How many toys does a child need? What toys do children of different ages need? What toys does a child need from birth to one year? What toys does a baby need after 6 months?

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When arranging a nursery for our long-awaited baby, most of us either put off buying toys until the last minute, leaving them to friends to buy, or, on the contrary, buy up the entire assortment at our disposal. Meanwhile, toys for a baby, especially in the first months, are one of the most important sources of obtaining new information about the world, a tool for the development of consciousness and fine motor skills, which are directly related to the development of the baby’s speech. That is why we have created a short guide for you with information about what toys your child will need in the first six months of his life.

General rules when buying toys

Check the strength of the toy and make sure that it does not have small parts that could fall off and get into the baby’s mouth, or sharp edges that could cause injury. The best option is toys in red, yellow, green and blue colors. It is them that babies perceive first. Remember that the child should be surrounded by no more than 2-3 toys at a time, which you will change every few days.

Remember that the child should be surrounded by no more than 2-3 toys at the same time.

First month

In the first month of your baby's life, you won't need toys yet. But you can stimulate your baby's vision development by hanging several simple black and white images with geometric patterns. With their help, he will learn the ability to focus his gaze.

Second month

At this point, your baby will begin to be interested in his immediate surroundings, so it’s time to secure it above his crib or changing table bright mobile(movable structure with music and various figures), a funny rattle or cardboard figures(cubes, prisms, balls) with black and white geometric patterns. They will contribute to the development of the baby's vision and his ability to fix his gaze on a moving object.

Third month

Now is the time to start developing your baby's grasping abilities. Perfect for this purpose rattles and any other toys that can be taken by hand ( balls, mushrooms, plastic and rubber rings and so on). Make sure that you have rattles of different shapes at your disposal: with a grooved handle, in the shape of a ring, with a stick-shaped handle, and so on. Such toys can be either plastic or fabric. It's better if you have both at your disposal. Another necessary element of the nursery is educational mat with arcs. In addition, you will need a large beach or gymnastic ball, on which you can ride your child in the morning.

Fourth month

You will need several bright toys that can attract his attention.

At this stage, your task is to strengthen the baby’s interest in lying on his tummy and stimulate his desire to roll over. Therefore, you will need several bright toys that can attract his attention. You can use it for this purpose tumblers, rattles and soft balls, bells or other sounding toys. In addition, now is the time to develop tactile sensitivity. They will cope with this task perfectly toys made from different fabrics, or simply set of different scraps(feathers, satin, fur, flannel and other materials). To develop fine motor skills, purchase bright rag bracelets or socks with a bell, which can be put on the baby's hand. This toy will teach the child to connect two handles together and touch one handle to the other. A month later you will attach them to your baby's legs.

Fifth month

This month's toy is cubes. They can be either plastic, wood or even vinyl. Getting to know their rectangular shape will develop your baby's grasping skills. To develop fine motor skills at this age, stock up on small balls(about the size of a ping pong ball) , sticks and small cubes. It is better if all items are wooden. With their help, you will teach your child to transfer objects from hand to hand and make decisions. Another useful toy at this stage is a ring- teether, intended for chewing during the period of teething. Give preference to products with surfaces of varying degrees of ribbing and those that can be cooled in the refrigerator. In this case, they will help relieve pain when the first teeth appear.

Sixth month

At this age, the child becomes interested in playing with picture books.

It's time to pay attention to the development of your baby's hearing, diversifying his life musical toys. They will teach the child to find the source of the sound, and can also stimulate his desire to crawl towards it. In addition, purchase bath toys. Your baby will have fun playing with them in the bath. At this age, the child becomes interested in playing picture books. They can be wooden, thick cardboard, rag or even vinyl. In addition to this, also purchase toys that contain mirror, the child will study his reflection with interest.

In the next article we will tell you about what toys your baby will need in the second half of the year.

Your child is growing, developing, his skills and abilities are improving. By 6 months, not all, but many children already know how to crawl and sit. This gives them the opportunity to view the world around them in a new way - from a vertical position. And parents have something to offer six-month-old children, because their “field of activity” is rapidly expanding.

Kids see new things in old toys and begin to study them again, more closely, sometimes with surprise, as if they had just seen them today. However, the arsenal of children's fun should expand. For a 6-month-old baby, it is necessary to find toys that are appropriate for his age. They must develop him and help him improve.

The importance of playing with your baby

It is worth noting the important role of games with a 6-month-old baby. Yulia Kasatkina (educational psychologist, early childhood development specialist at the MAMAntenok club of future parents) reasonably notes that “skills are developed in play that will not develop on their own or will develop very late if there is no special influence from adults. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct games daily and several times a day.”

For example, if a baby is supposed to go at 8 months, then without development and without classes he will go only at 1.5 years. The same is true with speech - without improving this skill, the child will speak much later. Pediatricians all over the world record similar statistics, convincing mothers to pay attention to their babies and help them on this difficult path to self-improvement. And games are the best way to do this.

