Indestructible Books:
Allow for babies to “read” books on their terms, which include pulling hard on the pages and sticking them in their mouth. Littles also love the feel of the pages and the sound they make. Good for visual stimulation, reaching practice, and learning about page-turning.
Sensory Balls:
Babies are motivated to hold these toys because of the variety of textures they can explore with their hands and mouths. As they get older, they also learn cause and effect and reciprocal play by rolling them on the floor.
Bell Bracelet:
This brand they have at Piccolo Mundo is officially for ages 3+ so should only be used with parents assisting, but this type of toy is fantastic to put around babies’ ankles for when they’re playing on their back. They increase a baby’s motivation to play with their feet which strengthens their little abdominal muscles, essential for rolling, crawling, and eventually walking!
Suction Spinners:
These toys are a huge hit! When they’re super little, babies are mesmerized watching them, so they are super helpful for distraction during tummy-time. As babies get bigger, the spinners encourage reaching, teach cause and effect, and are great motivators when a baby is learning to stand and cruise along a surface.
Pop-Up Cause-and-Effect Toy:
Babies really enjoy watching the animals jump out of their hiding places, making this a great toy to keep them occupied when doing tummy-time in the early months. As they get older, littles are able to manipulate the buttons themselves, working on their fine motor skills.
Stacking Cups:
These are essential for any toy box as the uses grow with the child’s development. Babies will love to bang them together and knock over towers, promoting clapping and cause-and-effect. They will then learn to nest and stack them, great for fine motor skill development. Stacking cups also make great bath toys and “cups and bowls” for kitchen play.
Katie works with infants, toddlers, and preschool aged children helping kids with developmental delay as well as neurological and orthopedic conditions. She focusses on therapy that is developmentally appropriate and fun for the child and helps caregivers support their children’s development. She believes strongly in helping all kids reach their full potential in order to live healthy, fun-filled lives.
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