Making the right choices for your baby's development

Every parents primary concern after health and safety is probably the happy development of their child. Children need stimulation to be both happy and to develop well. Babies quickly develop a keen interest in the things around them and will use all of their five senses in varying degrees, to figure out their world.  Babies are innately curious and from birth will use their 5 senses of smell, taste, looks, touch and sound.  This gives us as parents a huge responsibility and a fantastic opportunity to provide our children the best stimuli possible.

A child’s surroundings are as important as the toys that they are given to play with. A variety of well chosen toys will stimulate and develop the senses, giving children an understanding of the different smells, tastes, colours, textures and sounds there are to experience. There are a huge choice of baby toys on the market; some good and some not. Making the right choices can be a minefield. Of primary concern is safety, we then need to ask ourselves 'what will my child gain from this toy?'

Babies are naturally drawn to bright or contrasting colours, black and white objects are as intriguing as brightly coloured toys and encourage children to reach out to touch and to feel and often result in a desire to taste.  This is an important aspect of a baby’s development and one which can be capitalised on with the right choice in stimuli. Children’s toys can help to structure a child’s development and can be a great incentive for a child to naturally develop their sensory skills. Toys that encourage young children to use their ears, eyes, fingers and hands will aid early development and improve both their fine motor skills and visual and auditory senses. If a child has the means to be actively engaged in experimentation and able to use all their senses, they will be able to learn far more quickly about the world around them.

Cognitive development is the next stage in learning but is very difficult in a world void of variety. A variety of toys (not quantity!) leads a child to making comparisons and on to making choices.  As children develop they will learn to express their likes and dislikes on the basis of the sounds, colours, tastes and textures that have been experienced.

Young children require round the clock care which can be exhausting work, however the burden can be lessened by providing children with stimulating educational toys. Certain toys can keep babies and children entertained for hours at the same time as providing assurance for parents that children are developing skills necessary for future stages.

At Smart Start Toys a child’s development, entertainment and stimulation is our primary concern in every toy that we buy and sell. Babies need stimulation and thrive from multi-sensory toys; our baby toys are therefor designed to keep all the senses active. As adults we hate to be bored; a child however small feels exactly the same.

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