Playing with your baby means accelerating his development. Most modern psychologists and teachers agree with this statement.

Games for 6 month olds

Remember: the child does not know how to use toys. The parents' task is to teach him a variety of actions.

For fine motor skills

Starting from five months, your child can be offered time-tested toys that develop fine motor skills.

Game with a pyramid with large rings

When offering a pyramid to your child, you should not expect him to immediately assemble it in order - ring to ring. At the first stage, the parent offers the baby one ring (the bottom one) and asks to take it off. Of course, mom or dad first removes it with their own hand, then with the child’s hand, and only after 2-3 weeks of such demonstrations will the child learn to remove it himself. When he learns to remove one ring, you can offer him to remove three, and after a while - all the rings. As soon as the baby masters the manipulation of removing the rings, you can start putting them on.

As soon as the baby turns 6 months old, offer him a pyramid - a toy that has been played by more than one generation of children. The pyramid is multifunctional, develops fine motor skills well and entertains the child.

Container with toys

When a 6-month-old child has learned to sit (even if leaning on mommy or daddy), he can be invited to play the following game on the rug: take a container or box containing various small toys. The container can be shaken to attract the child's attention. Say: “What is this in the box here? Let's watch!" Naturally, in the first stages you open the lid, then teach your baby to do it on his own. So, the box is open, what to do next? Next, you show the child how to take things out of the box, and when he learns to do this, then teach him to put everything back.

The simplest container can become part of a game with a child. You can put toys in it, take them out and perform various manipulations that only have enough imagination.

Balls (balls) in a cup

Let's complicate the task. You will need a box, balls and regular plastic cups (balls can be replaced with balls of thread or any other round objects). First, you teach the baby to take a ball from a box and then throw it into a cup. This is a rather difficult action for a 6-month-old baby, because first you need to take this ball, and then put it in a cup! This may take time.

Balls in a cup and spoon

To make this game even more challenging, use a large wooden spoon. Now we will first take a ball or ball from the container, put it in a spoon (by hand), and then transfer it to a glass.

For gross motor skills

Put on warm, thick socks, lie on the floor and place your baby on your feet. His head should be facing you. Hold your baby's hands tightly. Now move your legs: up and down, left and right, in a circle, etc. According to your capabilities and imagination. It’s still not difficult to lift a 6-month-old baby; at the same time, mothers are pumping up their abs.

Thanks to this fun, the baby trains gross motor skills, the vestibular system, masters balance, learns to navigate in space, and also trust an adult.

Kids really like this fun. The baby can lie on the mother’s feet, as well as on top of her legs (as is more convenient for her). This is both a game that develops the vestibular system and an exercise for mom that puts her tummy in order.

For learning to crawl

10-15 minutes a day should be devoted to games aimed at developing a skill such as crawling. 6 months is the time to learn this.

“Classics of the genre”: put the baby on a hard floor, and in front of him - his favorite toy. The toy should be out of his reach; the child needs effort to reach it. Of course, no matter how much he wants, he won’t crawl right away, so he needs help: place a cushion from a blanket or towel under the baby’s chest - it will lift his upper body. Now it’s easier for the baby to lift his back and tuck his legs under him. This way he will understand the “crawling” mechanism better and faster. Work with your child every day, and the results will not be long in coming.

At this age, babies learn to crawl at full speed. To help cope with this difficult task, the classic method is used - a toy “in front of the nose,” but at such a distance that the baby cannot reach it. This will encourage him to move his body forward.

For tactile sensations

This is a fun activity that all kids, without exception, enjoy. Undress your child down to his diaper (he already likes it!). Take several objects that you can move over your naked body - a feather, a piece of soft fabric, a silk ribbon, something fluffy, a comb for newborns with soft wool bristles, etc. Start with the tummy, then the arms, legs. The child will either freeze, then smile, or make sounds of delight from unusual sensations. As soon as you feel that the wave of interest has subsided, turn the baby over and stroke his back. Use 2-3 items in one “session”. They diversify the sensations.

To develop the baby's tactile sensations, you can stroke your hands or objects of different textures - a feather, a brush, a silk ribbon, etc. The baby can be placed on a velvet cloth or a soft towel. This will add sensation to him.

For speech development

Game "Telephone" (from 6 to 8 months). You will need a toy telephone handset. The essence of the fun is to speak into it, pronouncing different syllables with different intonations. Sit next to your child, hold the receiver to your ear, pronounce the simplest syllables, changing your intonation and voice. For example, “ba-ba-ba!”, “ba-ba-ba?” or “ma-ma-ma!”, “ma-ma-ma?”. Give the phone to your baby, perhaps he will also repeat these syllables after you.

