Toys are the very first item that newborn encounters in the world after birth, and they have a special place in a baby’s universe. The baby’s playthings are more than just a source of entertainment for them; rather, they represent the whole universe to them. A young child and the toys he plays with are inseparable companions. When infants deviate from their parents’ conception of how they should play with their toys, we consider such behavior to be an absence of play on our part and label it as such.
But the truth is very different. In their world, things like throwing, stacking, and hiding are all forms of play. These activities are also a means for them to learn about diverse points of view. The graphic illustrates how playthings, including toys, may influence a child’s growth and development.
8 Ways Toys Can Help Your Baby Learn
Every toy helps the baby in certain aspects, like toys that stimulate hand-eye coordination, cause-and-effect relationships, ones that engage the child, etc. Let’s elaborate on the eight ways in which toys have played an important role in helping a baby learn.
1. Cause And Effect Relationship
The very first toy that a child gets after birth is a rattle, and when we jiggle it, some sound comes. The baby loves the bright colors of the rattle and starts feeling it by licking it or putting it in his mouth, he also tries throwing it or holding it at times.
The best thing that he understands is that when we jiggle the rattle, a sound should come. Thus, his inquisitive mind gets an understanding of the relationship between the rattle and the sound.
2. Study And Discover The Environment
For babies who are newborn to about 10 months, the market is flooded with toys that foster curiosity, teach them about different shapes and sizes, help them learn to crawl, and explore their sense of touch, feel, taste, and vision. One such game is the activity gym, which has lights, hook-on toys, and music.
The baby usually enjoys gym time because they lie down and try to grab the toys that are hanging while listening to music. This helps the baby in developing the upper body and his neck, which is a prior necessity to start rolling, crawling, or trying out any other physical aspects.
3. Understanding Spatial Effects
The baby relates to the concept of throwing, dropping, shaking, or hitting a toy against some surface. They relate to this concept when they forcefully collide two objects, resulting in a loud noise. When they lightly strike them, a soft but barely audible noise is produced. This helps them get a clue between heavy and light, high and low, up and down, big and little, and many other spatial effects.
4. Hand-Eye Coordination
A ball is a round and bouncy toy that interests everyone from a small baby to a big adult. Rolling, throwing, and catching a ball help develop hand-eye coordination. Another important aspect of hand-eye coordination is the stacking of eggs, blocks, or cups.
It also teaches them about volume. They see how a small object can fit into a bigger one. Initially, the babies will not stack them in the right order, but most likely pile and drop them as they like.
5. The Concept Of Gravity
Babies from 6 months onwards enjoy throwing anything and everything while sitting at a height. They can throw a spoon, car, pencil, toys, sippers, feeding bottles, or anything that interests them, and they are elated once the object is fetched by parents or relatives. They even learn that a few objects, when thrown, will bounce back, some will roll, others will stop, and a ball, if thrown up, will automatically come down. All in all, they get introduced to the concept of gravity.
6. Sorting And Differentiating
Around the eighth month, most babies have gathered enough strength to hold the toys with the help of their fingers and start picking up the toys and keeping them inside a box. But as the baby grows, they are in a position to put the respective shapes in their selected slots.
This helps the baby learn the relationship between two objects and the concepts of sorting, and systematic arrangement. More so, it allows the fostering of finger skills, and an “I can do it” sense of skill.
7. Concept Of Physical Deftness And An Element Of Creativity
Swings, doll houses, and small or ride-on cars and trucks help kids build confidence, balance, and strength. Also, playing with clay, finger paints, or crayons, with the help of an adult, helps kids develop their artistic skills and fine motor skills, which they will need to write.
8. Development Of Language And Even Societal Skills
In today’s time, books are also presented as toys, and if a story is read to the baby with full action and with pictures that make sound and light, then not only the baby’s vision but also his communication skills also get developed. Likewise, if babies indulge in, and pretend to play with dolls or stuffed toys, their expression of emotions and feelings is improved, and the baby gets a sense of playing with everybody.
Thus, the bottom line is that toys are not only related to fun, but also assist in the holistic development of a child. By making efforts to make learning more effective, we need to teach them through educational toys and also be a part of the learning so that we can instill positivity and confidence in them, which in turn will help them to retain the learning and provide encouragement at each step.
