When babies are first born, it may be difficult to determine what they can and are allowed to play with. Let’s be honest, newborns don’t do much, well besides cry, poop, and eat. Can they even play with toys and enjoy them? The answer is yes. Newborns and infants depend on toys and interaction with their environment to increase the number of connections in the brain! Although they might not find everything interesting, here are a few toys recommended for birth and older. The first toy is called the Rockin’ Roller. In the Discovery Toys Catalog, it is described as “Motor fun with sensory surprises-removable jingle ball, whoop sound, crinkle sun, bear face mirror and more.” This toy has a very interesting design. It is plush with two circles
…show more content…
The size of the posts helps with gross motor skills. They are large enough for the child to grasp and shake. This toy also develops fine motor skills. By having to grab the ball to remove it, the infant's’ hand-eye coordination is tested, and with more practice it gets better. The mirror develops facial recognition and self awareness which goes hand in hand with the perceptual and cognitive development. Also, the visual senses of the infant are stimulated with the many different colors and patterns. This allows for a greater, and faster, cognitive development. By someone naming the colors or patterns and then pointing to them, the infant connects the two. That is known as intermodal perception. Infants prefer patterns at birth, as well as contrasting colors, therefore they may enjoy the look of this toy. The one possible critique for this toy is the idea that it is for children birth and up. Newborns up to 7 weeks have little control over their body. They have poorly coordinated swipes when they reach for an object in front of them, this is known as prereaching. Along with not being able to control their reflexes, they struggle controlling their movements. Although their grasping reflex is extremely strong, they don’t improve the accuracy of their reaching until about three or four months. The Rockin’ Roller can be used for children right after birth, but with their reaching skills not fully developed, I would recommend it age 3 month and up. At that time, they are able to perceive patterns with finer detail and use motion to identify objects. Personally, I believe right after birth is too early to give them a toy such as this, with many different complexities. On the other hand, the Sensory Sights is an amazing toy that I believe can be given that young. Due to the fact that is a plush cube, and infant can easily grasp it because of their developed gross motor skills. They can immediately begin to use
The size of the posts helps with gross motor skills. They are large enough for the child to grasp and shake. This toy also develops fine motor skills. By having to grab the ball to remove it, the infant's’ hand-eye coordination is tested, and with more practice it gets better. The mirror develops facial recognition and self awareness which goes hand in hand with the perceptual and cognitive development. Also, the visual senses of the infant are stimulated with the many different colors and patterns. This allows for a greater, and faster, cognitive development. By someone naming the colors or patterns and then pointing to them, the infant connects the two. That is known as intermodal perception. Infants prefer patterns at birth, as well as contrasting colors, therefore they may enjoy the look of this toy. The one possible critique for this toy is the idea that it is for children birth and up. Newborns up to 7 weeks have little control over their body. They have poorly coordinated swipes when they reach for an object in front of them, this is known as prereaching. Along with not being able to control their reflexes, they struggle controlling their movements. Although their grasping reflex is extremely strong, they don’t improve the accuracy of their reaching until about three or four months. The Rockin’ Roller can be used for children right after birth, but with their reaching skills not fully developed, I would recommend it age 3 month and up. At that time, they are able to perceive patterns with finer detail and use motion to identify objects. Personally, I believe right after birth is too early to give them a toy such as this, with many different complexities. On the other hand, the Sensory Sights is an amazing toy that I believe can be given that young. Due to the fact that is a plush cube, and infant can easily grasp it because of their developed gross motor skills. They can immediately begin to use