There is no better way to educate a baby than by using toys. There is a myriad collection of baby toys that are available in stores, online and offline. For parents, it is a matter of great delight when they are able to buy all those attractive looking toys for their kids. As a parent, you would know that not every toy is meant for every child and you need to be cautious when making your purchase. This guide will be able to help you making the right choice in deciding which toy you should buy for your baby.

Choosing your Baby Toy

Buy baby toys as per age

All baby toys are educational baby toys because your baby will continue to learn throughout their childhood. Depending on the age of your baby, you need to choose an appropriate toy. When you consider the baby toys for toddlers up to 6 months, you will find that these toys have bright colours and simple designs. This is because a child of this age has less of motor skills and they gather information using their ears and eyes. This is the reason rattlers are so popular among babies of this age. This is also the time when your child will start growing teeth so you will need to buy teethers. There are other newborn baby toys for you to consider. As your baby grows up, your choice of toys should also change – the idea would be to let your baby learn while they have fun.

All the baby toys have the age range mentioned in brackets. When you browse through the toys, you will have this piece of information and this should help you choose the best baby toys.

Baby toys to develop essential skills

There are five essential skills that babies develop and all the toymakers focus on these skills when they design their toys. A single toy could help in the development of one skill or more than one skill. These skills are

• Sensory skills – related to the five sense organs
• Motor skills – related to the groups of large muscles like arms and head
• Fine motor skills – related to the groups of small muscles like fingers and eyes and help in building hand-eye coordination
• Cognitive skills – related to thoughts, problem solving and information processing etc.
• Social skills – related to interactions, emotions and effective communication

Buy baby toys as per gender

Till a certain age, babies can use the same toys irrespective of their gender. But as your baby grows up, their preference of toys will change – boys want toys like balls and guns and girls love dolls and houses and such. So, ensure you buy these toys for your baby to have great fun playing.

Always keep safety in mind related to baby toys

Safety is the most critical element in baby toys and you should pay total attention to this. Consider these points given below.

Babies have the habit of putting everything in their mouths and hence, you should consider buying only those baby toys that are made of safe materials. There are toys that have unsafe plastic and chemicals and if these are ingested, any baby would fall sick – something that could become a nightmare for you. Hence, safety is the best and the only policy here!

It is not only that a baby would fall sick if they put a toy in their mouth. It can also happen that the toy gets stuck in the windpipe and the result will be disastrous. Let us not even dwell on the consequences! So, when your child is playing with their toy, make sure you keep an eye on them.

All the baby toy packages have safety instructions printed on them and you should read these carefully before you hand over a toy to your child. If your child is big enough to understand, you should also explain the safety instructions so that the child is aware of the dos and don’ts related to specific toys.

Which baby toys for which use?

If you have an infant, you will love to buy toys for them – these toys are immensely attractive. Some of the most popular toys for infants are Summer Infant - 3-Stage Super Booster Seat, Baby Infant Soft Toy Wrist Rattles, Baby Infant Memory Foam Pillow Sleep Positioner, Playgro Clip Clop Activity Rattle in Toy Box and Summer Infant Tiny Diner.

For toddlers, the most popular toys are Fisher-Price Little People Lil' Movers School Bus, KidKraft Little Doll Bunk Bed and VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch.

If you have a baby girl, pink should be your preferred colour for toys. Some of the most popular pink toys are Angel Dear Ring Rattle, Pink Giraffe, Fisher-Price Infant to Toddler Rocker, Pink Owls and Gund Bunny Booties 3-Inch Infant Accessory.

Similarly, blue should be your colour if you have a baby boy. The toys to consider include Happy Cherry Baby Blue Monkey Rattle and Play Stroller Plush Crib Bed Bell Cradle Toys for Infant, Happy Cherry Infant Baby Spiral Bed Stroller Toy Blue Elephant Design Activity Spiral Plush Toy and Hedwig Baby Toy Plush Baby Hanging Rattles.