Almost all parents, even before the birth of their baby, strive to prepare to the maximum, buying up everything they can from store shelves. Children's toys play a separate role in this. Caring parents want to give all the best for their child, so they try to buy as many toys as possible. But often all this stuff is too much.
Often, many of them are simply not needed. Some toys are absolutely useless and quickly bore kids, while others are of poor quality and quickly fail and break. How to choose the right quality educational toys for children under 1 year old, what to look for when choosing and which one is better, more on this.
Content
Signs of quality toys for children under 1 year old
Kids should be responsible when shopping for toys. At this age, not all fun is suitable for children; they must pay attention to important selection criteria. Which ones:
- Age. Be sure to study the packaging before purchasing. It clearly indicates the age restrictions that must be met.
- Skills development. The toy should not only be interesting and exciting. Its goal is necessarily to develop skills. There should be at least several of them. These include fine motor skills, crawling, speech and others.
- Good quality and durability. At such a small age, babies love to pull everything in their mouths, exploring the world around them. Toys should be very durable and should not contain small parts so that the baby cannot break and swallow them.
- Do not contain sharp corners and protruding parts. All edges must be smooth, without sharp corners and protruding edges, to avoid injury.
- High quality materials. Not all manufacturers can boast of good quality toys in terms of their workmanship and materials. Be sure to monitor the quality of materials. These include high quality plastic, fabric and wood. Such development should not exude any odors.
- Low sound. Many modern toys make a variety of sounds and melodies. Quality includes those that are not loud and noisy.
- Washable. Since babies are constantly tasting everything at such a young age, toys must be washed regularly. Accordingly, they must be made of appropriate materials that can withstand multiple washes.
Selection of the best manufacturers
The modern children's toys market offers a huge variety of different fun. For this reason, parents and relatives of the baby buy a large number of such toys, regardless of the brand and country of the manufacturer. But not all manufacturers can boast of good quality and absolute safety of the materials they are made of. Therefore, it is very important to study in detail the packaging, the country of origin and the brand before buying.
The best and safest manufacturers include toys from the following companies.They are distinguished by high quality, safety, strength and durability. Which companies and manufacturers are we talking about:
- Playgro;
- TinyLove;
- Playskool;
- TafToys;
- Klddieland;
- BrightStars;
- FischerPrice.
All of these brands are not cheap, but are of high quality. There are less expensive brands. They are manufactured in China. The products are not as durable and strong as those of previous firms, and sometimes they are defective. But in general, the toys are not bad in appearance, functionality and quality. These include:
- LiderKids;
- CanpolBabies;
- HappyBaby;
- Smoby;
- RichToys.
But what exactly should not be bought for your little toddlers are toys from little-known or completely unknown companies. Poor quality toys can affect the health of the baby, so you should only trust trusted manufacturers.
Educational toys for children from 0
Having dealt with the criteria for choosing children's fun and the best manufacturers, you can start choosing the toy itself. The assortment is large enough, eyes diverge when choosing, but which one to choose? A list of the best and most recommended is provided.
Children's hammer with pegs
At the age of one, it is still quite difficult for a baby to complete tasks for fine motor skills. For the development of this quality, a game is proposed, where the main task is to hammer wooden pegs with a wooden mallet. Even if the child will not hit the pieces of wood at first, random hammering is a very good way to develop fine motor skills. To complete this task, the child must make every effort, which has a positive effect on his development. An additional bonus is the material from which the product is made. Wood is an ecological and absolutely safe material. Due to the multi-colored pegs, in the future it will be possible to develop counting in the child and learn colors.
Pros:
- the development of a small motor motor of the hands, which subsequently will have a positive effect on the development of speech;
- high quality materials (naturalness, strength and environmental friendliness);
- the ability to learn colors and counting;
- it will be possible to play at an older age.
Minuses:
- a wooden hammer is not the safest toy for a child. For this reason, do not leave your toddler alone with a toy.
Beanbag
Baby rattles appear among the first toys among babies. They are easy to use and suitable for all kids. This simple but multifunctional game is a great alternative for developing hearing, sight and touch. You can touch it, ring it, it looks interesting, you can chew it. There are many options with moving parts and teethers.
Pros:
- inexpensive price range;
- multifunctionality - the development of several skills at once;
- very easy to use.
