• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Because dads don’t always think like moms™

  • Dad
    • Celebrities
    • Gay Dads
    • Sex
    • Single Dads
  • Pregnancy
    • Labor or Delivery
    • Pregnant Wife
  • Baby
    • Baby Naming
    • Feeding
    • Sleep
    • Toilet Training
  • Kids
  • Teens
  • Activities
    • Local
    • By Age
    • Movie Reviews
    • Celebrations
  • Toys
    • We Recommend
    • Toys
  • Coaching for Dads
  • Great Dad Talks Podcast

Educational Toys?

November 5, 2007 by GreatDad Writers 1 Comment

Sometimes parents feel that
they need to buy expensive educational toys for their babies.
Don’t be fooled by fancy words and
packages. Almost anything your
baby can play with safely is
something she can learn from.

Your baby learns through her senses—her eyes, nose, mouth, fingers and
ears. Try to provide hand-made toys that stimulate all of her senses. The
toys below take only a few minutes to make, and they are free! Throw them
away when your baby outgrows them or they become ragged. Keep your
baby safe.

Noisemakers: Gather a few things that make noise. You might choose a
rattle, an unopened box of rice, a large whistle and an alarm clock. As you sit with your baby, shake the rattle. Talk about the sound. Compare it to the
sound rice makes when you shake the box. Gently blow the whistle. Then
turn the alarm clock on and off. Talk about the different sounds.

Check tiny toys for safe size: Use the cardboard tube from a toilet paper roll to judge the safety of a toy. If the toy passes through the tube, it’s
too small for your baby to play with safely.

Smelling fragrances: Gather a variety of objects with interesting smells
like soap, mint, candles or creams. Put a small amount in your hand or on
your finger. Hold it to your baby’s nose and talk about the smell. “This is
soap. We take a bath with it. Do you like it?”

Feeling the outdoors: Take your baby outdoors. Let her sit on a blanket
on the grass. Stay close and keep your arms around her. Let her touch the
grass. Talk to her about how it feels—wet, dry, smooth, prickly. Move her to
a sand pile, sidewalk or park bench. Again, let her touch the surface. Use
words like warm, cold, rough, smooth, bumpy and hard.

Looking at animals: Tear out several large pictures of animals from old
magazines. Look at the pictures with your baby. Point to the animal. Tell
the baby about the animal. Make a noise that sounds like that animal. For
example, show a picture of a sheep. Say, “Here’s the sheep’s head. It has soft
wool all over its body. A sheep says ‘Baaah.’”

This content has been provided freely by CMC. Click Healthy Start, Grow Smart—Your-Ten-Month-Old for your free download. Click GreatDad Free Ebook to download the entire Health Start, Grow Smart series.

Note: For info on sex after delivery, subscribe now to the GreatDad newsletter for new dads.

Previous / Security Comfort Objects—Loveys

Filed Under: Baby

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Baby says

    November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am

    Good blog with great article topic.Thanks for this information.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
SIGN-UP TODAY to receive the only baby newsletter written by dads, for dads. Act now and receive a free copy of the popular GreatDad E-Book!
My baby's due date or birthday :
Profile picture
Privacy Policy and Terms
Baby Name Finder!

what's in a name

  • Show names for:
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Either
Finding a name you can both agree on isn't always easy. Use our simple name generator to get started.
First Letter
Last Letter
Number of Letters
Origin
Find a name!

More to See

family under a cardboard

Over 40? The Five Types of Insurance You Should Have

October 22, 2022 By Contributing Authors

A Dad’s Guide to Bonding with Your Kids Through Computer Games

May 5, 2022 By Contributing Authors

Tags

529 Plan budgeting for teens college savings compromise dad dads Father's Day fatherhood friendship in-laws love marriage Movie Review parenting advice parenting skills prepaid cards ritual Sundays travel vacation

Footer

Hi mom!

Would you like to share this site with your husband or a friend?

Just enter his email address and your name below and we'll let him know all about GreatDad.com.

His email address
Your Name

Recent

  • Special Clarity session – $25
  • Over 40? The Five Types of Insurance You Should Have
  • A Dad’s Guide to Bonding with Your Kids Through Computer Games
  • 5 Ways to Prepare Your Child for a Surgical Procedure
  • How to get kids excited about dental hygiene

Search

Tags

529 Plan budgeting for teens college savings compromise dad dads Father's Day fatherhood friendship in-laws love marriage Movie Review parenting advice parenting skills prepaid cards ritual Sundays travel vacation

Copyright © 2023 . GreatDad