Simple toys for baby that last beyond the first year
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I love this wobble toy so much. I got it as a gift when my son was born, and I had never seen them before. Now, I use it with every baby on my caseload. It’s great for early visual tracking, interest in tummy time, learning body awareness and how to reach, and building awareness of cause and effect. This was the first toy my son reached for, the first toy he rolled toward, and he continued to love it through crawling and walking.
Textured balls are simple and great for building fine motor and manipulation skills. Babies need to progress from rattles where they can use their reflexive grasp (where they just clamp down their fingers on anything) to toys that open up their hands some.
I know I said simple, and this one is a splurge. Hear me out- the Lovevery Play Gym is my go-to gift for all my mama-to-be friends after we used it past the first year. The dangle toys are all removable and were my son’s favorite for teething and entertainment in restaurants, car rides, and everywhere in between. It comes with a piece that attaches over the top and turns it into a tent when baby outgrows the gym portion. We also used the attachments with the mirrors and cards even when he was not staying put on the mat anymore.
O balls are amazing for early grasp development. I use these with all my patients working on manipulation skills, and this one has a fun sound effect to target visual tracking as it moves. We still play with this at 2.5 years old.
High contrast simple board books are so great because you can read or just set up for baby in tummy time. I love books that have a little story instead of only pictures- like Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? because you can read them as your little ones age too.
Our fine motor pulley has been so fun for developing hand and finger strength, cause/effect awareness, and advancing grasp.
The toy tissue box gives baby different textures to explore while working on those manipulation and grasp skills too! We continued to love it during pretend play for the toddler years.
The Inny Box was a toy I discovered at a patient’s house years ago and immediately went home to order my own. Babies first learn to hold toys, then they start learning to let them go. This makes pushing and placing into a target motivating and fun!
