A Guide to Choose the Appropriate Toy for Your Little One

The process of your Little One’s growth and development not only requires a complete and balanced nutrition. It also requires age-appropriate stimulation that is done consistently for optimal growth. Well, one of the stimulation that can be done at home by Mommy is to invite the Little One to play.

By playing, the physical, mental, social, emotional, and creativity of the Little One will flourish. Therefore, it is important for Mommy to provide the Little One with the toys that are safe, clean, and useful.

Here is a guide in choosing toys for babies 6-12 months old:

The Little One age 6-9 months old

How glad it is when the Little One grasps Mommy's fingers. At this age, the Little One is more skilled at using her hands and fingers. He/she is able to stack blocks on other blocks, wiggle objects that are held, and begin to distinguish facial expressions. Mommy can give him/her the following toys:

• Books. Select the book according to the age of the Little One, make sure the composition of the images are more dominant than the writings. Reading stories is a fun and interactive activity. Mommy can sharpen the Little One’s linguistic intelligence with this activity. Let the Little One explore the book being read together. To be more exciting, Mommy can mimic the sound of animals that become the core of the story or change the sound when reading the story.

• Busy board. The Little One would love this, because he/she can explore the existing parts, such as turning it, touching it, and others. This is great for training hand coordination and sensory experience. Make sure the toys are strong enough and avoid using toys made from hazardous materials.

• Soft dolls or stuffed animals. The Little One of this age often devotes his affection on his/her favorite toy. Mommy can give him/her a soft textured doll or stuffed animal. Avoid buttoned or plastic-eyed dolls for fear of the Little One swallowing them if bitten. Make sure the puppets are washed periodically to keep them clean.

The Little One age 9-12 months old

The Little One’s movements are getting more and more numerous. He/she also likes to explore his playroom. He/she will crawl, hold on to the table, and walk slowly or by holding onto objects. There is also a chance that he/she also begins to scribble and often take objects that are around him/her. What toys could actually suits him/her?

• Ball. A suitable tool to train the coordination of the feet and eyes of the Little One. Teach him/her to play catch. Choose a lightweight ball made of a safe plastic material.

• Pushed toys. Train your Little One’s motor skills by using this tool.

• Toy phone. The Little One is a master imitator. With this toy, Mommy is training him/her to communicate well. Moreover, this toy can help train the Little One to be able to press or rotate the number keys on the toy.

• Blocks. Playing building blocks is useful for sharpening the ability of the Little One’s motor skill. Avoid providing the Little One with small blocks because there is a risk of the blocks to be swallowed.

Whatever the activity or toy of the Little One, Mommy's guidance and direction remains the major key. There's no better way than playing with him/her. To facilitate the provision of stimulation, Mommy can find out more about the various exciting activities that can be done with the Little On the site Morinaga Multiple Intelligence Play Plan. The distribution of play ideas are adapted to the age of the Little One and also the type of intelligence that is ging to be trained. Don’t you think that it is very helpful? Not only that, Mommy's play plan can be printed as a guide at home. What are you waiting for, plan your play activities to help the growth and development process to be optimal.