5 Best Educational Toys for Baby

Picking out gifts for a baby can be easy, with the overwhelming choices available you can almost just randomly take something off a shelf and have it wrapped. The baby isn’t able to say whether or not they like their gift yet, so you’re mostly trying to please the parents of the child. In light of this, I always look for an educational toy for my friend’s babies. A baby in particular is developing so fast, and everything they do involves learning, that an educational baby toy is the perfect choice this holiday season.

Here is my short list of favorite educational baby toys this year! If you click on the picture, it will take you to some more reviews as well:

1. Jacques the Peacock

Babies develop their auditory and visual skills first. Just after they are born, babies cannot yet see color, so this toy with its different shades of colors, black and white patterns on the peacock’s back, textures, and patterns stimulates the visual system. The baby’s auditory system is also stimulated with the squeaking, crinkling, and rattling sounds. This happy peacock is full of stimulating fun for any baby, and it is the perfect baby gift.

2. The Busy Zoo Activity Center

Keeping a baby occupied can be a big task for parents. Keeping baby happy and learning is one way of getting some down time for new parents, and the Busy Zoo Activity Center is like a little playground right in your home. There are so many ways to stay busy with this educational toy, a baby cannot get bored with it before it outgrows the toy.The Busy Zoo Activity Center has an animal alphabet, jungle design pattern doors, silly puzzles, and beads on a snake along the top. It promotes early development and improves hand-eye coordination. What I like best about this educational toy is that it is made of solid wood, and has rounded corners.

3. Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumperoo

One of my favorite toys is the Fisher-Price Precious Planet Jumperoo. The reason: a baby can stay active, entertained, and develop hand-eye coordination, while being contained in the chair portion of this toy. Bring the Jumperoo into the yard, into your home office, the livingroom, the kitchen, or anywhere else you want to watch your baby but keep your hands free. Baby stays comfortable and can happily play in the chair, jump up and down, and cannot get injured by crawling around while you’re not looking for a minute.

The main educational benefit of this toy is the fact that it promotes healthy muscle, and sensory development. As the baby is safely suspended, he or she can bounce up and down and prepare their legs for walking, and the toys hanging from the top of the Jumperoo keep the baby occupied.

4. Prince Lionheart Wheely Bug

The Lionheart Wheely Bug is a cute, wooden, ride on toy. It comes in two sizes, small and large, and it is the perfect way for a young child that is about to start walking. It can be used safely with children who do not walk yet, but helping the little one stay on top of the Wheely Bug, and as soon as baby wants to start walking, he can hold on to the handle for support while he places his first steps! The Wheely Bug gives very long term playing fun, because after baby has learned to walk, surely he will learn to explore his world while riding the wheely bug.

5. Edushape Edu Tiles

The Edushape Edu Tiles are soft interlocking foam floor tiles, that can at first provide a safe and soft playing surface for baby. Then, as the baby grows, the floor tiles transform into toys that stimulate creativity and learning. Exposure at an early age to letters and numbers make it easier for baby to learn reading and writing later on in childhood, and the soft tiles can interlock to make large blocks, tents, or anything else baby can imagine! This educational toy stimulates imagination and is safe for babies right from birth onwards.

Still need more gift ideas?

This post was a guest post by my husband Peter, if you liked it you might like his others! He has also written a great post at Google Tutor about educational gifts and another good one at his PC blog about educational software for kids.

What do you think?

Is this a good gift list? Have you found a great learning toy for a gift this season? If so, let me know in the comments, I’m not quite done with my shopping yet and I’m sure others would like to know too!