Tips On Toys To Help Baby Develop
Toys that just light up, flash or make noise for no reason may amuse very young children, but they don't foster development as well as toys that offer a cause-and-effect. And TV doesn't necessarily aid the development of kids under two.
Those opinions come from one who should know, Carol Andrew, an occupational therapist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School who specializes in children's development and works a lot with developmentally disabled kids.
She tells The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm, "We're very worried, because there's a tremendous epidemic of children who are having difficulty learning language, and having difficulty maintaining attention, and in part we feel like it may be due to a lot of television and video exposure in the very young ages."
The American Academy of Pediatrics says no child under two should watch any TV at all.
Andrew says, "We're very concerned about (videos as well), because what babies are pre-programmed to do is attend to your face and voice, and the "Baby Einstein" (and similar) videos really kind of draw their attention to flashing lights and they learn by doing."
Andrew adds that she prefers cause-and-effect toys, such as rattles. When a child shakes a rattle to make a sound, that's a cause and effect.
When she's working with very young children, Andrew uses Soft Play books and Sassy toys, because they don't have much light and sound.
With a lot of toys, she points out, kids push a button and lights flash and there's a lot going on, but the baby isn't physically activating the objects. Andrew says she aims for toys from which children get one response when they do one thing. That's why babies like rattles: It's the kind of thing that makes sense for their brains. If a toy makes a sound when they push a button, they'll try to do it again.
Babies need to be challenged more, Andrew says. There are some stacking toys, for example, that no matter how they stack the rings, it works, as opposed to a toy where it only works if the pieces are stacked a certain way.
SOME TOYS on The Early Show set with Andrew:
- Babystle Giant Soft Stacker -- $18.00
- Babystyle Barnyrd Buddies Activity Cube -- $24.99
- Sassy Firefly & Friends Bug Jar -- $12.99 babyage.com
- Sassy Me in the Mirror -- $14.99 babiesrus.com
- Sassy Critter Cubes -- $16.99 toy-tia.org
- Sassy Stars and Sun Rattle -- $4.99 buybuybaby.com
- Sassy Stacking Cups - $6.99 buybuybaby.com
Soft Play Toys
"Bedtime for Bunny"
"I'm Going to School Today"
"Our Neighborhood"
"My Very Own Noah's Ark Play Set"
"My Very Own Circus Play Set"
"Discovery Elephant Children's Book"
"Discovery Puppy Children's Book"
"Discovery Ladybug Children's Book"
"Discovery Snail Children's Book"
"Discovery Turtle Children's Book"
"Shaky Elephant Children's Book"
"Shaky Crocodile Children's Book"
"Play House Children's Book"
"Dragon Tales Felt Book"
- Jacadi Activity Play Mats - $114 each
- "Crabes et Coquillages" and "Fabulettes"