Infant Toy Gift Guide 2020
It’s that time of year again! Every year, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I always have fellow moms reach out to me asking what toys they should buy for their children to promote good speech and language skills. As a result of this, over the course of a few blog posts, I plan to provide several suggestions for toys that could be used to promote speech and language development in kids of various ages.
Before I get to the toy recommendations, I first want to clear up one common misconception: the toy is not what teaches your child language--YOU are! Babies need you to interact with them to learn language. So you need to engage your child through play, and use the toy as a tool to help you!
Because of this, I try to avoid toys that require batteries. I use the word require because some toys will play music or make noise, but they can still function without the batteries. My daughter has a dollhouse that plays music when you push certain buttons. But when I leave those batteries out, that dollhouse is still functional! On the other hand, some toys solely involve the child pushing buttons and then watching the toy do something. In this scenario, the child becomes a passive observer - which isn’t optimal for language development. If we are looking to use toys to help increase our children’s language skills, these are the toys we want to avoid! The child should be the one doing all the work, not the toy.
* (You will sometimes see SLPs using these types of toys in therapy. That’s ok! They know how to use these toys to work on a child’s speech or language goals).
This toy guide will focus on toys to help facilitate language development specifically in the infant stage. During this stage, you need to teach your baby that you are interesting, and that they should want to socially interact with you. Only through socially engaging with adults will infants learn language. So make it fun! Give your baby a reason to look at you and interact with you! Since interaction with you is what is most important in the infant stage, you really don’t need to get carried away with tons of toys, but here are a few of my favorites!
Inflatable Tummy Time Water Mat
Not only is this mat good for engaging your infant in tummy time, it provides a lot of language-rich opportunities between parent and baby. This would be a good time to lay down with your infant and show them how to hit the mat to make it jiggle. Imitating actions is a precursor to imitating words. You may point to the fish and say “fish” or say “touch the fish!”
Sassy Wonder Wheel
This toy suctions to a surface, and the baby can spin the wheel. I even like to use this toy before the baby is old enough to spin the wheel on their own. If the parent is the one spinning the wheel, then the baby will look to the parent to spin it again. This will promote joint attention between the parent and child. Joint attention is necessary in order for a child to learn language from an adult. As you spin the wheel say “Spin!” or “Whoa!”
Baby Einstein Mirror and Contrast Cards
Mirrors can be used during tummy time. Your baby will try to lift their head to see their reflection in the mirror. I suggest lying down with your baby and making funny faces at them in the mirror. Learning to engage and enjoy socializing is one of the first steps in language development.
Oball Shaker Toy
Oball toys are great first toys for babies because they are easy to grab. Model shaking the toy and say “shake!” Pass the toy back and forth and take turns shaking the toy. Language and communication is a back and forth process.
Lovevery Play Gym
If you decide to splurge on any single infant toy this Christmas, I would recommend investing in a nice play gym.. This is literally one of my most used baby gear items for the first year of life. Not only are play gyms beneficial for learning gross motor skills and exploration, but they can provide many opportunities for language enrichment. As the baby gets older, this particular play gym even has a sheet that can go over the top to create a little tent! This is the perfect way to practice playing peek-a-boo!
Tiny Love Activity Mat
If the Lovevery mat is out of your budget, this one is a great alternative that is significantly cheaper. The black and white contrast of colors are engaging for the baby instead of overwhelming. Be sure to spend some time on the mat with your baby talking about the animals you see.
Little Tikes Swing
Most babies love to swing. Any swing designed for an infant will do, but this is one of my favorites! Add in sound effects while you swing like “wheee!” or simple words like “go!” or “push!” Make sure to smile and laugh with your baby during this fun activity!
Comotomo Silicone Teether
Every baby needs a good teether (or several)! This is one of my favorites because it is easy for the baby to hold onto and using it often can help develop the baby’s oral motor skills to aid in starting solid foods.
Infantino Sensory Balls
Balls like the ones shown here can be a great addition to your infant’s toy collection. I love these balls in particular because they are all so different, and you can even take the opportunity to show your baby how the balls vary in texture. Beyond just teaching the baby the word “ball,” model throwing the ball and say “Throw.” Practice putting these balls in a bucket and say “in.” Take the ball out and say “out.” Hide the ball and say “Where’s the ball?” This will work on developing the baby’s object permanence skills as well as increasing their receptive language skills. (For more information on the difference between receptive and expressive language skills, check out this blog: https://www.steelcityspeech.com/scs-blog/2018/8/12/speech-therapy-vs-language-therapy). These balls will grow with your baby into childhood, and will definitely be worth the investment.
Inny Bin
I love this toy! It is similar to a shape sorter, except you don’t have to perfectly place the items to put the shape in. I like to practice the word “in” while playing with this toy.
BOOKS
Though technically not a toy, books are always a great gift for babies and children!
Stay tuned to see my toy recommendations for toddlers and preschoolers!
For more ideas on how to teach language to your baby, check out this blog: https://www.steelcityspeech.com/scs-blog/2020/8/11/six-ways-to-encourage-language-development-in-your-baby
**For children who may have speech and language delays, always reach out to your child’s speech-language pathologist for more specific recommendations on how to use toys to target your child’s language goals!