Minuses:
- due to the fact that the child often gnaws rattles, it is necessary to wash them often;
- such fun quickly bother the baby.
Sorter
This is a great toy for the development of logical thinking crumbs. They are produced by many firms and brands. They come in a variety of shapes and designs. It can be a house, a teremok, a car, a locomotive and others. In such a toy there are many holes of different shapes. Each hole comes with a specific part. The kid must choose the right and suitable figure for each hole. This is a great way to develop logic, thinking, fine motor skills in a child. Thanks to this, the baby gets the skills of comparison, finding commonalities between parts and holes. But this game is not easy for this age. Therefore, it is recommended to play with the help of adults.
Pros:
- the game is absolutely safe and bright enough;
- logical thinking, hand motor skills, attentiveness develops;
- details can be used in other games, when teaching colors, counting.
Minuses:
- details can be lost.
Baby crib mobile
Among the first toys for babies, along with baby rattles, is a baby crib mobile. This is a plastic construction with many children's toys (suns, stars, animals, fish and other figures) attached to the crib, being above it. All figures have a bright color, beautiful design, often a pleasant melody and backlighting. The fun can be groovy or battery-powered. When you turn it on, all small toys rotate, a pleasant melody to choose from several sounds, a pleasant backlight works. All this distracts and calms the baby well, and his mother has at least a little time for distraction. Such fun will be appropriate and one of the best in the first 3 months of a newborn's life, after which it loses its relevance.
Pros:
- due to the automatic operation of the mobile, the mother can distract herself from the baby a little;
- interesting and beautiful appearance, pleasant sounding of several melodies;
- the development of the baby's vision and hearing.
Minuses:
- a good quality mobile has a considerable price;
- quickly loses its relevance;
- short time of use;
- not able to fully replace communication with their parents.
Gurney
A gurney or walker are ideal helpers for the physical development of the baby. With their help, the baby can take the first steps in his life. Doctors say that this option is ideal and much better than the standard classic walker. Thanks to such a toy, the baby will move faster around the house, so this will give parents additional trouble. On the other hand, in the presence of a high-quality wheelchair, all muscle tissues will effectively develop in the baby, balance will be trained, which will quickly teach the child to walk independently. The little one will take its first steps faster.
Pros:
- development of gross motor skills and physical development of the child;
- multifunctional use - the gurney can be used both at home and taken with you for a walk;
- as an additional entertainment, additional details and other elements located on the body are provided.
Minuses:
- due to instability, the child will have frequent falls;
- many wheelchairs can slide on the floor (parquet, laminate).
For your toddler's effective walking skills, it is very important to completely abandon the stroller when the toddler needs it. The use of a stroller in this case is possible only when it is really necessary. In all other cases, it is important to give the baby the opportunity to move independently. Take daily walks with your child during the daytime. Initially, offer to overcome short distances for the baby. This distance is gradually increased.
Children's development mat
Fabric rugs, made from various textures, have arcs on which to hang a variety of toys. All of them are bright, interesting, able to interest and attract the attention of the baby. Such a toy is intended for children who are no longer interested in crib mobiles that can only visually attract the child's attention. Developing rugs are intended for children who still cannot walk, but no longer want to lie calmly and quietly in a crib. This development is universal due to its functionality. The toddler can touch toys, feel different materials and their texture, they can make different sounds and be sensory. You can play on such a rug lying and sitting.
Pros:
- there is a universal development: the visual apparatus, auditory and tactile perception;
- encouraging the baby to play independently;
- has a beautiful design, can be used as a gift for a newborn;
- takes up little space, is easy to store.
Minuses:
- the rug becomes completely useless from the moment the baby begins to crawl;
- has a high price range.
Pyramid of cups
A multi-colored pyramid made of cups is a great opportunity to develop important skills in crumbs, starting from the age of six months. This is an absolutely safe toy, and its distinguishing feature from the usual pyramid is the absence of a sharp pin on which multi-colored parts are strung. This development eliminates the use of small details, which is extremely important. Multi-colored cups are stacked one on top of the other, building a multi-colored beautiful pyramid. You can play with them, use them as containers for playing with water in the bath or sand in the sandbox. Thanks to the vibrant colors of all the cups, there is the possibility of exploring colors and counting.
Pros:
- absolutely safe educational game;
- has a budget and inexpensive price;
- long term of use and operation;
- thanks to its versatility, it makes it possible not only to play, but also to learn.
