Appropriate toys for your kids (PART 3)

CEBU, Philippines - By the time your baby is nine or 10 months old, he usually can already make his way around the room in some fashion, like creeping, crawling, or cruising (walking while holding on to the furniture). By 12 months, he may be able to stand and even walk.

This time, your baby has also started using objects as tools, pushing a ball with a stick, or chasing the carrots around his plate with a spoon. He is also more interested in interactive games.

On all fours or on two feet, a baby with the freedom of movement and mobility is more curious than ever. He will want to move, grab, and get into everything that used to be out of reach. Also, a baby this age puts everything in his mouth and his fingers in every hole; be ready for this stage by childproofing your house.

Meanwhile, here are some toy suggestions for your growing baby:

Push toys: These give your toddler a chance to exercise his new walking skills. Choose ones that are heavily weighted, like a wagon, so your baby can lean into them and take a lap or two around the living room.

Shape sorters: Trying to figure out why the square block won’t go through the round opening is a nice challenge for early problem solvers. This is one of those toys that fascinate, and only occasionally frustrate, a baby this age.

Balls: He has encountered them before, but balls get even more thrilling when you can actually stand up and bounce them off the floor.

Toy telephone: Babies love to imitate their parents. Even if he can’t say much yet, a baby will try to communicate by holding the receiver and pushing buttons. The more realistic the phone, the better.

Books: At this age, children are particularly intrigued by books with flaps that open, pull tabs that reveal new characters, textures that can be rubbed, and bunnies that need patting.

Blocks: A must-have for your baby at this age, blocks give him the chance to practice the art of stacking. He may be able to stack only a couple at a time, but knocking them over is just as fun. Start with large, unpainted wooden blocks, and graduate to large, plastic blocks that snap together. Make your own blocks by covering boxes of different sizes with paper.

Pail and shovel: These tools come in handy when your baby’s all-time favorite activity is filling and dumping, filling and dumping. Take these along to the sandbox or park and your baby will stay contented and busy for some time. (Source: http:age-appropriate toys.BabyCenter.mht)

The FREEMAN with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. is running weekly features on Early Childhood Care and Development to emphasize the importance of Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and to increase public support for ECCD. For comments or suggestions, e-mail Hannah.Aranas@rafi.org.ph. (FREEMAN)