Musical Toys

You don’t need a PhD to know that small children and even babies have a natural affinity for music. Watch a toddler shake in enjoyment to an oft-repeated tune, or a baby banging a spoon loudly on the table – there could be a budding musician in there! Science now tells us that early exposure to music has a host of benefits, ranging from the enhancement of language skills to improved academic performance. Learning an instrument is said to reflect positively on mathematical abilities. A happy way to start a child off towards appreciation of music is with
musical toys.

Lullaby Gloworm from Playskool (birth and upwards)

For the smallest member of the family! This cute-faced creature is meant to gently nudge your little one towards bedtime. But there are plenty of other toys in that category – what’s different about this one? It requires a gentle hug from your child, upon which it lights up and plays
one of six different lullabies. Gloworm promises to be a much loved resident of your little one’s bedroom.

Baby Grand Piano – Fisher Price (9-36 months)

Bring out the musician in your child with this feature-packed piano! Toddlers – who can get easily bored with the fanciest of toys – will have much to explore and will enjoy with this baby grand. With piano keys that light up in different colors, children get to learn about notes, pitch, tempo and scale as well as numbers, the alphabet, colors and opposites. The piano comes
with 4 sing-along songs and a songbook. An ideal gift for children who’ve learned to stand up.

Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage – Fisher Price (18 months upwards)

This unique toy is a ‘stage’ for your aspiring rock star, complete with dancing spotlights and an audience to cheer his antics! The stage consists of a mirror in which the child can watch himself, with controls in front that emit guitar, keyboard, drum and horn sounds. Five songs and three dance tunes encourage movements. The sing-along mode is ideal for babies while older kids
– with adult help – can try out the build-a-song feature.

Song Magic Guitar – Playskool (3-5 years)

Here’s something to keep that energetic 5-year-old happily occupied! A wave of his hand over the star-shaped light beams on the guitar neck and he’s off, jamming like his favorite pop star! The guitar has 5 pre-recorded songs: 3 nursery favorites, 1 blues and 1 pop number. There’s also a ‘whammy bar’ which slides up and down and produces those wacky guitar sounds so
typical of pop music.

Disney Princess Karaoke Player – Memorex

Which little girl wouldn’t love to add this stylish karaoke player to her toy collection? She can sing along to any of 20 pre-loaded Disney songs – what’s more, even if she goes off-key, the On-Key Pitch Correction feature will ensure that she sounds perfect!

Having a large family bash? Plug the jack into your TV and the little diva can see the lyrics on TV while entertaining all the relatives. Other exciting features include a tempo control and a cartridge expansion slot for you to add new song cartridges.

Educational toys for kids

Learning through toys - Educational toys for kids

As the tiny tot grows into a preschooler, he needs to learn and develop new skills that give him a head start at school. And this initial learning usually begins at home. But don't kids love to spend maximum time in playing rather than learning? So, how do you make the learning process easy and fun? The best time to teach kids is during their playtime. Introduce them to educational toys which help them play and learn. These toys are not only fun to play with but they can motivate a kid to use all the senses and improve their logical skills.

Let's take a snappy peep at some of the popular educational toys that can help kids learn and have fun as well:

Puzzles and building blocks: Puzzles come in many forms for different age groups. Shape stackers are most suitable for babies to learn how to match objects. As for the preschoolers, there are jigsaw and block puzzles.

While jigsaw puzzles develop critical thinking at an early age, building blocks stimulate a child's
imagination. Kids enjoy joining cardboard pieces to make great pictures of animals, flowers and people. For example, Lego makes great educational toys for pre-school and elementary school children. The games consist of colorful interlocking plastic bricks. Kids can assemble these pieces into a variety of shapes.

Computer games: With technology creeping into our lives, it has become important for kids to get comfortable with computers. Numerous video game consoles are here to entertain kids of different age groups. But not all of them have educational value. Many children's book publishers have created interesting and informative computer games and educational software. Aimed at
young children, some games help little ones to learn how to use the mouse. Computer games also help kids battle it out with Math and Geography. What's more, some of them incorporate cartoon characters to keep children's interest intact. Nintendo DS game has become the latest buzz in video games. Entertaining and educating, brain training puzzles such as memory tests and problem solving puzzles are good mind exercises for the growing child.

Board games: Board games encourage healthy competition among kids and your little ones will get acquainted with analyzing possibilities. Some of the top picks include Carom, Chutes and Ladders, and Trivia.

Word games: Word games improve a child's learning skills and also his/her language. Scrabble is an excellent game to teach words and spellings to younger children. Little wordsmiths are sure to find it exciting.

Chess: Kids who have played chess are said to perform better in Math and Science. Chess helps in developing the fourth R (Reasoning). This helps immensely in improving a child's concentration levels and logical thinking.

As a parent, you would want to buy the best educational toys to nurture the creativity of your child. The options are unlimited. So take time to look at the toy carefully and see if your child can learn while playing with it. Choosing the right educational toy will keep both the child and parents active and happy.