Minuses:
- if at least one glass is lost, it is impossible to build a complete pyramid.
Soft foam cubes
Special foam blocks are created for the development of child's motor skills. They are similar to plastic or wooden cubes, but have great positive qualities. With their help, you can acquaint your baby with flowers, animals and other objects depicted on each side. Due to the softness of the foam, it is impossible to injure the baby with such cubes. You can sit on them, fall, throw them, lie down. No injury will occur. Particular attention should be paid to the Velcro cubes. With their help, it will be possible not only to play educational games, build houses and learn, but also develop creative thinking.
Pros:
- are among the absolutely safe toys;
- the ability to train sensory skills due to the softness of the materials;
- development of spatial thinking;
- there is the development of fine motor skills, and subsequently, speech.
Minuses:
- due to instability due to the softness of materials, they are not particularly suitable for construction;
- easy to stain.
With the help of these cubes, you can teach your child to build and destroy towers and other structures. Parents should give an example of such a construction, after which, with an enthusiastic look, quickly destroy the structure. The kid will see how this happens and strive to build such a structure out of soft cubes on his own.
Children's piano
The musical toy is a great solution for the development and fun of the baby. The toy is very beautiful, bright, colorful. Publishes many pleasant melodies. The piano keys are colored differently so you can learn them. Each key is large. It's easy to press. When you press each key, a pleasant music or melody starts playing. There must be several volume levels to avoid frightening the child. Melodies shouldn't be loud. They give preference only to high-quality amusements created by well-known and proven manufacturers. These pianos operate on batteries, so they prefer models where the batteries are not just closed with a lid, but also screwed on. This will make it possible to prevent batteries from getting into the baby's mouth.
Pros:
- bright, stylish and beautiful design;
- stimulates the development of hearing and musical perception;
- the child remembers children's songs faster;
- long-term use and service life.
Minuses:
- belongs to the category of noisy games;
- runs on batteries that need to be replaced periodically.
Children's play center
A great find for parents, since such centers can captivate and occupy a child for a long time. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They have many compartments and figures moving among themselves, fabric and plastic inserts, various parts in the form of rings, abacus, multi-colored molds and rustling elements. Such a center is capable of producing various sounds and melodies, has musical accompaniment, perfectly develops fine motor skills, logic, attention and memory of the baby. You can play such a game from an age when the baby can sit on his own.While the child plays with the center, parents can briefly be distracted by household chores, giving the child an opportunity for independent play.
Pros:
- with the help of such a center, hearing, vision, sensing and motor activity develop;
- allows the baby to play independently;
- gives parents the opportunity to briefly escape from their child due to a long passion for the game.
Minuses:
- has a high price range;
- replacement of batteries is periodically necessary.
The first toys of the child should be multifunctional, educational and always of high quality. You cannot save on such items, because often cheap fun is of poor quality, which leads to bad consequences. Please read the packaging carefully before purchasing. Good toys should be made exclusively from high quality materials and be absolutely safe.
Many plastic toys have significant differences. It is often possible to notice that one plastic does not look very bright, but of high quality. Others look very bright, but not reliable. In the first case, the toy will last a long time and will not cause any negative consequences. The second option should be immediately excluded, since very bright colors are contraindicated for babies, and poor-quality material quickly fails, which will lead to injury to the child or much more serious consequences. Additionally, such a toy will not last long.
Particular attention is paid to the sound volume. Too loud sounds can scare a baby. Be sure to give preference when choosing toys with multiple sound switching modes. Toys that exude the unpleasant odors of cheap plastic should generally be avoided. This is very unsafe for health.
It is recommended to give preference to only well-known and trusted companies. The manufacturer must be reliable and the packaging must include the recommended age limit. Better to buy fun that is multifunctional. With their help, you can study colors, learn to count, build cities and structures. Toys at such a young age should not only bring joy and entertainment. Development should be their main goal. Among the above, the development of fine and gross motor skills, logical thinking, visual and auditory apparatus, tactility, and touch is important.
You shouldn't buy everything for your baby. The maximum potential for learning and development does not depend on the number of toys. Many of them are often considered useless. The choice of development tools must be careful and selective. Therefore, it is better to buy only one crumbs, but a high-quality and multifunctional toy instead of several of poor quality. She will not only last a long time, but will also become a faithful assistant in the development of your baby.