Best Toys for Development
Choosing a gift for a young child is very difficult. If you are not familiar with young children or have never had any, choosing a toy can be hard. Furthermore, if it has been a long time since you spent any time with a one-year-old, you may feel overwhelmed at the idea of having to purchase a gift.
Most who are looking to buy the best gift for 1-year-olds want to find one that is going to help with development. To help you determine which gifts would be good for a 1-year old’s development requires you to know what stage of development that child is at.
What is a 1-year development?
When choosing toys for the development of a child, you want to know what stage of development they are at. To understand this, there are a few areas of development that are to be considered when choosing toys.
Emotional and Social Development
This stage of development is the one where your baby is starting to interact with parents or caregivers. Children will learn to play alongside other children but not interact with them. Additionally, at this stage, a 1-year-old will love to try and gain attention by showing off or giggling.
Therefore, for this stage of development, the best toys to get are ones that allow them independence and a chance to show off. Any toy that promotes individuality is a great choice. Toys that help them walk alone, ones that let them clean or prepare something that is non-complex are also great choices. Toys that make noise is also a great choice because it gives them attention.
Other toys that are good for this type of development are security, like toys. Large dolls they can hug, blankets or stuffed toys that they can cling too. These toys help with the anxiety they may feel when being separated from parents or the focus of their attention-seeking behavior.
Language Development
A 1-year-old is starting to learn that sounds are not the same. You will see a toddler start to experiment with sounds and practice them. Words, sounds, songs, and much more are starting to become familiar.
The best toys for language development include books that have songs or allow for reading out loud. Any toy that can sound out letters or make animal noises are also a great choice. Some toys for language development are ones that sing, make distinct noises, and helps the toddler associate noises with images.
Short movies, music, and age-appropriate shows on television are also great choices for language development.
Sensory and Motor Development
Kids this age love to put things in their mouths. A 1-year-old is going to love to feel and analyze the texture of objects. Often times, you will see this child pick something up and turn it around in their hands while focusing intently on the item. Additionally, they will test items to see which ones are going to help provide stability or will be moveable or solid.
Toys for this stage of development are ones that should be able to help develop sensory and motor development. Therefore, books that have a variety of different textures on the pages is a great choice for this age. Additionally, items that a baby can hold onto when they walk, that they can place things into but are large enough not to swallow are the best choices for sensory and motor development.
Anything that encourages a child to explore the world around them in a safe and casual play environment is a great toy for this stage of development. Get toys that let them experience different shapes, textures, and sizes to help them learn more about the world.
Conclusion
Choosing toys for stages of development isn’t an easy thing to do. When you want to encourage the development of a 1-year-old, you need to be able to identify what stage of development they are at and to do that requires research. You may quickly be overwhelmed when trying to find the right toy.
One key thing to keep in mind is that any toy that allows them to explore the world carefully is good. Making sure that the chosen toys are not small enough to swallow or can cause the baby harm is the key to choosing the best toys for a 1-year-old.
Resources— Bump, UnityPoint, Education
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