Game “First Words” (from 6 to 12 months). We teach the baby onomatopoeia and the first babbling words. Place your baby on his back and lean over him so that he can see your face. Take him by the hands and begin to clearly pronounce syllables and words. For each word, spread the baby’s arms to the sides. “Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma-mommy (arms to the sides)”, “pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-daddy (to the sides)”, etc. The child will listen to you, smile, move his lips trying to imitate you. We spread our hands and bring them together - this way they will not distract him from the process, but on the contrary, they will help him concentrate on it.

Children's sensory mat for general development

Educational rugs are a large canvas (on average 110x80 cm), on which various colorful scenes are drawn. There are Velcro and buttons throughout, to which additional parts are attached. For example, a cloud is “fastened” to a button. Typically, the rug comes with up to 20 items - animals, birds, fish, butterflies, cars, geometric figures and much more. The pieces can move freely around the rug, allowing your child to create exciting stories and change the plot on the go. A 6-month-old baby will be fascinated by feeling the parts, tearing them off and attaching them back.

Sensory mats are very popular today. They include many tricks, secrets and tricks that are fun for kids to figure out. These are details that feel different to the touch, attached with buttons and Velcro, these are bright multi-colored figures, etc.

All figures are sewn from fabrics of different textures, which allows them to develop fine motor skills and tactile perception. Playing with them develops imagination, expands vocabulary and introduces the baby to the world around him.

How do you know when to make things more difficult?

The games that are offered to a child sooner or later become very simple for him. Therefore, they need to be complicated.

The game needs to be made more difficult when the child completes the previous task 100%.

It is very important not only to find time for games, but also to know how to play with a little person. The effectiveness of the game will depend on this. But the main thing is that everyone has fun, right?

Gameplay with a six-month-old baby should last from 3 minutes to 15 minutes. After six months - longer.
You need to play with him after feeding or sleeping. And also when he is in a good mood. If the baby begins to get sick or is overtired, then classes cannot be carried out, because they will bring neither benefit nor pleasure.
To play with a baby, an adult himself should remember what it is like to be a child.
You need to be on his level. If the baby is on the sofa, then you need to sit next to the sofa and play “eye to eye”.
The playroom should be ventilated more often - playing in a stuffy room with a child is very difficult. He will get tired quickly, be capricious and irritated.
Don't forget to praise your baby. If he succeeds in something, be sure to smile and say: “Well done!” You will see delight and joy in his eyes; for the sake of your smile and approving words, the baby will try to do more and more.
With a six-month-old baby, it is better to play active games in the morning, and calm educational games in the evening.

results

If you work regularly with your 6-month-old baby, you will quickly achieve important successes:

The baby makes full use of his hearing, vision, and speech skills. He easily makes eye contact, and his “hugs” are emotionally charged.
You can no longer keep a 6-month-old baby in a crib or playpen. He is smart and active. Thanks to daily exercises, he actively crawls, tries to sit independently and even stand on his feet!
The baby has excellent hand control, easily picks up small objects without the help of adults, and enjoys playing with them.

Don’t be upset if, when playing with your six-month-old child, you see that he is not interested in something or he does not live up to some “canonical” skills (that’s how it should be, period!). There are no canons or templates! All children are individual, each develops at their own pace. Enjoy every minute you spend with your baby as they grow so quickly. And there will definitely be victories!

For the first six months, the baby’s development period proceeds in the observation phase. Therefore, any material object that is in the house will be educational for him. But how to amuse the baby? What do psychologists recommend, what toys does a child need at 6 months? What criteria should you use to choose a gift for girls and boys?

Why does a baby need toys?

Toys are items intended for leisure, as well as the development of moral and physical skills in a child. They stimulate logical thinking and encourage the baby to take certain actions. At six months, with the help of toys, children understand the world much better, namely:

look closely at unfamiliar silhouettes;
touch surrounding objects;
study a variety of sounds;
develop fine motor skills and logical thinking;
train motor activity - crawl on all fours, throw and gnaw everything that comes to their hands.

The most popular toys for 6-month-old children that will cheer them up:

Garlands, rattles. They are pulled over the child's bed. Their benefit is that they perfectly develop the hearing system.
Teethers. It is recommended to buy models that are made of latex. It should be comfortable for the baby not only to chew on them, but also to hold them in his hands.
Melodic. They respond to touch, button press or push. By playing with such toys, the baby develops cause-and-effect relationships.
Play panels - the toy is attached to a table, bed, or simply lies in front of the baby. Such a children's object serves as a stimulant in the development of auditory and visual perception.

In addition to the above toys, the baby will need: soft cubes, balls and small balls. They are great for developing finger exercises and the musculoskeletal system.

