5 Top Educational Toys for Babies

Every parent wants the best for their child. That means encouraging the development of necessary life skills as early as possible. Babies and young children develop these skills through play, so it makes sense that we offer them toys that facilitate education and learning. If we can find ways to make learning fun at a young age, our children won’t fight it in the future. Here are my top five picks for educational baby toys.

1. Mega Bloks ($17.99)

A starter bag of Mega Bloks contains about 80. They are brightly colored and encourage exploration, creativity, and experimentation. They let your child really get his or her hands on and develop better motor skills. Also, they’re big enough to be safely chewed on.

2. Parum Pum Pum Drum ($26)

Music is an important part of a child’s development. This musical set contains several percussion instruments designed to stimulate a love and excitement of music. Your child will learn to explore sounds and cause & effect.

3. Alex Jr. My Busy Town Wooden Developmental Toy ($69)

This is actually multiple toys in one, which will help teach independent and cooperative play. It helps the development of skills such as counting, recognition, colors, and coordination. You can play with your toddler or let him/her explore alone.

4. Melissa & Doug Plush Rainbow Stacker ($13.50)

This is a new spin on a classic toy. The rainbow toy has rings for stacking on to a rod. Each ring makes a different sound. It teaches your child colors, sequencing, size differentiation, and hand-eye coordination. This model is recommended over the original wooden design, which can chip paint into teething mouths.

5. Radio Flyer 4-in-1 Trike ($81.20)

This trike is an excellent way to help develop your child’s motor skills. It comes with an easy push handle for mom and dad if your baby hasn’t yet learned how to operate the pedals, and it can be converted as your child grows. It’s great for exercise, excitement, and exploration.

Written by Stephanie Parker from Sleepingbaby.com, inventors of the Zipadee-Zip

The motto for Sleeping Baby, makers of the Zipadee-Zip, is: "Inspiring Dreams One Night at A time," and that, in a nutshell, is how it all started…with one little dream that has since become the Parker family's reality. When Brett and Stephanie Parker's daughter, Charlotte, was born, the feeling that welled up inside of them was indescribable; they never realized until first looking into those baby blues of hers that they were even capable of that kind of love.

When it was time to transition baby from swaddling, the Parkers tried every sleep sack on the market and every swaddle weaning trick they could find for nearly two weeks and nothing worked to get baby Charlotte to fall and stay asleep.

Stephanie became determined to restore sleep and sanity to their household and set out to find a solution that would soothe Charlotte's startle reflex and provide her the cozy womb-like environment she loved so much but still give her the freedom to roll over and wiggle around in her crib safely. Out of sheer desperation and exhaustion, the Zipadee-Zip was born. The first Zipadee-Zip(R) Stephanie put together on her little sewing machine worked like magic!

To date tens of thousands of Zipadee-Zips have been sold and all from word-of-mouth marketing. It is so rewarding for the Parkers to see other parents and babies getting the sleep they both need and deserve!

For more information, visit sleepingbaby.com.

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