Infant development is crucial for a baby as it lays the basis for a child's overall growth, emotional and physical well-being, and learning throughout their lives. The first three years of the life of an infant are essential periods because, during this time, rapid brain development occurs. 

To enhance infant development, toys play a crucial role in shaping brain development in a child by providing innovative opportunities for learning and growth. For example, picture books, dolls, and puppets help children develop communication, language, and interactive skills. Puppet toys aid infants in engaging with others in a pretend and play environment. With that being said, this article covers the top 10 must-have toys for infant development.  

What Role Do Toys Play in Infant Development?

The development of an infant holds utmost importance for parents as the early years of a child are characterized by brain development, skill acquisition, language, cognitive development, social and emotional development, and overall well-being. 

Toys are a source of infant development because they provide numerous benefits to children, from building cognitive development and sensory stimulation abilities to creating a cause-and-effect response; toys help shape a baby's brain development. Following are some reasons why toys are crucial for an infant's well-being: 

Stimulation and Exploration

Children engage with their senses, such as touching, grasping, and exchanging as they play with toys with each other. Infants can actively become curious and explore their environments through playing with toys, which builds their creativity and sensory perception. 

Language and Communication Skills

Toys such as speaking dolls and picture storybooks support the development of expressions, language, and communication skills in children. For instance, picture storybooks display different words to children, such as a happy, sad, or excited face, exposing infants to identifying facial expressions and facilitating social interactions. 

As toys benefit infants, the following are the top 10 must-have toys for infants that provide a plethora of benefits and support infants' learning and growth:

Top 10 Toys for Infant's Brain Development

Here are the top ten must-have toys for infant development:

1.Soft Plush Toy

An effective way of building empathy and social skills in infants can be achieved by allowing them to play with soft plush toys such as stuffed cuddly dolls or animals. These toys help build comfort and companionship and promote infant emotional development. 

2.Stackable Blocks

Stackable blocks help promote infant motor skills, such as requiring infants to reach, crawl, or walk. Infants get to practice and improve their hand coordination and balancing skills by playing with stackable blocks. For instance, children can polish their hand-eye coordination skills by stacking blocks. 

3.Teething Toys

Teething toys not only relieve infants during their teething process but also help them develop motor skills. Teething toys are designed to provide different textures for oral exploration and can help soothe infants' sore gums. Various teething toys include features such as rattles and crinkly sounds, which develop cause-and-effect relationships. 

4.Shape Sorter

The shape sorter toys are a great addition to your infant's toy box. These toys help them learn about colors, shapes, and spatial awareness while improving hand-eye coordination. Not only this, but shape sorters also enhance a child's problem-solving ability and critical thinking.

5.Picture Books

Board books with colorful visuals, pictures, and simple storybooks allow infants to learn objects early. For example, an animal or fruit picture book helps infants explore pages, learn new vocabulary and colors, and engage in interactive ways to learn more about objects. Such toys foster creativity in children and allow them to create their narratives and express their emotions in different ways. 

6.Sensory Balls

Sensory balls are efficient toys that are sold and textured. These are ideal for infants to explore and learn about different shapes and sizes. Playing with sensory balls allows infants to develop motor skills such as hand-eye coordination as they roll, squeeze, and grasp these balls. It also benefits children by strengthening their hand muscles when infants roll or toss the balls. Sensory balls also encourage infants to explore spatial relationships by allowing them to move the ball in different directions, which aims to develop an understanding of concepts like direction, catching, throwing, and distance. 

7.Musical Toys

The Musical toys help with sensory development and boost cognitive skills. It is believed that the music rhythm and patterns of music help the brain to transmit information more efficiently and quickly. Hence, babies exposed to such toys are supposed to perform better in speech, reading, language development, and listening skills.

8.Bath Toys 

Colorful and floating bath toys are engaging for infants during their bath time. For example, bath toys such as bubble blowers and floating ducks promote sensory play, water familiarity, and hand-eye coordination. Additionally, enabling infants to play with bath toys affects their overall health and well-being as it makes children simply happy to see colorful objects around them.

9.Pull-Along Toys

Pull-along toys offer a variety of benefits for infant development. It encourages infants to engage their leg muscles and develop their gross motor skills, which helps promote physical strength and stability and leads to the development of locomotor abilities. These toys can help your children take their first steps, becoming a memory of a lifetime! 

10.Sensory Board

A sensory board features different features, such as buttons, switches, and knobs, which bring infants to explore and promote cognitive development. For example, drawing on a sensory board provides infants with learning opportunities. These boards encourage sensory stimulation, especially for kids with sensory processing disorders. 

Wrapping It Up!

Overall, experts believe that toys help in providing guidance and a nurturing environment for infants to learn and grow. With them, your kids can cover the paths of development effectively. This article on the top ten must-have toys for infant development was helpful for you. Let us know if you'd like to add your infant’s favorite toys to the list. Stay tuned for more informative top-ten guides!