Correct selection criteria

What requirements must toys meet and what should you pay attention to when buying them for a six-month-old child? The main criteria for choosing a gift are the convenience and safety of the product. This list includes:

The material from which the item is made meets safety and cleanliness requirements. Toys should be comfortable, easy to wash and clean, without sharp ends, chips, small or loose parts, and also have a confirmed quality certificate.
Meet age criteria. When buying a gift for a 6-month-old baby, you should take into account his needs and age characteristics. At six months, the child demonstrates an active reaction to toys - he concentrates his attention, tries to reach, crawl. Therefore, such gifts should be of a convenient shape for gripping, suitable in size and weight, not scare away the baby, but delight and help to learn about the world around them.
To be useful to children and contribute to their harmonious development. Objects that make sounds - talking dolls, squeakers (for girls), musical machines, mobiles (for boys).
Toys that help a child master motor skills (balls), fine motor skills (balls, pebbles), tactile sensations and vision.

Keep soft and fluffy toys clean. After all, a baby will carefully study a teddy bunny or a bear and will definitely put it in his mouth. And this is a source of microbes that can cause an allergic reaction in the body, and sometimes inflammation of the oral mucosa (stomatitis).

Developing fine motor skills

At this age, the baby’s muscles are still in good shape, so he is not able to coordinate the movements of his limbs and fingers well. These skills will require the development and perfection of fine motor skills. For a 6-month-old baby, it is advisable to purchase toys such as:

Rattles are one of the first educational objects in a baby's life. After all, until three months, the little man basically supervises what is happening. He tries to concentrate his vision on the baby rattles offered to him, which vary in color palette, type of shape, melodic sound, and size. At 4-5 months, training in movement coordination and the formation of grasping actions begins. During this period, the child needs toys that are hard, textured and heavy.
Sensory bags containing different materials (sand, risk, cereal, peas) or bundles of wooden blocks. Experiment with shape, color, size. A child is always interested in touching and feeling small objects. Such toys can be made with your own hands at home. The main thing is to choose safe materials, without impurities and chemicals.

Balls. A six-month-old baby needs small balls so that he can squeeze, transfer in his hands, throw or roll over the surface. This round simulator is a good helper for the development of fine motor skills and precise coordinated movements.

Developing hearing and speech

From approximately 6 to 8 months, the child’s articulatory apparatus begins to develop. Listening to different sounds, the baby concentrates its attention on them and babbles something. The task of parents is to provide the child with good playing material that will promote the development of speech and hearing skills. Musical toys will help them with this:

spinning tops with sound and light effects;
mobiles, beepers, tumblers;
voiced books with animal voices, poems, songs.

For the development of logic

Every day the baby grows and accordingly develops his intellect. In addition to becoming familiar with the shape and size of toys, the child learns to compare different objects and draw conclusions about their significance. So, during the gameplay, the naughty boy masters new skills and achievements.

What toys will contribute to the development of logical thinking at 6 months:

Cubes (wooden, plastic) of different shapes and sizes.
Sorters (houses, turtles, caterpillars, puzzles, mosaics). The main task of sorters is to teach the baby to correctly sort items by type, size and color. That is, each geometric figure has its own designated place.
Pyramids with rings and cups. By six months, children enjoy mastering the disassembly and assembly of pyramids. This will be a labor-intensive process at first. But when a child learns to think abstractly, he will easily add 3-4 elements by color and size.

Tactile sensations

The formation of tactile sensations occurs when, in the process of playing with toys, a child learns to distinguish their shape, weight, hardness of the material, as well as the sensation of cold and warmth. The development of skin receptors makes the baby think better and explore the world in a safer and more interesting way. To provide competent assistance to a baby, you need the following useful items:

tactile sound and touch sets;
balls, marbles;
magic bags with sand (cereals);
books;
developing mats;
pyramids with rings.

Each toy for a toddler will be special. At first, he will examine it carefully, then feel it and finger it with his hands. If a child suddenly becomes afraid, he needs help to imagine this or that object. It is better to do this together, for example, take the baby by the hand and give the opportunity to touch the surface, telling its characteristics.

Bath toys

At 6 months, it is no longer interesting for a baby to take water procedures without a toy. In order for the bathing process to bring pleasure and benefit to the body, you should acquire them. It is better to buy rubber squeakers, fish, balls, sponges that do not sink and do not provoke the baby to go under water.

Modern bath toys have several main tasks:

distract the baby from washing his face and hair while parents carry out the hygiene procedure;
playing in water contributes to the active development of the muscular corset;
accelerate the process of mastering speech skills and mental development;
floating objects teach better concentration.

When purchasing bath toys, do not forget about the safety and quality of the product - the absence of sharp corners and small parts. Keep them clean after finishing the procedures - wash them regularly and store them in a specially designated place. Children grow up very quickly. They care not only about the love and care of their parents, but also about being surrounded by a lot of active and fun activities.

It seems that everything is simple - it is enough to surround the baby with a variety of play aids for better development. However, experts are convinced that each age needs its own toy, since a child’s capabilities differ significantly between 3 months and 1 year.

