A Doula’s Guide to Infant & Toddler Toys
If you’re expecting your first baby, it can be hard to know what kinds of toys to pick out for your little one.
The world of infant and toddler playthings can feel very overwhelming - there are literally millions of products marketed as children’s toys!
As doulas with a child development background, we’ve put together a list of our favorite playthings for your baby.
If you want to dig into the reasoning behind these choices, we’ve included some extra resources for you. If not, you can still use this list as a starting point for your baby registry.
Happy learning, and happy shopping!
Safety First
Before we get into specific toy recommendations, we want to share some safety guidelines:
Be sure to review safety guidelines for your child’s age to make sure the toys you choose are age-appropriate, choke-safe, and don’t have any exposed batteries. If you’re worried that it will be hard to tell which items could be chokable, you can get a “choke tube” size tester.
Our Approach
The way we think about toys for infants and toddlers generally mirrors the RIE (Resources for Infant Educarers) approach. We love this quote from Magda Gerber who founded RIE: “The best toys for babies don’t do anything.”
We recommend providing little ones with a variety of playthings that they can touch, hold, and manipulate creatively. Essentially we want to avoid “busy toys” in favor of simple toys that allow for “busy babies.” Many of today’s products marketed for little ones are meant to provide passive entertainment (think toys that play sounds or have flashing lights), rather than active participation in play.
To learn more about the reasoning behinds these kinds of toys, you might enjoy reading these posts:
And if you want a lot more detail about this approach, we highly recommend these books:
Your Self-Confident Baby: How to Encourage Your Child’s Natural Abilities from the Very Start by Magda Gerber
Elevating Child Care: A Guide to Respectful Parenting by Janet Lansbury
Simple Toys Make Active Babies (booklet) by Alexandra Curtis Boyer
You’ll see many items on our list here that aren’t sold in the baby aisle of Target - that is very purposeful!
An idea for “baby’s first toy”
Magda Gerber recommends providing a simple square of think fabric hemmed on all sides for babies - essentially a thick cloth napkin that holds its shape pretty well.
Another aspect we love about this simple toy idea is that you can make it yourself if you’re a little crafty. And if you’re not, you can ask a loved one who sews to make some for you. A special handmade gift that is “sew” simple! (Sorry, I had to)
Other Infant and Toddler Toy Ideas
Grasping toy ideas:
Grasping toys help little ones explore their ability to pick up and manipulate objects. We recommend avoiding grasping toys with hidden sounds (bells, rattles) as much as possible.
Ball ideas:
Balls are lots of fun! Aim for a variety of textures and sizes. Wait to give these to your little one until they are a bit more mobile, so they can follow the balls if they roll.
Container ideas:
Containers help little ones figure out how objects fit together. From putting on and taking off lids to placing objects in containers and then tipping them out, there are a lot of ways these can be used by tiny scientists!
Stacking & sorting ideas:
Pieces for stacking and sorting work well in combination with the containers listed above. Little ones can explore different ways of holding and grouping these items, as well as placing them in different configurations and containers.
Climbing ideas:
Climbing toys give toddlers opportunities to practice large motor skills as they become more mobile. The foam cubes can offer a soft place to land as they navigate these climbers!