Baby Learning Toys

A baby’s learning process, as we know, begins from the womb, from where they are able to identify and respond to stimuli such as the sound of their mother’s voice or a piece of music played repeatedly. The first year of life is an exciting period – exposing babies to stimuli that develop the senses and, gradually, to activities that help in the growth of motor skills and enhance their overall development. Here’s looking at some toys that have been designed with these objectives.

Songs and Smiles Discovery Gym

This thoughtfully designed activity gym for infants from Mattel’s Lil’ Laugh & Learn series is guaranteed to keep babies cheerfully occupied.

Two criss-crossing arches fix onto a soft, colorful mattress. When a baby is laid down on his back, he looks up to see several cute animals dangling from the arches. Each animal incorporates an activity that is set off when the baby kicks it or reaches for it with his hands. A small mirror attached above reflects his every expression. When he turns onto his tummy, he sees brightly
colored pictures around the mattress that stimulate his imagination. Dancing lights and lilting music are added attractions.

Baby’s First Blocks – Fisher Price

Fisher Price’s Brilliant Basics series is… well, brilliant in that it features classic baby learning toys, redesigned with value-added elements for modern babies. Baby’s First Blocks, for instance, consists of brightly colored blocks that come in a bucket with a shape-sorting lid. While taking out and putting back the blocks, the baby’s motor skills and hand-to-eye coordination develop. Matching shapes and slotting blocks into their correct spaces on the lid develops sorting and problem-solving skills.

Peek n’ Play Discovery Dome – Playskool

A wonderful way for baby to learn things and have fun with mom or dad! The multi-colored dome, made of fabric, is placed on the floor and always used for play under constant adult supervision. The dome incorporates a host of activities, including games that all babies love to play, such as peek-a-boo from behind a curtain, ringing a doorbell or having a pretend conversation on a phone. There’s also a thoughtful Tip Card with more ideas for parents.

Peek n’ Play Discovery Dome has won the Seal of Excellence Award (Baby Toys Category) from Creative Child Magazine.

Learning Puppy – Fisher Price

From the Laugh & Learn series of educational toys comes Learning Puppy, a cuddly fellow with a friendly smile and lots of surprises in store for babies. This award-winning toy packs quite a punch, introducing babies to the alphabet, numbers, colors and parts of the body. Various parts of the body are labeled, thereby helping babies early on to associate words with images. Also included are favorite nursery rhymes and games.

Learning Keys - A simple, inexpensive, yet feature-packed toy that will keep baby busy and happy – perfect for taking along on long drives! The battery-operated toy with 3 keys helps baby learn colors, basic words, textures and songs.

Developmental toys for babies

Enhancing toddler imagination with developmental toys

Do you think a musical mobile with pretty birds and rolling beads, hanging on your baby's crib, is just a decorative piece? Think again....It's more than that, say researchers. In addition to eeping your baby fascinated, these pretty mobiles can actually help a lot in the development of a baby's brain.

Among the variety of toys, developmental toys have been proven to improve a baby’s sensory and perceptual skills, and enhance imagination. While babies tend to understand textures and sounds, toddlers learn to recognize colors and sizes. There is a multitude of toys available for the modern tot. Here are some of the toys that are extremely popular with infants and toddlers.

Water Pat Mat: Your baby will grin as she sees the animals float in the water every time she pats the mat. This water-filled mat containing floating little sea animals can be interactive for babies of six months and up. This toy is more appropriate for Tummy time as it helps in building abdominal strength, especially for babies sleeping on their backs.

Soft blocks: Recommended for the early years of a child, soft blocks are light and easy to handle. These blocks jingle, rattle, crinkle and have peek-a-boo doors too. Babies improve their hand-eye coordination, hearing and motor skills by trying to place blocks on top of each other.

Stacking toys: A toy with a stack of rings or nesting cups is a great way to build hand and eye coordination and develop cognitive abilities. It can be used for over a period of time. As the baby learns to stack the cups or the rings one over the other, you could introduce colors. Once the tiny tot starts to talk, you can ask her about the colors and sizes.

Hanging mobiles: Toy manufacturers have introduced a new generation of mobiles ranging from the ones that can sing soothing lullabies to playing melodies from Bach and Mozart. A mobile with varied colors and patterns can strengthen baby's eye muscles and enhance visual senses. The whirling sounds encourage her to reach out and grasp things.

Sensory toys: A toy that quacks, squeaks or tweets when pressed will delight your baby for months to come. The surprising squeaks will help the baby become aware of her hand movements. Rattles, teethers and soothers prepare a baby’s mouth for feeding skills. Chomping on a cooling rattle can reduce pain during teething. Besides, teethers are said to make a baby’s
teeth and gums stronger. Some toys have fruit textures and a flavored scent incorporated so that a child gets to experience the smell as well.

Having understood the importance of these toys, how would you go around buying the best ones? Check if the toy meets the safety requirements. If it's for an infant, you need to ensure it doesn’t have little pieces that could be a choking hazard. Prefer toys that can be used for a long time. Look out for sturdy toys with tightly secured parts.

Playing is fun and a learning process for little ones. So make sure you give your baby safe toys that can help speed up physical and cognitive development.