With toys, one of the most common questions asked is when your child should start playing with them. In a baby’s initial months, you’re the only thing they’ll need. Once they become curious of everything around them though, they will consider everything a toy. So, you need to be ready to ensure there aren’t any risks. The following is what you need to know before your child begins playing with toys.

3 to 6 months

Between the ages of 3 and 6 months, your baby will begin revealing interest in their toys. This includes cuddling with teddy bears, knocking blocks over, and rolling balls. By 9 months, they could’ve decided on their favourite one. From here, they’ll engage in play more, like looking for toys you hide from them.

You must keep in mind that every child will be different. As such, you shouldn’t worry if yours hasn’t shown interest in the same things as others. They will do so eventually. Baby development is varied at times. It can seem like babies are making zero progress. Suddenly, things can shift overnight. Skills come in rapidly. Before you realise, they are exceeding expectations and looking for things like farm toys that can do more.

Newborns

With newborns, they can only see objects up to 12 inches away from them. To them, the most interesting thing around will be your face when you hold them. The most important detail to know is that your baby learns from senses like hearing and touch. Holding and talking to them can stimulate their curiosity.

The toys provided to newborns at this stage should come with contrasting, bright colours. Textures and fabrics need to be interesting too. You can hold the toy above their face, moving it side to side, so they will follow it using their eyes. A moving object can stimulate their senses a lot.

4 to 6 months

At 4 to 6 months, your baby will have greater control over their legs and arms. They can pick up and play with more toys than ever before.

It’s essential to attempt to develop their fine motor skills here. Babies will still have the instinct to curl their fingers around anything you put in their hands. Encourage them to pick up their toys so they can work on their motor strength. Learning these behaviours early will aid them in doing other things that use the skills later in life. Examples can be holding a spoon or pen or playing with things like farm toys with moving parts.

6 to 12 months

As your child grows, they’ll become even more intrigued at the different kinds of toys. Chances are they will likely see everything around them as a plaything. It’s possible they could even take their first steps. If so, they may begin ‘cruising’ too, which is walking along whilst holding onto something.

What’s more, children will start understanding object permanence. This is the concept that when something leaves their line of sight, it is not gone permanently.

Towards 9 months, you can provide your child with toys that encourage problem solving. Though they will grow quickly, your child will still be entertained by their previous toys. Slowly introduce other options to help improve their motor skills.

Buy quality farm toys

At JS Hubbuck Ltd, we have several fantastic toys available to buy. These include the lemken semi mounted reversible plough and bale wrapper with round bales from Bruder. They are ideal for helping your kids learn more about the world of farming because they look like real pieces of farm equipment and move too.

So, if you want to order realistic farm toys, please let us know. We’d be happy to help, and can advise about age limits and other crucial details.