How to Choose Toys for Babies 3 Months & Over

Knowing which toys to choose for your baby is important, but with so many different toys on the market today, the task can be daunting. Toys are designed not only to entertain a baby, but also should stimulate your child in order to encourage her cognitive, creative and physical development. Therefore, you need to select your baby’s first toys carefully.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Rattles
• <br>Teethers
• <br>Activity bars
• <br>Play mat

1. Choose toys designed to excite a baby’s senses. For a 3-month-old baby, everyday experiences are focused around sight, sound, touch and smell. Toys that an infant can look at and listen to are good choices for this age.

2. Stimulate your baby's sense of sight. Because an infant's vision is limited at first, during those early months of life, babies respond best to black and white objects and bright colors. Colorful crib mobiles help to stimulate an infant visually. Rattles and teethers also provide young infants with different sounds to hear and textures to feel.

3. Encourage your baby to grasp and reach with activity bars dangling fabric and squeaky plastic toys. Activity bars that fit across an infant seat, car seat or stroller are ideal for babies this age. These toys encourage reaching and grasping for noisy objects that your baby can explore.

4. Take play mats and activity quilts whenever you leave home. These are designed for infants who still are not pulling themselves up and offer a clean, colorful and familiar surface. Many have hooks sewn along the edge so that you can attach some of your baby’s favorite toys.

5. Make sure your toys are non-toxic. Since babies this age tend to put most things in their mouths, all toys need to be safe. Stuffed toys should be made of washable fabrics as well. Always read labels to be certain that toys are safe for chewing.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure that toys or pieces of toys are too large for your baby to swallow or get lodged in his throat.
• Never attach a toy to a crib with elastic, string or ribbon. Using Velcro straps to attach toys is a safer alternative.