Are you looking for the best type of physical therapy toy for an infant? If YES, here are 15 best physical therapy toys for infant.
Toy stores in this age offer thousands of products from which you can choose from, and that is just in the newborn and infant aisle alone.
Unless you want to turn your home into a toy store, you need some criteria to help narrow the field. In addition to being safe, good toys for children need to match their stages of development and emerging abilities. An age-appropriate toy encourages or challenges your baby to use and improve one or more developing skills.
A toy that doesn’t offer any challenge may bore him. Also, if it is too hard to use, a toy may frustrate your infant. By the time he develops the skills needed to enjoy a toy he received prematurely, he may have lost interest in it.
Although toy manufacturers’ age recommendations tend to take safety into account, you should always examine any plaything you plan to give your baby.
For instance, during the first year, your baby will bang, drop, kick, pull, throw, bite, and suck on any toy you give him. To hold up under this kind of treatment, a toy needs to be durable. If it is breakable, your child will break it to pieces. If it has small parts, your baby will eat them.
To avoid choking, do not go for toys that have any parts smaller than two inches. Since children will chew on their toys, they should be painted or finished with non-toxic materials. Additionally, they should be easily washable so that you can keep them (relatively) clean and (relatively) free of germs.
Coupled with these major safety concerns, you should also consider the weight of any toy. Your baby will inevitably drop any toy onto his toes or bang it into his face.
Avoid toys that will hurt him when he does. You should also avoid any plaything with sharp edges or with strings or ribbons long enough to wrap around your baby’s neck.
While there are many great options, there are some toys that may offer a little bit more than others. The following are some physical therapy recommended toys for your infants.
Best Physical Therapy Toy for Infant
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Black and White Art Cards
According to experts, these art cards are the best. They are high-contrast and relatively simple, which will allow your baby to focus their vision on the card while not getting overwhelmed. You can use these to encourage your baby to look in all different directions or to look up higher during tummy time.
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Fat Brain Toys InnyBin
Ideal for ages 6 months and up, this toy provides an incredibly unique shape-exploration experience. The innovative shape sorting box comes with six chunky, textured shapes that fit through the elastic bands of the cube. The colourful toy encourages fine motor skills, tactile exploration, and experimentation.
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Reaching & Grasping Rings
This rattle has a very soft ring, which should decrease the chances of your baby startling at the sound. It includes high-contrast colours that make it easier for baby to focus on the toy. It is also very flexible with many rings, which makes it easier for your baby to successfully grasp the toy.
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Jellycat Bashful Bunny
Irresistibly cute and super soft, this bunny is sure to become a favourite stuffie for years to come. This adorable bunny will be your kid’s bestie from babyhood to the big kid stage. Safe for all ages, use the appropriate AAP guidelines when sharing stuffed animals with an infant.
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Alphabet Foam Floor Puzzle
Floor mats are so wonderful for a quick play area setup. They break down for easy storage, and you can use as few or as many pieces as you’d like. Floor time is the best way to promote strong gross motor development.
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Lovevery Play Gym
The experts at Lovevery have developed a splurge-worthy play gym, suitable for infants on up, that many parents feel is a must-have piece of gear.
Note that the five developmental zones on the mat reveal or conceal areas to prevent overstimulation so that it can grow as your baby develops. The mat promotes focus, features sound-making pieces, encourages sensory expiration, hiding and finding, and exploring colour.
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Bright Starts 24-Count Lots of Links
These toy links are also easy for your baby to grasp, and they can be used in so many different ways. They can be used for simple playing while on the ground or hanging from a car seat handle for your baby’s entertainment or distraction.
They are also great to place on your baby’s feet in order to encourage your baby to reach for their toes, which is a great way to encourage abdominal strength and the beginning stages of rolling.
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Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teething Toy
A popular toy for new babies, this sweet and cuddly giraffe is made from natural latex rubber and food quality paint. With a subtle squeak and smooth texture, it is an instant hit with babies.
Suitable for newborns to babies 12 months old, it is perfect for teething babies and the squeaking sound inside is ready to attract a baby’s attention.
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Mirror for Tummy Time
Mirrors are wonderful because babies love seeing other baby’s faces. Use a mirror during tummy time to engage your child’s attention while they work to build all the muscles needed to help with rolling and future crawling.
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Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack Classic
A classic for good reason, this budget-friendly toy comes with lots of developmental benefits. The stacking helps babies with hand-eye coordination and introduces them to the concept of relative size. Suitable for ages 6 months and up, this toy will engage young kiddos
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Musical toys
Did you know that music helps babies with their language development? This is a fun age to start introducing different instruments and sounds to your kiddo’s day.
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Vtech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker
Ideal for babies 9 months old to toddlers 3 years old, this learning walker will provide lots of fun and versatility to engage young kids for a long time.
Littlest ones can play with the detachable activity panel and early walkers can use this toy to help them move along. Parents appreciate how much is packed into this toy.
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Activity table
Note that this is a great toy for when your baby begins to crawl and pull up to stand at surfaces. It is engaging while your little one works on standing balance, cruising, and transferring from surface to surface before they begin to walk.
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Little Tykes Basketball set
This is another great toy to encourage independent standing for new standers, as well as performing squat after squat to reach down to pick up the ball before reaching high to the rim for a basket. This hoop comes with various heights to adjust depending on your child’s age and skill level with throwing/shooting a ball.
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Puzzles
Puzzles are a great activity to introduce to older infants, if not earlier, with some of the larger, peg-puzzles. Therapists often use puzzles to perform repetitive movements and activities, having the child grab one piece at a time.
It is very engaging, and children do not realize that while completing the puzzle, they are building strength or practicing skills such as stepping over hurdles or jumping.