The right toys lay the foundation for intellectual and physical development. That is why it is necessary not to let the process of choosing gaming aids take its course, but to very thoughtfully and carefully examine the shelves of children's stores. What are the best toys for babies?

A few words about the number of toys

The number of toys for babies on the shelves of children's stores is amazing. It is not surprising that some parents, trying to give their child the best, immediately after his birth, buy everything.

As a result, the nursery is littered with rattles, dolls, blocks, cars and teddy bears. Is it correct? Of course, every mother decides for herself how many toys her child will have. However, the opinion of experts should still be listened to.

Psychologists are sure that at an early age it is enough for a child to play with 2-3 toys at a time, while the rest play the role of exhibits in a museum. You can fill a child's room with a bunch of bright trinkets, but at the same time not provide the little one with useful material for understanding the world around him.

Playbooks for babies can be considered one of the main sources of knowledge about the surrounding reality. Toys help to explore colors, sizes and shapes, develop coordination and fine motor skills. All this will definitely affect the formation of speech skills.

That is why, when stopping in front of a shelf with another gaming aid, you need to think about whether it can awaken a child’s activity and cognitive interest, or whether the child will play with it for a few minutes and then throw it in a distant drawer.

Thus, it is not necessary to purchase a huge number of toys; a few aids are enough, as long as they correspond to the age and capabilities of the baby and fulfill their main function - the development of the little man.

A toy for a child, no matter how old he is - 3 months or 5 years old, must imitate a real object, while repeating its shape, color and basic qualities. That is, a green elephant or a purple hedgehog are not the best options for playing equipment.

TV doctor Evgeny Komarovsky is convinced that the main properties of good ones are safety and realism. That is, the ball should be round, the cube should be square, the sky should be blue, and the chicken should really look like poultry.

In addition, we should not forget that any toy evokes emotions in a child, which is why it is important for infants that such information content is positive and does not create anxiety and aggressiveness.

Monsters with ugly facial features and disproportionate figures, aggressive-looking cartoon characters, overly naturalistic dolls - all these are examples of bad toys that will definitely not benefit a small child.

It is important to take care of the baby’s emotional comfort. Play aids should be of pleasant colors and shapes, preferably naturalistic in appearance. Well, if they are “talking” or “singing”, then the sound should be soft and quiet.

It remains to figure out exactly what toys a child needs from birth to 12 months.

A newborn baby is just adapting to a world unfamiliar to him, getting used to his mother’s and father’s face and voice. Therefore, children in the first month of life do not need toys as such, since all their time is occupied by feeding, sleeping, or interacting with their parents.

What toys does a 1 month old baby need? It should be understood that at this age the baby is already learning to see and hear relatively well, therefore For its development, toys such as:

The benefits of a mobile

This device is one of the best gaming accessories for little children. It performs two functions at once: educational and entertaining.

A child in the second month of life listens to music, thereby improving auditory perception. And when he grows up a little, you can use the motor abilities of the mobile so that the baby learns to follow moving objects.

In addition, such a toy can entertain and distract the baby for a short time. And during this period, the mother will be able to either rest a little or do some homework without being distracted by the children’s demanding cries or tears.

In stores you can buy simple models with a small number of functions (melodies plus movement of figures) or multifunctional game carousels, which, in addition to the basic options, can be used as a music player, projector and night light.

Electronic mobile

The rattling and noisy toys will be with the child for almost the entire 12 months. To do this, you need to purchase several rattles at once, for example:

You should not think that rattles are necessary only to entertain and calm the baby. These play devices contribute to the comprehensive development and especially the improvement of fine motor skills.

By placing a rattle in a child's hand, you thereby stimulate the development of tactile perception. For this purpose, you need to purchase the lightest, most compact and comfortable toys. A three-month-old baby will gradually learn to play with them on his own.

In addition to the development of fingers, rattles improve coordination between the eyes and hands, and teach them to act purposefully: the child takes the toy, then pulls it towards him to carefully examine it from all sides.

Do a simple exercise with your baby to develop eye coordination. Show your child the rattle, wait until he begins to fix his eyes on it, then move it in different directions. The baby will follow the bright object with its eyes.

From 3 to 6 months

At 4 months the child makes another leap. Now the baby not only observes the world around him, but is also actively involved in its exploration.

Children also like old toys, such as rattles. Noisy and rattling play devices are studied even more carefully, they are examined, they are taken away and brought closer to the face, the kids wave them, shake them, and put them in their mouths.

Such simple exercises, in someone’s opinion, are actually extremely important. They help build connections between parts of the brain, develop visual, auditory, and motor centers in the cerebral cortex.

A child not only explores toys, but with their help he explores his own capabilities. Raising arms, legs, head - all this teaches the baby to overcome difficulties in order to get such a desirable and attractive toy.

