Baby toys can be so much more than just colorful objects intended to keep a child busy. Educational baby toys are about purposeful discovery and supporting early childhood development. They initiate developmental milestones and practice both specific movement sequences and cognitive concepts. This sounds exhausting, disciplinary, and not at all like fun or joy to you?! For your baby, however, it is, because in the first years of life, nothing thrills toddlers more than learning about the new and unknown with great joy. And how proud one feels when a new maneuver or movement sequence solves yet another puzzle!
What fascinating things are there to discover, and how exactly can I solve problems? Is it easier to examine an object with the mouth or with the hands? Is an object firm or soft, colorful or monochrome, smooth or rough, small or large, manipulatable and changeable? Your baby wants to learn all of this, and educational motor skills toys can help with that.
Motor skills toys are educational baby toys developed to specifically target a certain motor skill or pedagogical principle. This can include more general abilities such as hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and mobility, or they can be oriented even more precisely toward individual milestones in early childhood development within these abilities. For example:
Overall, learning for babies and toddlers is a continuous process shaped by interaction with their environment, their experiences, and their relationships. Therefore, it is important that parents and caregivers support and encourage them on this exciting journey, but above all, create an environment in which children can (and are allowed to!) experiment, try things out, and develop in peace. The senses play an especially important role in the learning process of babies and toddlers, as they explore the world around them through seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching. These sensory experiences help babies become familiar with their surroundings and discover new things.
While glaringly bright plastic toys from mass-market retailers often capture a baby's attention and distract them too much, they are of less use for patient exploration and learning itself. Educational baby toys or motor skills toys for babies, on the other hand, have only one or two very central goals, even for toddlers, and are therefore very focused on this objective. This helps significantly more with exploring and learning new movement sequences. In addition, motor skills toys are stable and safe, so they can be knocked over without breaking, and are made from wood and natural materials.
Below are 12 recommendations for educational motor skills toys for babies and toddlers:
1. Contrast mittens
Age: 0 - 3 months
Discovering their own hands and opening their clenched fists happens in the first three months and forms the basis for hand motor skills.
2. Crinkle cloth
Age: 0 - 12 months
Feeling and grabbing. The special shape, contrast colors, and material fascinate babies, and the crinkling sounds when grabbed promote grasping motor skills.
3. Rattle socks
Age: 3 - 6 months
Between the 3rd and 6th month of life, babies discover their own feet. The rattle socks help with this by making great rattling sounds when the feet are wiggled, drawing attention to their legs.
4. Interlocking discs
Age: 3 - 12 months
The special shape of these interlocking discs promotes "radial-palmar grasping" with one hand and transferring objects from one hand to the other.
5. Baby mirror
Age: 3 - 36 months
Mirrors capture your baby's concentration and focus. Focusing on themselves in the mirror helps with body awareness and the understanding of three-dimensionality.
6. Rainbow drum
Age: 4 - 12 months
Through cause-and-effect (you hear a rattle when turning the drum), your baby will, out of interest, try to prop themselves up while in a tummy-time position to examine this toy closely.
7. 3D puzzle
Age: 7 - 16 months
Exploring shapes and putting matching pieces together. This promotes problem-solving skills and manual dexterity.
8. Tissue box toy
Age: 3 - 36 months
Isn't it exciting what can be conjured out of this tissue box? Using fine motor skills, your baby reaches for the folded tissues and pulls them out one by one.
9. Object permanence box
Age: 6 - 12 months
Grabbing and releasing. Could it be that objects (like this ball) continue to exist even though you can't see them for a short time? That must be examined closely!
10. Stacking cups
Age: 6 - 36 months
Stacking cups also promote hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills when the baby tries to stack them. Additionally, your baby learns about gravity when the tower is knocked over.
11. Montessori cylinder block
10 - 12 months
With the cylinder block, babies can practice the pincer grasp (targeted grasping by bringing the thumb and index finger together). Once this is mastered between 10 and 12 months, it becomes so much fun that they start picking up the tiniest little stones or cigarette butts outside. So keep an eye on them, dear parents!
12. Sensory book
Age: 8 - 48 months
Feeling different materials and exploring different shapes by touch requires being able to aim quite precisely with the little fingers. Initially a really difficult, but exciting challenge!
Phase-based play and learning with educational toys so that your baby gets exactly what they need in each of their developmental phases. You can find all the information about the new Montessori play kits from Paul & Lori here!
✓ 6 play kits ✓ Delivery every 3 months
✓ For 0-18 months ✓ Incl. tips for your baby
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