Last weekend I attended a virtual baby shower for one of my nearest and dearest, who has since delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl. One week later one of my colleagues delivered her own little ray of sunshine and, a couple of weeks later, one of the mums I work with delivered their newest addition as well. It seems that of all the changes that have been brought about by Covid-19, welcoming beautiful babies into the world is not one of them.
So to celebrate the joy of new life that is buzzing around me I have put together a baby gift guide with ten of my favourite gift ideas that support positive child development- items that facilitate exploration through the senses, encourage movement and promote connection and a sense of self.
Baby Swings
Babies and toddlers need lots of opportunities to move in a variety of ways in order to support the development of a healthy vestibular system- a little fluid-filled canal in the inner ear that is responsible for our perception of movement and head position, providing us with information about who we are and who we are in relation to the world around us.
The vestibular system also lays the foundation for muscle tone and postural/core development along with an invisible midline that supports communication between the left and right sides of the brain- both required for ALL movement skills from crawling to riding a bike.
Baby hammocks that support gentle rocking and swaying are wonderful ways to get calming movement in for babies whilst stimulating the vestibular system. Seated swings are a wonderful addition for babies and toddlers that are able to sit unsupported. Check out these macrame baby swings from Play Fair Kids- they’re made from sustainable materials and are ethnically and fairly sourced.
2. Musical Instruments, Rattles and Shakers
Our auditory system (hearing) is vital for survival as well as as a foundation for exploration and movement. Our brain interprets sounds from our environment in order to provide us with information on how we need to respond- is the environment dangerous? Do we need to move away? Is it safe? Can I move towards a sound with curiosity?
A healthy auditory system is also important for the development of speech and language, communication and social skills, and provides a foundation for perception of our body in space and the development of motor skills – organising, timing and sequencing of movement.
Musical instruments such as rattles, shakers, drums, tambourines and bells along with music tracks are wonderful gift ideas that grow with your baby and toddler and inspire a passion for music for years to come. I love the variety and sustainability of these instruments from Baby Noise, the diversity of tracks by Rockabye Baby as well as nursery rhymes and nature sounds.
3. Play Gyms
Image by Arabella and Autumn
Our visual system is responsible for much of our learning and understanding of our environment. Our eyes send messages to the brain about visual information in our environment and the brain gives this information meaning based on properties such as colour, size, shape, depth and placement of object.
As with messages from our auditory system, these messages to our brain to decide what action we should take- do we need to move away or should we move towards then object to explore.
Play gyms are the perfect way to support the development of the visual system and promote movements such as reaching and, later, rolling as baby attempts to explore what they have seen. Check out these play gyms from Arabella & Autum- they are hand crafted in Australia from sustainable materials and allow for interchangeable attachments.
4. Massage Vouchers
As with our visual and auditory systems, our tactile (touch) system provides our brain with messages about the tactile aspect of our environment. Again, the brain interprets these messages in order to understand whether the environment is safe or poses a threat.
It is also through touch that we convey compassion and empathy, to support our babies to feel safe, nurture a secure attachment, and to help them make sense of themselves and the world around. Infant massage is an incredible way to support gentle touch, promote bonding and connection and create opportunities to develop an understanding of baby’s non-verbal communication such as facial expressions.
In addition, studies have shown infant massage to promote calm, facilitate sleep and support immune functioning. There are many in-person and online infant massage courses, along with infant massage books and gift packs that would make wonderful gifts.
5. Stacking and Nesting Toys
Image by Arabella and Autumn
Once babies are able to sit and manipulate objects they will start to explore what they can do with them. This exploration promotes the development of many other skills including fine motor skills and hand grasp, visual-motor skills (hand-eye coordination), visual perception, problem solving skills, sequencing, bilateral integration (coordinating the left and right sides of the body), attention and concentration, language skills and concepts such as size, shape and colours.
6. Oral Sensory Toys
The oral sensory system includes tactile (touch input) from the tongue, lips, gums and cheek, taste from all the little taste receptors on the tongue, and proprioception (joint/muscle sensory information) from the joints and muscles in the mouth and jaw. Each have important functions. For example, the tactile receptors allow for further exploration of objects, taste supports survival by allowing for discrimination between different tastes and detecting harmful toxins, and proprioception in the jaw supports the development of sucking, swallowing, breathing, chewing and, later, talking. Check out the beautiful range of oral-motor toys from Arabella & Autumn- great for developing the oral sensory system as well as to support babies through teething.
7. Play Mats
Image by Finch and Folk
Babies need lots of room to play and explore and lots of opportunity to be on their tummies to develop and strengthen the postural muscles in the neck and trunk as well as the shoulders.
Strong, activated postural muscles support sitting with stability, emotion regulation, attention and concentration, coordinated gross motor skills, visual skills such as reading and copying from the black/white board, speech development, bilateral tasks such as cutting, tying shoelaces and eating with a knife and fork and precise fine motor skills
When choosing a mat look for machine washable, generous size and non-irritant sustainable fabric that can be easily taken to the park, beach, bush and play dates.
8. Books
Reading to children supports the development of speech, language and early literacy skills and can support the development of focus, attention and concentration. Reading also provides time for connecting and bonding, strengthening relationships and co-regulation, and can provide a quiet and calm activity choice amongst the chaos.
Kids benefit from exploring a variety of books and any time is book time! Look for picture books, books that rhyme, lift the flap books to spark curiosity and develop fine motor skills, fabric books, books that explore textures and books with repetition and patterns.
9. Treasure Baskets
Image by Helen Lee
Treasure baskets come from the concept of Heuristic Play- a term attributed to child psychologist Elinor Goldschmeid in the early 1980's. The idea is to provide babies with a variety of everyday objects that are safe for baby to explore with the hands and mouth, preferably nothing plastic and definitely nothing small enough to be a choking hazard.
Seems like a strange gift idea however, providing babies with the opportunity to explore objects that have a range of textures and properties allows for the eventual understanding of what objects can do based on these properties, later facilitating ideation, problem solving and collaboration, laying the foundation for the later stages of play.
Create a treasure basket by filling a low-edged basket with everyday items such as kitchen utensils, brushes, wooden or natural objects, a variety of textiles and scented items.
10. Blocks
Blocks are a timeless toy and for good reason- they provide children with the opportunity to develop cognitive skills such as ideation (coming up with ideas), planning, evaluation and problem solving and, due to their open-ended nature, provide a wonderful platform for the development of creative and imaginative play!
In addition, playing with smaller blocks can support the development of fine motor skills and visual motor integration (hand-eye coordination). Look for small blocks like these from Playfair Kids and I also love these beautiful wooden quote and family rainbows from Honeycomb Living.