A baby at this age will need a teether. Of course, it is difficult to attribute it directly to play equipment, but this item has educational functions: small pimples contribute to sensory stimulation when the baby touches the teether.

At 5 months, the child is already rolling over and making his first attempts at crawling, so the range of toys expands significantly. He will definitely be interested in:

rubber bath toys;
textile rustling objects;
tumblers;
development mats with pockets, buttons, fasteners and a mirror;
arcs with toys of various sizes and colors suspended on them;
children's piano, etc.

For a 5-month-old child, you don’t need to put toys directly into the hands. Experts advise leaving them within sight and reach so that the baby can reach them on his own. This helps improve crawling and grasping skills.

Tumbler

Children at 5 and 7 months are, in fact, babies completely different in capabilities and abilities. Now motor skills are more complex and advanced. The child is able to move on all fours and attempts to stand up are noted.

Hand coordination and fine motor skills are improved. If at four months the baby moved chaotically, now he consciously grabs the desired object not just by a handful, but also with a pinch and with his fingers. The “prey” rises and rushes again, reaching into the mouth. After studying, interest in it immediately disappears.

What will be useful for a child at this age? Experts advise stocking up on the following gaming aids:

A six-month-old child learns to use two hands at once in exploring the world. That's why babies love to tap rattles, blocks, and other play equipment on surfaces.

The child has reached the age of fascination with earbuds. This role can be played by various containers, bowls, glasses, and molds that can be inserted into each other.

Playing with them not only helps to improve motor skills and coordination of visual-motor skills, but also helps to master the concept of “more-less” in a playful way. A large glass cannot be placed in a smaller one, and the baby understands this after using physical force.

As a result, the child changes the tactics of working with objects. Now he moves from physical effort to thinking. Different containers begin to interact with each other as they are related in size. In this way, the baby develops perception and thinking abilities.

A nine-month-old child learns not just to grab toys, but to study the surrounding reality. Now he is a real experimenter and researcher.

The baby is actively looking for favorite toys hidden in the box, finding a use for old items, and trying to establish cause-and-effect relationships. For example, he can watch for a long time how water is poured out of containers and cereals are poured out.

Since the baby is already more active and mobile (some babies are trying to walk), he needs to be closely monitored. An important rule is to remove all objects that pose a danger to the baby higher and further away.

Basic toys for this age:

Sorter is an educational play aid, which is a closed container in the shape of a house, a cube, or a mailbox, in which there are various openings. The point of the game is that the child drops either geometric shapes or silhouettes of animals into the slots intended for them.

Sorters are usually of 2 types:

with figures covering the openings;
with figures pushing through the slots.

For a child under one year old, you should select toys with 3-4 holes or indentations. Otherwise, the baby simply cannot cope with the gameplay, as a result of which the “incomprehensible” toy will smoothly migrate to the basket with unnecessary items.

The very name of the game aid “sorter” indicates the principle of its operation. The child must sort the figures, that is, place objects in the slots, focusing not on his strength, but on their shapes, sizes, and shades.

Such exercises help train the eye, motor dexterity, logical thinking, subtle finger movements, observation and perseverance. All these qualities will be useful in developing and improving speech skills.

In addition, tactile sensations develop. The child, interacting with the “magic box”, learns to distinguish and recognize shades and shapes. Psychologists are convinced that such a toy is also involved in the formation of creative skills. After all, knowing the shapes, kids will be able to quickly move beyond the scribbling stage to understandable images.

It is at this age that most children take their first steps. To facilitate learning and training of walking skills, toy manufacturers offer special rolling carts. They are another support point, holding on to which the child begins to walk.

Typically, such gurneys are made in the form of animals, cars or simple carts. Some devices have game pads that let you listen to music and learn things like numbers.

The benefit of such a gaming device is the development of:

But many experts have a rather negative attitude towards traditional walkers. If a child spends too much time in such a device, then problems with the development of the musculoskeletal system in the future cannot be ruled out.

Roller-walker

The first year is an important milestone in a baby's life. The main achievement of a 12-month-old toddler is the ability to walk independently, without parental support or additional support. To improve balance, it is worth purchasing a wheelchair horse, a tolokar.

Additionally, balls and games with them develop the vestibular apparatus and coordination of movements. Children push the big ball with their hands and feet and run after it to stop it. Small balls are useful for throwing and catching. This will help develop additional motor dexterity.

Now fine motor skills and dexterity have become even more perfect. One-year-old children begin to deliberately throw toys on the floor so that their mother will pick them up and put them in her hands again. This factor must be taken into account when choosing play equipment for children.

One-year-old children will definitely love the metallophone and drum. They not only develop auditory perception, but also teach the child to take into account the force of influence when extracting sounds.

