What is the best gift for a one-year-old baby?
The first year of a child's life is very exciting, parents adapt their lives to the needs of the new family member, trying to give him the best and most necessary things. The child is unlikely to remember his first birthday, but the gifts received on that day will please him for more than one year. Parents and relatives of the child are often puzzled over what to give the child for a year, because I want the gift to be not only beautiful, but also useful.
Sometimes, trying to impress the child, adults make mistakes, presenting gifts that cause more fear and dread, rather than joy and delight. These include:
- Radio-controlled devices;
- Constructors with small parts;
- Soft and too loud toys.
Devices with radio control - it is a good gift for birthday, but not for one- year-olds. The child will be interested in them in a year or two, and at one year old, they can be frightening. Constructors with small parts are also not the best option, because now a child is trying everything "on the teeth" and can swallow small elements of the set.
Soft toys do not quite meet the age requirements of the baby and you cannot do a lot of different things with them, so interest in such a gift will fade quickly. Loud toys can scare, in addition, their frequent use has a negative impact on the nerves of parents.
What is a good gift for a one-year-old?
At this age, everything the child touches must develop a certain skill, so the usual rattles are no longer suitable. The list of the best gifts in this category looks like this:
- Building blocks
- Counting & sorting
- Stack toys
- Tactile Game
- Educational Game
- Montessori Toys
Building blocks
Traditionally, this is one of the first games most children play after rattles and chews. To start building with building blocks, it is enough to be able to grasp objects firmly in your hand, and during the game a child perfectly develops spatial and logical thinking, motor skills and imagination. For the youngest children it is best to take bright, large building blocks, for example, a set of "Fun Cubes" Of which you can not only build, but also for a long time to look at the colorful pictures on the sides of the blocks.
And if you dream to interest your baby in construction, you can give him a large set of stylish blocks and bricks of bright colors. All that baby will erect from these blocks, will be a great decoration of the nursery.
Counting and sorting
Another toy that kids master just about a year old is the sorter. The main task of the game - to insert the figures in the appropriate grooves or holes. Your little toddler will take more than a dozen attempts until he figures out how to do it, so you are sure to have time to finish your business.
And even if your child has already mastered a simple sorter with figurines, he can offer a more complicated version - board sorter with pins on which you need to string shapes of different colors
Stack toys
Stacking toys keep children busy at any age. Stacking becomes interesting already from the ninth month of life. This playfully trains the fine motor skills of babies and toddlers, but such games also offer great appeal for older children. Some stacking toys follow a specific game plan, while others allow the little ones to let off steam in a completely creative way. But the reverse version of "stacking up" is also extremely popular.
But be careful: Especially the little ones not only like to stack towers, but also like to explore the pieces with all their senses. That's why parents should make sure that the play pieces and blocks are free of harmful substances and that the paint does not come off.
Tactile Game
Of course, tactile perception can be improved playfully and without too much pressure. The development of the hands is fundamentally important for fine motor processes.
For example, you can only hold a pen or pencil "correctly" or successfully implement differentiated writing movements if the sense of touch is fully functional.
It is not necessary to do any absurd or artificial exercises, many classical forms of play already fulfill their tactile purpose extremely well.
Educational Game
Educational toys or Didactic toys are toys that contribute to the development of the child, his mental processes: thinking, imagination, etc. Usually they come with instructions, so the child first gets acquainted with the toy under the supervision of an adult. Materials are selected in accordance with age. Toys help preschoolers to better absorb the material of the lesson. One can interact with them individually or collectively.
The first educational toys in the life of a child are rattles and pendants. The baby begins to get acquainted with the world around him and learns to grasp objects. The rattle must be light and comfortable so that it can be squeezed and shaken.
At 5 months, educational toys aimed at the development of fine motor skills are introduced, such as suspensions on springs which you can pinch with your fingers and pull. At 7 months, the child is already able to string and put parts in, and at 8 months, to manipulate two toys at once.
Montessori Toys
Since there are so many adorable Montessori toys on the market right now, it can be tempting to shove them into the nursery. Part of the Montessori method is to give children several options at once, not to overwhelm their young minds. When faced with a looming pile of toys to choose from, it can be difficult for children to hone their concentration skills and ability to see an activity through.
Babies grow and develop at an astounding rate, so make sure the toys you offer are age and level appropriate.
Therefore, we suggest that you base your choice of toys on the clear principles formulated by Maria Montessori regarding the preparation of the developmental environment:
- Variety and naturalness of materials;
- Isolation of complexity;
- Appropriateness of developmental stage;
- Objects that are comfortable and appropriate in size;
- Toys that carry information about reality;
- Combination of colors;
- Not leading to overstimulation;
- Safe;
- Giving the experience of success;
- From simple to complex;
- Multiple toys to develop a single skill.
No matter, you choose a gift for a one-year-old boy or girl, it must necessarily be well made and beautifully packaged. To be confident in the quality and safety of children's products, it is better to buy them in reliable and specialized stores, such as avtokrisla.com. In this online store you can buy a gift that is sure to please the baby and will do him good.