Best Gifts for a 1st Birthday - What to choose?
The store shelves almost overflow with items, but a large portion of the toys purchased there only hold the child's attention for a short period of time and are quite expensive. As a result, the selection must be thoughtful, and most importantly, when purchasing a gift, you must be aware of the peculiarities of the child's developmental age. What can he do at the age of one, and what still needs to be learned?
Emmy Pickler, a world-renowned pediatrician, describes the age range from one to three years as the sensory stage, during which a child learns color, shape, sound, and size. As a result, toys must be designed to help children develop and perfect these skills. Age is an excellent time to learn to hear the sounds of nature and to feel the differences between natural materials. As a result, it is preferable if the toys are made of natural materials.
The structure of the objects should be such that the child understands how it works—that a tower can be built from the blocks, a smaller bowl can be placed inside a larger one, a puzzle can be put together if the right shape is found, and so on.
Before purchasing a large (in terms of size and cost) gift, consult with the child's parents to determine whether such property is required. Sometimes it appears that it is more important for parents to contribute to a child's savings account or prepare a treat because there are already enough toys at home and nothing else is required.
SIT TO STAND LEARNING WALKER
At about the age of a child, the child gradually becomes a walker. So he has a natural interest in a variety of push devices, so everything that can be rolled forward or pulled from behind, such as a duck on wheels, a car, a dog on a leash, or a doll's carriage, will fit. A little later, a balance wheel will be useful, so the child can ride it on his own.
WOODEN BLOCKS AND PYRAMIDS
Wooden blocks and various wooden figures are universal and long-lasting toys. The use of wooden blocks is very broad-at the age of one, there is a lot of interest in building a tower and going down it, and these activities are really developing! Later, the blocks can be turned into a doll's house, a city, a car track, etc.; they are a great building material for every child's idea.
From this series, suitable gifts for the anniversary will also be toys of different sizes that can be placed on top of each other, as well as games that require the ability to put a toy of a certain shape and size into the right hole.
BATH TOYS
At the age of one, most children love to take a bath and splash around. Unfortunately, not everything can be put in the water, so it will not be a problem if there is a new toy suitable for the bath in stock. Make sure that the item is easy to care for, that is, that it does not accumulate soapy water, which is difficult to clean afterwards. Remember, bath belongings are one of the places where harmful mold is formed!
The same group also includes beach toys for playing in the sand and water of the beach.
CONSTRUCOTRS
Easy to assemble constructors, mosaics, puzzles, prefabricated items - everything that promotes fine motor skills. At this age, you can also give away the universal "Lego Duplo" blocks, which will last for years and can be used in various toys.
PICTURE AND SENSORY DEVELOPMENT BOOKS
At around the age of one, a child becomes interested in simple books with easy-to-understand pictures. Picture books with harder pages will be suitable for an annual. It is desirable that the fairy-tale characters in the book are from the real world, easily recognizable. Books with tangible elements are also nice. For example, animals that have a fur that looks like a real one so that a child can feel it. Also interesting will be the rattlesnake, rattles, and additions of different textures and materials that can be touched or moved. Attention will be paid to the game calculator or other toys with buttons that can be safely pressed.
MUSICAL TOYS
Devices that can make sounds-xylophones, harmonicas, drums, and other musical instruments-help to learn the cause and effect relationship. What happens when you hit the keys with the cob? But what if you hit harder? It also serves as a form of movement coordination training and sound familiarization.When giving your child a drum or other loud musical instrument, be aware that it may disturb others, so the sound should be pleasant and unobtrusive. Be careful with toy synthesizers and other toys whose sound is uncontrollable; they can be not only annoying, but even unwanted for the child's hearing.