sorter, Gears & Puzzles-Deluxe, or Jumping Acrobat to encourage trial-and-error learning, the understanding of cause and effect, and problem-solving.

Creativity and Imagination – Tap into imaginative thinking with educational alphabet and number playsets such as Alphabet A-Z, Numbers 1-10, including pretend play toys like Kitchen Set or Breakfast, they will encourage children to learn new words, sounds, combinations, and phrases.

Areas of Focus for 2-3 years:

Physical: Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Coordination, Visual

Social & Emotional: Social, Emotion

Intellectual: Mathematical, Creative, Logical, Problem Solving, Cause & Effect, Imagination, Concentration

Language & Communications: Language & Communications

5412_PlanToys_My_First_Camera_ — 5412 PlanToys My First Camera

Child Development: 3+ Years

Fine and Gross Motor Skill Development –Advance mobility and strengthen motor skills with outdoor playsets like Mini Golf and Meadow Ring Toss. Further, enhance hand-eye coordination and body awareness through independent play with active toys and cognitively simulating games like Tie-Up Shoe.

Emotional and Social Skill Development – Watch your child develop socially as they learn to naturally express feelings, communicate honestly and play alongside others during they play with Doctor Set and Fantasy Blocks.

Intellectual Stimulation – Provide children with the opportunity to learn about symmetry, balance, shapes, and colors via wooden blocks, unique puzzles, and educational play. Support your child’s ability to concentrate and remember patterns or skills through matching and memory games with Shake N Flip. Engage in storytelling with children via pretend play in the kitchen, backyard, or living room. Give them the chance to role-play as a doctor, dentist, chef, and more!

Areas of Focus for 2-3 years:

Physical: Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Coordination, Visual

Social & Emotional: Social, Emotion

Intellectual: Mathematical, Creative, Logical, Problem Solving, Memory, Imagination, Concentration

Language & Communications: Language & Communications

Final Thoughts:

Baby Developmental toys are important to help maximize the cognitive and emotional growth of your baby, toddler, and child. These baby developmental toys guide you and your child in the right direction to maximize their growth potential. We as parents have the choice to choose what type of learning environment and toys we would like for our children to have. The toys in which we choose for every “age and stage” are the tools for our children to learn with. Understanding why child development is so important is crucial to having a surrounding where your child can thrive.

If your child has only so many hours in the day to play and learn, wouldn’t you want this time to be spent engaging with quality, stimulating, and educational toys? Are the kids being entertained by the toys or is it the other way around? Nobody wants a room full of junky one-time-use plastic toys that offer zero educational value. If your child has “fewer but better” quality developmental toys, the parent and child will be happier. Plus, I have lost too many hours of my precious time engaging with my children cleaning up endless piles of useless toys.

Being conscious and mindful of each selection of toys from newborn to adolescence gives your child a stimulating and educating environment. When you see your child developing firsthand with the mindful toys you selected, your confidence will grow as a parent. If you found this post helpful, please subscribe to my newsletter and my Facebook Group on Sustainable Toys. To see some of the wonderful development toys, check our my toy shop HERE.