How to Incorporate Sensory Toys for Your Newborn

As a new parent, ensuring your newborn's development gets off to the right start is a top priority. One way to do this is by introducing sensory toys, which help stimulate your baby’s brain and senses. Sensory toys can aid in cognitive growth, motor skills, and emotional bonding. Let’s explore how to incorporate these toys into your baby’s routine and the key benefits of using sensory toys early on.

What Are Sensory Toys?

Sensory toys are designed to stimulate a baby’s senses: touch, sight, hearing, smell, and even taste. They are typically soft, textured, and colourful, offering various features like crinkling sounds, rattles, or different materials to encourage sensory exploration.

Benefits of Sensory Toys for Newborns

1. Boost Cognitive Development
   Sensory toys help babies make connections between what they see, hear, and feel, improving their ability to recognize patterns and understand the world around them. Toys like soft books with bright colors and contrasting patterns, or rattles that make noise when shaken, can help stimulate your baby’s developing brain.

2. Enhance Motor Skills
   As your baby grasps and holds sensory toys, they begin to develop their fine motor skills. Toys like soft plush caterpillars with different textures or easy-to-hold rattles encourage babies to use their hands, fostering hand-eye coordination and grip strength.

3. Encourage Emotional Bonding
   Interactive play with sensory toys can create strong bonds between parents and babies. Toys that allow gentle touch and sound, such as a soothing plush toy that crinkles or squeaks, help build trust and comfort between you and your newborn.

4. Support Language Development
   Sensory toys can also promote early communication. When you engage with your baby using toys, naming the colours, shapes, and sounds, you’re helping build their language foundation. For example, soft cloth books with simple images and textures are perfect for interactive storytelling.

How to Incorporate Sensory Toys Into Daily Playtime

1. Tummy Time
   Tummy time is essential for strengthening your baby’s neck and shoulder muscles. During tummy time, place sensory toys like crinkly fabric books or textured balls in front of them to encourage reaching and interaction.

2. Gentle Exploration
   Newborns are naturally curious. Offer soft and safe toys with various textures and sounds, such as plush toys or rattles, for them to explore. This helps stimulate both their touch and hearing senses.

3. Interactive Bonding
   During diaper changes or quiet time, introduce sensory toys to soothe or entertain your baby. Soft rattles or plush toys with gentle sounds can provide calming stimulation.

4. Bedtime Wind-Down
   Sensory toys with soft fabrics can also be part of a bedtime routine. Toys that are designed for tactile soothing, like a plush caterpillar with multiple textures, help signal it’s time to wind down and rest.

Best Sensory Toys for Newborns

Here are a few sensory toys to consider for your newborn:

• Soft Building Cubes: Stackable and colourful, they offer a variety of textures and encourage exploration.
• Crinkle Cloth Books: These are perfect for tummy time and are soft, safe, and full of interesting textures and sounds.
• Rattle Bumpy Ball: A great tool for improving hand-eye coordination with its easy-to-hold design.
• Plush Caterpillar: A soft toy that doubles as a comfort object and sensory stimulator with different textures.

Final Thoughts

Incorporating sensory toys into your newborn’s playtime is an easy and fun way to support their early development. By stimulating their senses, these toys can help your baby grow cognitively, physically, and emotionally. Explore our collection of sensory and developmental toys to find the perfect match for your little one.

Development toys

Rattles