(Newswire.net — April 25, 2020) — It’s a significant milestone when a baby reaches their first year of life. We start to see how fast they’re growing and look forward to watching many more years to come. It’s hard to know what exactly to get a one-year-old for their birthday. Unlike your friends, you can’t exactly ask a baby boy what he likes, or a baby girl what she wants, and expect them to talk back to you. Despite that, there are a variety of options that would be perfectly suitable for them. Here’s a list of ten items that you can consider buying a one-year-old.
1. Musical toy
Most babies are entertained by all the new sights and sounds that they see around them. The sounds coming from a musical toy can get the child to start becoming accustomed to musical recognition. They start to recognize differences in pitch and tone, formulating different rhythms, and discovering how things sound when they hit different keys at the same time. They also gain more understanding of cause and effect as they see how touching the toy is what activates the different sounds and lights. Large musical toys such as a xylophone toy or wooden piano are usually safer because there are no small parts that can be hazardous to them.
2. Stuffed animal
Stuffed animals help give a one-year-old their first dose of companionship in life. Their fuzzy friend can be with them all the time through all of their newest discoveries and adventures. As the child gets older and starts to develop their communication more, they can begin to use their imagination to act out scenarios with their stuffed animal. In addition to companionship and imagination, because stuffed toys are very soft, it can be a comfort when a one-year-old is feeling scared or anxious.
3. Toy motorcycle
A toy motorcycle can assist a one-year-old with beginning to learn about coordination, which will make it easier for them to eventually learn how to ride a bike one day. It’s lightweight, so it won’t be too hard for a one-year-old to move around on. The toy balances on its own, making it less likely a child will fall over. Nonetheless, for safety, it’s best to get the child a helmet to always wear as well. Riding the toy motorcycle can give children an early lesson in how to steer a bike and experience how the wheels help them forward.
4. Toy dump truck
A toy dump truck can assist in developing many different functions of learning for a one-year-old. One example is using the truck in a sandbox. The child can dig the sand into the dump truck, move it around, and use it to help build something. The act of moving sand in the truck and dumping it can help a child learn about constructing things and develop their imagination more. It can also just be entertaining for a child to continually pour sand in and dump it out. In addition, a one-year-old can use it to carry their other toys around as well.
5. Baby puzzle set
When a child reaches the age of one, they begin to start seeing the world more critically. They’re starting to recognize more of the details around them. They’re using their eyes and hands more to develop their coordination. If you get a one-year-old child a puzzle, it can help develop their visual-spatial skills. When a child is figuring out how what pieces go together, they’re gaining the ability to identify similar concepts.
6. Crawl tunnels
While some one-year-olds are doing a little bit of walking, most of them are still doing a fair bit of crawling. Naturally, it’s perhaps useful to get them a toy that makes their time crawling more entertaining. Crawl tunnels are found to help a one-year-old develop spatial awareness and also enhance their understanding of object permanence.
As adults, we’re aware that the person that leans into a crawl tunnel and then leans out of it is still nearby. For a one-year-old, they don’t have this awareness yet. A child can be amused by someone leaning in and out, while also figuring out how the person is still nearby despite appearing in and out of their visual sight.
7. Coloring book
It doesn’t take much for a baby to enjoy what they’re doing. Giving them a coloring book is a simple and easy way to keep them be occupied for most of the day. It’s perhaps an extra gift for the parents as well, allowing them to take a break from playtime when they need to. There are also several benefits for a child learning how to color. It can improve their motor skills, contribute to early handwriting development, and stimulate their creativity.
In addition, they begin to learn the names of different colors, develop their focus and hand-eye coordination, and enjoy a relaxing activity that they can turn to whenever they feel any stress. In order to avoid any potential problems, it may be best not to give them sharp coloring pencils, crayons that can easily snap, or paint that can make a mess. Instead, consider looking for palm crayons, as they’re easier for a baby to grasp, and they’re less likely to break.
8. Wagon
As a baby begins to walk around the house, they can tend to hold onto things to be better able to balance. Holding on to a wagon will allow them to practice their walking skills and get a little bit of a chance to be more independent by not having to hold onto to their parents. It’s also a good way to give them some early exercise in their life.
You can fill the wagon with some books while they try to pull it around. Similar to the truck, they can also use the wagon to place their toys in it and take them around the house or somewhere outside. A parent can additionally use the wagon as a way to teach them to clean up after themselves through getting them to put their toys back in the wagon to take back to their room. Lastly, all the pulling and pushing of the wagon around will use up a lot of their energy and make it a little easier for parents to put their one-year-old to sleep when it’s time for bed.
9. Stacking toys
It’s the simplest things sometimes that can really capture a one-year-old’s attention. While stacking a toy on top of another toy may not seem like much to us, it can be entertaining for babies. There’s also the added benefit of developing a few different skills. Picking up the stacking pieces and putting them in place helps the one-year-old to learn how to grasp and release an item with their hands. Babies tend to use their entire hands to grab something since they don’t have much dexterity or motor control yet.
They can start with bigger pieces that are easy to grab and then move towards smaller pieces. In addition to developing a child’s ability to grab and place things, it helps with depth perception and hand-eye coordination as well. Lastly, it develops their ability to coordinate their movements. Through stacking the pieces while sitting up, a one-year-old gets used to stabilizing their core as they move. It allows them to learn the process of letting their body “catch itself” and make necessary adjustments to maintain balance.
10. Children’s book
A one-year-old may not be able to read books just yet, but they can get to enjoy hearing stories from their mother or father until then. Reading has been proven to have a variety of benefits for the development of a child’s brain. Reading aloud can teach a one-year-old about communication, build up listening, memory, vocabulary skills, and also introduce different concepts such as numbers, letters, colors, and shapes. As it relates to communication, when a one-year-old is hearing different emotions and expressive sounds, this helps with their emotional and social development.
Soon after a lot of reading, babies will eventually begin improving their language skills by copying different sounds. It’s been found that kids who are regularly read stories early in life know more words than children who’ve not been read to by age two. Beyond all the helpful development benefits, getting a one-year-old, a children’s book can be a good way for them to have more bonding time with their parents. Eventually, when they get old enough, they’ll be able to read the book for themselves.
You may not know what a one-year-old may want for a gift since they can’t speak to you yet, but there are many things that can keep them entertained. Consider getting items that not only help them to have fun but also lead to them developing more of the skills they need to for proper growth and development. If you’re unsure what to get, you can always ask the parents what they would appreciate receiving for their child’s first birthday. For other items that you can consider getting a one-year-old, you can click here.