One-year-old children love to tinker with plastic phones and sets of toy dishes. With these toys, the baby performs the same actions as the parents. You've probably watched kids "call" on a plastic mobile phone or "drink" from a plastic cup.

A sandbox set is a must-have toy for a one-year-old baby. A child, playing with sand, develops fine motor skills and speech, learns to hold a scoop, which will be useful to him in the future when learning to use cutlery. Creative abilities are also being developed.

In addition, the child is given soft pencils and crayons at his disposal. Objects that leave a mark delight little explorers. And regular “drawing” helps to quickly master speech and writing skills.

You should not think that for the full development of a child it is enough to simply purchase a toy. Not a single, even the most multifunctional and sophisticated gaming aid can be of benefit to a child if you do not play with him.

And here there are rules that depend on the age of the baby:

If a child does not understand how to play with a toy and gets angry because of this, remove this object, and after a while try to offer to play again. Most likely, this time the baby will accept your offer and master the previously impossible task.

Absolute safety is, of course, the main requirement for play aids for young children. You should not unconditionally trust certificates and markings; it is better to thoroughly study the product you like from all sides.

Plastic toys should not have a strong or unpleasant smell. A toxic “aroma” indicates the use of low-quality material. Purchased plastic items must be washed in soapy water and rinsed thoroughly.
Devices with scratches and chips should be immediately rejected, even if you really liked the toy itself. Such shortcomings indicate low quality of the product, which poses a threat to the health of the child.
Rubber elements must be dense and non-fragile. If they crumble, such toys should be disposed of immediately. Naturally, the same requirements apply to rubber as to plastic products.
Textile toys (especially if they have filling) should be carefully examined for frayed seams. Broken threads may cause a child to swallow the contents of the product and choke.
Wooden toys must be free of burrs. In general, it is not advisable to give wooden products to children under 6 months of age, since the baby may hit himself on the head with the edge of a wooden cube. And this threatens injury.
Before purchasing, also try to rub the product you like to assess the quality of the paint job. The coating should not stain fingers, shed, or leave a feeling of a greasy or waxy layer on the skin.
Avoid purchasing toys with small or fragile parts. Babies always put everything in their mouth, so there is a risk that the child will bite off a piece of plastic and swallow it.

The child needs to play with toys made of various materials. However, for infants, devices made from food-grade plastic are preferable. They are lightweight and safe, so you won’t have to worry about your baby putting them in his mouth.

It is no secret that a child under 12 months (or even older) puts everything into his mouth, as a result of which dirt and bacteria can enter the body. That is why it is necessary to carefully care for the toys that are always near a tiny person. What are the basic rules of care? It all depends on the material.

The following solution is suitable for disinfection: dissolve four tablespoons of soda powder in a liter of water. You can also destroy pathogenic bacteria using diluted vinegar. Surfaces are also wiped with alcohol-containing liquids.

Toys used outdoors are disinfected and sanitized several times a week. Household items should be washed once a week.

So, from birth to one year, a child goes through an impressive “route”. Toys can help with development, but only if they are suitable for the baby’s age.

The list of play aids for newborns and infants is impressive. But we can highlight the “obligatory” toys that should be in every home where a little miracle grows up:

This is a minimum set of educational toys for children under one year old. Later it will be joined by play aids with lacing, large mosaics, construction sets, cars, dolls, and a sandbox set.

What does a good toy mean? First of all, it must be safe. To do this, you need to check the reliability of the assembly and the quality of the material. You should also remember that high-quality game aids are always realistic. And, of course, the toy must correspond to its purpose - the rattle makes noise, the rubber ducky swims.

In the first 12 months of a child’s life, experts equate play activities with exploring the world around them. Toys help a child up to one year old to master basic concepts, gain knowledge and skills.

However, you should understand that choosing the right toy is not the most important thing. Only by communicating with mom and dad, playing with them, will the baby be able to fully develop and feel the desire to explore the world around him. So be there and help your child!

10 most useful toys for a child from 6 months to 1 year August 11th, 2014

We continue to publish a series of articles about the most necessary toys for children of different ages, made in collaboration with psychologists and course trainers at the Mi-mami School of Happy Motherhood.

Today is our selection for children from 6 months to a year. In the second half of life, the baby begins to develop cognitive activity. This is an extremely important development factor, which in the future will allow you to successfully complete schooling, determine professional recognition, maintain an interest in everything new in adulthood and love life in all its diverse manifestations!

And it all starts with the fact that a six-month-old baby, who just recently was “worried” only about the presence of a loving person next to him, suddenly begins to eagerly look around in search of something more interesting: and this something soon appears in his hands, and then in the mouth.

This interest in surrounding objects is very important - this is evidence that in the first half of the year the need for emotional communication was qualitatively satisfied, and your baby found himself at a new stage of development.

There should not be a lot of toys; it is important that they are age appropriate, safe and comprehensively satisfy the needs of development and communication. So, our selection of the most useful toys for children from 6 months to 1 year.

