Top nine early developmental toys in 2021 for babies

The luscious smell of a newborn’s skin, the sweet and soft touch, the jolly giggles and tiny hands and feet; these little things bring into the canvas of our minds a blissful portrait of a new arrival. Babies are indeed a lovely gift from God!

The first year of a baby’s life is full of important and major developmental milestones. While we welcome them with expensive baby gear items and qualitative baby essentials, welcoming them with age-appropriate developmental toys is equally important. It is an absolutely great idea to encourage their development. Many people may think otherwise. For them, the lives of babies in the initial months solely revolve around sleeping, feeding and diaper changing. However, there is much more to that.

In the words of Laurie Leahey, senior editor at Toys, Toys, Pets & More (TTPM), “Sensory stimulation for babies is a key feature because that’s the way babies explore the world around them. Toys that are safe for babies to put in their mouths or that offer a lot of different textures, colors, patterns, and sounds will really help promote the development of a baby’s senses.”

Therefore, the right developmental toys are those that stimulate these senses; tactile, auditory and visual. Getting your hands on these toys will surely kickstart your baby’s milestones. Here are our top picks when it comes to the right developmental toys for kids:

1. WISHTIME Baby Rattle and Teether Set

Babies usually do not like to stick with just one toy for so long. This adorable set comes with 8 pieces of rattle teethers. It make a great toy to stimulate sensory as well as gross motor skills for your babies ages 2 months and above. Different colors, textures and unique designs help foster recognition abilities in the baby.

For gummies and teething babies, this is an absolute safe. It is a great toy to keep up with their favorite activity of putting things in mouth. Our favorite thing about this is that is a rattle and a teether both 2 in 1.

2. LAMAZE Rusty the Robot, Clip on Pram and Pushchair Newborn Baby Toy

A unique toy made with safe and soft velour body and twistable head to give your baby lots and lots of cuddles. What we like about this toy is its popping, bright colors, textured beads, various rings, ribbons, discovery mirror et cetera, everything to keep your baby entertained.

The ring that comes with it can be attached with baby’s stroller, car seat or pusher. With distinguished tactile, auditory, and visual sensory play, it would enhance baby’s sensory skills while they have fun playing with the toy.

3. Tiny Love Gymini Kick and Play, Baby Play Mat

Play gyms are a great start to your baby’s first few months. Brimming with endless possibilities, play gyms can be used right from the second month. Placing your baby on an activity play mat or play gym can encourage tummy time which is highly recommended by top notch pediatricians.

Baby can easily lie down on their backs if they are two months old or can lie on their stomachs when around four to five months old while holding their heads up to enjoy playing with various hanging soft toys. Designed according to baby’s developmental needs, it grows with your baby which means you do not have to fear wrapping it up very soon.

4. Tiny Love Soothe’ and Groove Musical Cot Mobile

Babies can not just lie in their cots all the time and stare at the ceiling. They love to explore and look at new things. That is where this cute Cot Mobile comes in for the rescue. Armed with 18 non-repetitive melodies and six genres to choose from.

It rightly stimulates your baby’s auditory skills and provide entertainment for those little ears. Be it grooving during a busy play time or soothing while the baby sleeps, the tiny, adorable friends hanging from the mobile visually entertain the baby. The bottom is also detachable to work as a stand-alone musical box once the baby transitions to toddlerhood.

5. Black and White Board Book

It seems very unusual to introduce a baby to a board book this much earlier. Research driven and thoughtfully designed, this board book, however, is specifically made up for little babies. Since a baby cannot see colors in the initial months, this black and white board book provides great visual and educational experience. This makes a perfect Educational Toy for Kids. Parents can have a one-to-one interaction with the baby while showing them the book and talk about the pictures printed on it. Doing so will spark the much-needed interest in them from the very beginning!

6. Teytoy Chuckle Ball for Baby

Made with soft fabric to promote safe and healthy play time, this ball is chargeable and moves on its own which is a delight to watch for sure! You only must press the switch once and then zip it back and it will start dancing, bouncing, and rolling on the beats of the music being played. These lovely moves are a thrilling experience for babies to attract their attention. Children’s eye-hand co ordination through this ball is encouraged while they play with their hands. The tactile development is fostered through its uneven texture and bright colors stimulate visual appeal.

7. Beiens Soft book for babies

Soft, cloth, fabric books; whatever you name them are trending these days and all for the right reasons! This cloth book is developed by experts to especially cater to an infant’s sensory needs. It has soft pages including activities like 8 jungle animals, a plush tail makes squeaking, another ring paper makes rattle noises. Also has a variety of scene and touch-and-feel textures. It helps in the development of fostering linguistic, vocabulary, communication, imaginary, and sensory skills at the same time. Handcrafted from soft polyester, they are non-toxic and can be easily enjoyed by both infants and toddlers alike, without the fear of any page tearing damage. What more? Reading with your little one can be a quality time full of cherished and warm moments of togetherness!

8. Woody Treasure Wooden Stacking Toys

Yet another classic and most loved developmental toy, the stacking toys (whether they are stacking cups or rings) make a remarkable interactive game for both infants and toddlers. This toy set features 3 wooden stacks with rings, hexagons, and stars, having a lion, dog and frog at the top thus offering different shapes and colors to enhance their recognition abilities. Not only does it support the hand-eye co ordination of the baby but fosters imaginative faculty as well as cognitive abilities like logic and reasoning. The wooden make up of this toy makes it splinter and chemical dyes free, promoting safe play and durability.

9. TOWO Wooden Activity Cube

Made of sustainable wood and eco-friendly, non-toxic paints, this multifunctional 5 in 1 wooden cube is to die for! What we love about this is that it serves different developmental purposes converged within a single frame. This sturdy and compact activity cube features flipping 26 alphabet blocks. It has four numbers blocks with pictures and English words, abacus, clock, zig zag sliding fish at 4 sides. It also has a white board at the bottom. This helps to promote all necessary expertise such as fine motor skills, logical thinking, color, and objects recognition. This makes a great Learning Toy helping in learning alphabets, numbers while polishing creativity and imagination.