Baby's First Christmas

Your baby's first Christmas is such an exciting time. We are always talking to families who say that Christmas is somehow more 'special' with children around. I guess we re-live all the excitement of our own childhood through our children. Of course your baby is probably not going to notice if they do not receive any gifts on their first Christmas Day, however, in our experience there are not many parents (or Grandparents!) out there who can resist.

So what toys are right for your baby's developmental age and stage? I found this great article on The Baby Centre website which explains bit about how they develop and what they will benefit from over the first 6 months.

In a nutshell:

• your baby's first 6 months is a period of very rapid development

• most babies have good hearing from birth

• a newborn baby has fuzzy vision and can only see objects up to 20-30 cm away

• new babies have a strong grasp but will only start to use this from around 3 months

• from around 5 months, everything goes in the mouth. Babies use the high concentration of nerve endings in their tongue to explore objects.

• from around 6 months your baby will begin to sit up and this opens up a whole new world of play!

First toys for babies seem to fall into 2 categories. Comforting or stimulating. The comforting toys are the ones they use to calm and soothe themselves when tired or anxious. If you sleep with a comforter for a few nights before giving it to your baby they will smell you on it and are more likely to feel soothed by it. Anything with a bit of fabric, maybe some knots for chewing/sucking on as they get older and possibly a silky ribbon or tag for rubbing.

The stimulating toys are the ones they want to play with when they are awake and content. Look out for sounds (they will hear before they see clearly) high contrast patterns and colours (black and white for very young babies and bright colours a bit later). Dangling toys that will give movement will encourage your baby to watch and eventually reach and grasp. Anything with a variety of textures will stimulate the senses, soft, scrunchy rough, smooth etc.

Of course, toys do not have to be of the bought and packaged variety. There are many things your baby will love to play with that were not specifically designed for the purpose. Natural wood can be fascinating and has a smell and texture that baby's will find fascinating. Stimulating sounds can be made using rice or beans sealed in a container or scrunchy empty packets. However, please keep safety in mind. Check for loose parts, anything that could get wrapped around necks or limbs (ties, ribbons, elastic) and check paint content.

Above all, enjoy playing with your baby!