1. Bright soft ball with a bell

This simple toy will become one of the most popular in the nursery. For very young children this is an excellent rattle that is pleasant to the touch.
When a baby is learning to crawl, this bright round object, left a little far away, will certainly make him stretch, roll over and crawl. After a couple of months, the ball will be easy to catch and throw; a little later, it will be good for them to play active games at home, because it is safe and will not knock over everything around them.

2. Rattle "The Sound of Rain"

Starting from 6 months, the baby perfectly recognizes the nursery rhymes that you tell - at this time you can begin to teach him to echo with a rattle in the right place. Later, for better development of motor skills, you can teach your child to ring a bell.

3. Soft toy with ribbons and knots

At about 7 months of age, a child can already pick up objects using his thumb and forefinger. To develop this skill, you can play with your baby with toys with ribbons, ropes and knots, motivating him to grab them with his fingertips.

Having learned to sit, the baby gets special pleasure from bathing. And if you want to diversify games and communication with your child during water procedures, be sure to pay attention to Plui. An original plastic toy that can be used instead of a watering jug will certainly attract the baby's attention. He will definitely want to figure out how to pour water from plastic holes and how to stop it. Later, with its help, parents will be able to clearly tell their children about the circulation of water in nature and stimulate the development of children's imagination.

Another unusual and multifunctional toy for children from 6 months is the Mini Bilibo set. Six multi-colored molds can be folded and disassembled in different ways, and can be taken to play in the sandbox or in the bathroom. They are suitable for your baby's first acquaintance with flowers. Older children will find dozens more ways to use Bilibo, and this will certainly have a positive effect on the development of children's imagination.

6. Insert molds

From 8-9 months you can begin to introduce your child to the concepts of “big and small”. Molds that fit inside one another are perfect for this purpose.

The pyramid is a very important toy for the development of a child’s thinking. For a child under one year old, there should be no more than 3 figures in the pyramid, otherwise the task will be too difficult. Teach your child to string the figures in such a way that the “correct” shape is obtained.
Starting from 9 months, the baby already fully understands the “correct” location of an object and solving such a puzzle not only trains motor skills, but also gives him a feeling of satisfaction.

8. Cubes

As you get closer to one year, be sure to buy some cubes for your child. You can build a tower out of them - it trains your hand and sense of balance. A little later, it will be possible to cost entire cities... just remember your childhood? Could we have done without them then? But if in the past cubes were made exclusively from wood and differed only in designs and sizes, today we have at our disposal many options for this universal children's construction material.
For example, wooden upside-down cubes with moving parts.

Particular attention should be paid to Waldorf cubes of irregular shape, which, according to Waldorf teachers, are more conducive to the development of children's logic, spatial thinking, and also introduce children to natural irregular forms.

9. First car or doll

A child's first favorite toy is one that depicts equipment (a locomotive, a car, a boat), a person or an animal in a general schematic form. These "generalized images" will become important participants in short game stories.
Large wooden cars with large parts from the Latvian company Lotes Toys are perfect for your first car. These toys are hand-carved from natural birch and ash and coated with linseed oil and beeswax, which makes their surface golden and antibacterial.

The small wheels spin easily, bringing an immediate smile and feeling of satisfaction to your baby. Along with positive emotions, playing with a car will bring the baby the development of logical thinking and imagination, fine motor skills and coordination of movements. Aesthetic design and unique wood pattern will contribute to the formation of good taste. “The car drove off, biii-biii-p” - you will say, “Here he came to Mishka” - this is how you will teach your baby to play his first story games.

One year old babies love dolls. It’s true, of course, that they don’t play with them the way older children do, but they happily hug them, holding them close. The best doll for this age may be a baby doll from the German company Kaethe Kruse, which, together with its mother, can be put to sleep in its own cradle.

The dolls from this series are very durable, so you can actively play with them without fear of breakage. Their faces are hand-painted according to sketches by the famous German artist Sylvia Natterer, and they are dressed in special doll clothes with hooks and eyelets that are comfortable for little fingers. So a little later the girls will be happy to change their clothes.

10. First books

Buy books for your child – be sure to be bright, with interesting pictures, and clearly depicted objects. Looking at them together with an adult, the baby will increase his vocabulary and train his memory. And the love of books, instilled in childhood, is an important step towards becoming a little person.

Instead of a conclusion:

Toys help develop the baby’s motor skills and thinking, and develop his cognitive activity. Buy toys for your children - beautiful and useful ones, buy them thoughtfully. And remember also that simply surrounding a child with toys without demonstrating what to do with them is not effective. It is important to constantly talk, using the names of objects that surround you and actions with them. It is the adult who must show the child how to operate with objects, expanding his ability to understand the world.

The full version of this article is posted on the website of the School of Happy Motherhood