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Toys for Skill Development - Building Baby's Creativity

What Kind of Baby Toys Help to Build Baby's Creativity?

Creativity can cover so many facets of a child's development but here we look at music, art and crafts, role play and using imagination.

Building Creativity – Musical Toys

From the moment baby comes into the world, he can hear pretty well so playing soothing music will help to tantalise his senses. Musical toys and cot mobiles all help to stimulate his senses as he hears different sounds within the musical compositions.

Music stimulates a newborn's brain and is believed to create pathways for future learning, like speech. Some specialists believe that music can help children with mathematics and social interaction.

Cot mobiles tend to play traditional lullabies and classical music so feel free to play different genres of music while you are with baby during the day.

Some playmats and playgyms also play classical music that can be turned on while baby is lying on his back.

Singing to baby will also help to develop his senses as he listens to your voice and picks up rhythm and timbre.

Baby Einstein produces a range of baby DVDs specially designed to intrigue young babies. The colourful characters and classical music seems to engage babies in a way other toys cannot.

As baby develops into a sitting position you can introduce a range of musical instruments for baby to play. Leapfrog makes a fantastic “Learning Drum” that babies can safely hit with the palms of their hands. The top of the “Learning Drum” lights up to encourage baby to keep hitting it. It is designed to teach baby about letters, shapes and music but babies will initially love being rewarded every time they bang the drum.

Leapfrog also makes the “Discovery Ball” that babies can roll on a stand or remove the stand and let it roll around the floor. It plays over 20 tunes so baby is sure to find something it likes.

As baby develops more, he will start to stand up and move around under his own steam. Babies over a year old will start to self –play more and more where they take toys and use them in ways you may not have seen before. Kitchen utensils become drums and drum sticks and all walls become paper.

Musical instruments encourage baby to find their own rhythm – when their favourite songs come onto the television, babies are known to run to find their drums and beat along. The Great Little Trading Company has a lovely band in a drum and the Early Learning Centre has a variety of musical instruments to delight you and your baby.

Building Creativity – Art and Crafts

Babies like to explore at this stage and they are interested in the texture of objects. When you're out walking with them, they will be touching everything – the bark of the tree, grass, picking up twigs. You might want to have a scrap book in the house so they can bring their treasures home and look at them safely tucked away in their scrap book.

Babies over a year old can be introduced to crayons that are safe for younger hands. The Great Little Trading Company has excellent art and craft baby toys to help encourage baby's artistic side. Toys R Us produces an easel that has a blackboard on one side and a whiteboard on the other with two trays. It has a paper holder at the top and supplies large rolls of white paper.

You can encourage your baby to learn to use crayons – initially they will produce lots of lines but they are selecting their own colours, which is creative!

The Early Learning Centre produces “Easy Painters” that are self-contained paint units that toddlers can use to paint without the traditional paint all over the floor scenario. You should spend time painting next to your toddler as they will become excited by your creations. Remember to keep some of your wee one's creations.

Building Creativity – Toys for imaginative play

A toddler's mobility is very good from 15 months onwards so you can start to think about creative games that will encourage baby's imagination to come into play. Imaginative play helps children to develop their cognitive, emotional, motor and social skills.

Imaginative play needs to be cultivated so mummy and daddy or the primary carer of baby should help to lead the play whether it be using a Noah's Arkor a toy tea set.

Social play is really important in helping to enhance baby's creativity. Being able to interact and learn from other children will encourage baby to try new things. Share the toy hats and dressing-up box and help to make dinner using the toy microwave – even if you have to eat chicken and fish in the same meal.

Baby learns so much through imaginative play that you need to be able to devote at least thirty minutes to it a day.

Helping to grow your baby's imagination is a great thing to do whether it is you yourself taking the lead or making sure your childminder, nanny or nursery is following a fun programme.

To find out more about what to look out for when choosing and buying nursery toys visit our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Different Ages section and our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Helping to Develop Different Skills section.

To find out more about the different types of nursery toy that are available for each age group visit our Types of Nursery Toy section.

To find out more about the different online baby and nursery toy shops and stores visit our Top Sites section.

To find out more about the top brands of baby toys visit our Top Brands section

You can also find out more in our How to Play with Baby section.