Parents can encourage stimulation by introducing toys. But buying baby toys can drill a hole in our pocket! Believe me, hubby and I often go overboard when we stray in the mall’s baby toy section! We’ve been tempted to buy a walker worth P3500 but luckily we haven’t given up to the urge. We’re still weighing in on the toy’s pros and cons.
Playing with baby need not be expensive! There are ordinary things that could be useful tools in stimulating baby’s senses.
Here are of some ordinary objects that work as baby toys:
Baby’s hands
- Baby’s hands are also his first toys. His hands are most attractive to him in the first months as he just realized that it is part of his body. Baby’s vision at 1 month is still blurry so he is most attracted to objects near his sight, that includes his hands.
- As early as 1 month our pedia told us to remove baby's mittens. This is so that we can check if baby is able to move his fingers. Being able to do is integral in developing baby's fine motor skills. Just make sure you cut and buff his fingers regularly so he won't scratch his face.
- You are bound to hear “Close open! Close Open!” as your LSS. This is a good way to promote baby’s eye-hand coordination
- At about 6 months, baby learned to play with his hands and feet! At this stage din, kahit anong mahawakan ni baby, isinubo, so make sure to always sanitize baby’s hands and feet.
[caption id="attachment_215" align="aligncenter" width="225"]
Favorite past time ni Baby ang paglalaro ng kanyang kamay.[/caption]Your hands
- Use his hands to tickle him and stimulate his sense of touch.
- My baby seems to be attracted to anything moving, especially near his eyes. He responds to the funny acrobatics his dad does with his hand. Daddy’s finger plays give baby quite a good laugh.
- Teach baby how to clap, count and point out his body parts.
Baby’s Face and Your face
- At six months, baby recognizes many faces. He laughs when you smile at him or when you make ridiculous faces.
- He learns to track persons from across the room. This can be a good time to play "Where's mommy?". This game teaches him about the non-permanence of things to make both of you deal with separation anxiety better.
Mirror
- I’m surprised to find that baby finds his own face so amusing!Tuwing humaharap sya sa salamin at nakikita ang sarili niya, dahan-dahan pa syang ngumingiti!
- Just make sure you're giving him an unbreakable mirror if you intend to let baby touch it!
Cellular phone and other techie stuff
- The internet is a source anything and everything! My husband downloaded early learning apps on his Itouch. Baby enjoys "playing these games" like "baby rattles" or "animal sounds". Some apps can be downloaded for free.
- Toy companies like Fisher Price also provides applications like baby games and apps that teach baby colors, animal sounds and numbers!
- Ipads and cellular phone hold tons of dirt so be sure to always sanitize before letting baby touch them.
TV and Radio
- Expose baby to different sights and sounds. For sure you've let baby watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Bananas and Pajamas... the list goes on...
- Expose his ears to different voices and music on the radio.
Posters
- As early as 5 months baby can distinguish bold colors so choose brightly colored posters. Baby will surely spend hours and hours just staring.
- Colorful posters ang kadalasang tinititigan ni Baby pagkagasing. We bought number and shapes posters from National bookstore for about P50 each.
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Tinadtad ni Daddy ng posters showing number, colors, shapes, animals and alphabet ang dingding ng kwarto.[/caption]Plastic cups and plastic balls
- These can act as shape sorter. Just show baby how to enjoy them. Show baby how a ball can fit into a plastic cup.
- Avoid giving him small pieces for risks of choking. Always guide him in playing with these toys.
Wooden spoons and cardboard boxes
- These will encourage him to tap and bang these together, producing sounds and rhythm. Of course babies need adult supervision while handling these stuff.
Flashlights
- At night when almost all lights are off use a flash light to reflect shadows on the ceiling. Baby will stare at shadows and light reflected from the bed. A fancy toy which does almost the same thing can be sold for around P1,500.
Tickle baby's sense of smell by letting him smell the aroma of anything cooking at the kitchen. Or make him smell freshly cut fruits. Or expose him to the scent of mild colognes and soaps.
Let baby interact with other kids. At this age (7 months) i noticed that baby is much more curious and turns toward any source of "new"voices and sounds. This will serve as foundation of his social skills.
Give him lots of objects to touch and grasp. This will develop his sense of touch. Instead of showing him a picture of an apple, why not let him touch and feel the skin of an actual apple? Let him touch a variety of things to make him accustomed to different textures. These activities improve baby’s fine motor skills, which are required for him to be able to feed on his tie his shows or dress himself up.
Here's WTE's list of other non toys that could be baby's playthings.
After seven months as newbie parents, we've discovered that buying for baby could be quite expensive! Parents need to be practical to better allocate the family budget. Avoid buying on impulse so you won't regret that decision when you get home. Have a list of pros and cons before buying any toy.
Expensive toys are useless if you don't find time to play with your baby. In the end, quality time spent will make your baby an intelligent and independent little one.
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