Everyday household objects such as spoons and pots
or coasters make the best and most inexpensive baby
toys at this stage of babyhood. They are new and exciting
to the baby and best of all, these items are used
by you. Infants approaching toddlerhood also show
preference for scaled down versions of adult props
that make noise, are colorful and are textured such
to appeal to baby's sensibilities. Examples are plastic
keys, dishes and spoons, hammers etc.
Shaper
sorters with subtle differences in shape
and size attract older infants. They don't yet understand
the concept behind spatial relationships so simpler
varieties of shape sorters, stacking cups, stacking
rings are preferred. A typical eight-month old infant
will start playing filling and dumping: picking
up smaller objects such as cubes and cups and dumping
them into larger containers or boxes. Once filled,
she dumps the whole lot out and starts all over
again.
Blocks
introduced at six months can now be built
into small wobbly towers. Babies prefer knocking
over stacks of blocks to stacking them. This is
part of normal behavior.
Older babies welcome
tub play-sets that stick to the tub with
suction cups and have all kinds of interesting attachments
such as water wheels, bubble blowers. Babies this
age resent bathing; entice them by stocking tubs
with exciting tub toys and lessen bath-time ordeals.
Balls
are an all time babies' favorite toy, more so from
this age onwards. They are able to maneuver them
now more than previously like holding, throwing,
rolling when approaching a year old. Make sure balls
they play with are too large to fit in their mouths
and too hard to bite pieces off with those few teeth
they now possess.
Pull toys often
perform in some way when the string is pulled. Playing
with them teaches baby basic cause and effect. Make
sure baby is supervised and string leash is short
and strong (under 7 inches) to minimize chances
of strangulation. Small-wheeled vehicle such as
a miniature car, truck and even animal is another
hit item with babies. They love pushing and pulling
them.
Pretend
play starts to grow in importance for the
10 month-old baby. They mimic you in the kitchen
by cooking with real pots and spoons while you prepare
meals. They babble into toy phones and real phones.
They tend to dolls in the manner they have been
tended to. This behavior continues into preschool
years with some modifications.
Stuffed toys with built
in music boxes help develop your baby's taste
in music. Show your baby how to wind up these toys
and let them feel the vibrations as it moves.
Kitchen
cabinet or drawer excites babies aged about
eight months onwards for them to stash away their
own kitchenware. Bangable, lightweight pots and
pans, rounded utensils such as wooden spoons, plastic
tupperware of different shapes and sizes can be
offered to them and the rest of the stuffs should
be locked away. Babies love the nose produced with
the banging and pounding. The din gives them a clear
message about cause and effect; baby's banging is
causing the entire ruckus.
Busy
boxes contain more intricate gizmos such
as character pop-ups, pretend phone dials that ring.
Mostly placed on the floor, choose one with long
standing value by seeing to it that they contain
lots of sounds, colors and features. Some mobiles
come with music boxes; it is time to replace black
and white mobiles with colorful versions
Walkers are for
babies who are strong enough to pull up on furniture
and take some tiny steps with aid. These wheeled items
come in the form of wagons, wheeled chairs or anything
baby can hold onto and use to propel himself across
the floor. Saucer walkers are not recommended due
to the high volume of accidents. Despite that, walkers
remain a hot favorite.
The final word
Many of the
toys if chosen carefully during your baby's
late infancy, will be useful during toddlerhood.
Keep a low shelf
stocked with baby's favorite books so that she can
reach for one when she feels like it. Keep your own
books out of baby's reach unless you want them in
shreds.
Baby gears should
never be bought at secondhand. An old swing or crib
or playpen could be quite dangerous without any telltale
signs. Don't compromise on baby's products.
Once baby starts to
crawl or cruise, you will need to limit his
access to parts of the house that are 100% safe. Safety
gates are easy to install and mobile enough to be
relocated to different parts of house according to
need.
If you decide to invest
in a walker, choose the new stationary version
- a non-mobile play table with a rotating seat. Used
in short stints (15-30 mins at a time) walkers can
be godsend. You will still need to keep a close watch.
When your baby starts to scrunch up her knees every
time you place her in the walker, its time for her
to walk using her own legs and put the walker away.
