Quick Summary
- The 4 learning domains: Physical, Language, Cognitive, Social-Emotional.
- Examples of toys for infants 7 to 12 months.
Physical Development
When selecting toys for infants 7 to 12 months, you should keep in mind that they are learning to move! They are rolling, crawling, creeping, pulling themselves up, and standing up. To encourage their development in the physical domain, toys for this age group should include balls, activity balls, pushing/pulling toys, and sit-to-stand learning walkers. Lastly, if the weather keeps you indoors, you can blow bubbles and have the children pop them! This is an activity that they always enjoy. For safety reasons, make sure the floor is carpeted. Another activity that is guaranteed to keep the children moving is to have them take turns crawling through toy tunnels.
Language Development
At this age, older infants recognize their names and other common words. In order to encourage further development in the language domain, you should provide them with talking toys such as play phones, and talking books. It is also important to provide older infants with regular, age-appropriate books. Be sure to include vinyl, cloth, or board books. To encourage language development, it is important for caregivers to engage with the children by talking with them about what is happening in the book. For example, the teacher could ask a child to name a picture in the book. If the child correctly says “cow”, the teacher will enthusiastically say, “That’s right!” The teacher then might say. “What does the cow say?” “Moo!” says the child. Some popular books for older infants are Peek-a-Boo Forest, by Lamaze and Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt.
Cognitive Development
You want to make sure that you have toys that encourage development in the cognitive domain. Some examples of cognitive learning include sorting objects and evaluating information. Toys such as activity cubes, shape sorting cubes, and nesting toys are perfect for older infants. Along with these toys you should also include bead mazes, stacking rings, stacking cups, and plastic and cloth building blocks,
Social-Emotional Development
In order to encourage development in the social-emotional domain, toys for older infants should include plush toys like teddy bears for self-comforting, as well as dolls, doll blankets, and puppets to pretend with. Other toys that are good for pretending are toy cars, trucks, planes, and trains.
Safety
Lastly, like younger infants, older infants put everything in their mouths. Because of this, caregivers need to watch out for possible choking hazards. Additionally, all toys need to be washable.
More Information
It is crucial for parents and teachers to recognize the importance of play for healthy child development. For more information on this topic, as well as safety and age-appropriate toys, please visit the website for The National Association for the Education of Young Children, also known as NAEYC, by using the following link. https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/play/toys