Struggling to find a suitable gift for your child's first birthday?
Contrary to what one might think, the choice of gift for a baby of this age is indeed not easy. While your child won't be able to fully appreciate the gift, or understand its meaning, they can still benefit from it by playing with it.
When looking for new gift ideas for your baby, try to opt for toys and stuffed animals that can help him develop his various physical and cognitive skills. We invite you to discover in this article the best options available to you. Let's get started without further ado!
How to choose a gift for a one-year-old baby?
At one year, your baby will certainly have passed some important developmental milestones. He probably already knows how to crawl, stand up, or even take a few steps without assistance. At this age, the baby can also handle objects, communicate with gestures, and can also speak a few words.
At this point, it becomes hard to realize that he was in his mommy's womb just a year ago. However, it is high time for him to begin his most intensive learning phase. Of course, that doesn't mean he should stop having fun, quite the contrary. A child's learning process is most effective through play.
The best toys you can give your baby for their first birthday should be durable, multi-functional, and engaging. Naturally, they must not pose any risk to his health. They can therefore essentially include natural materials. On the other hand, don't trust the age appropriate markings for toys. Indeed, it often happens that an item recommended for a two-year-old child is perfectly suitable for a one-year-old baby.
Just make sure the toy poses no risk to your child. To do this, check that the toy or stuffed animal does not have dangerous elements, such as laces that could strangle him or small solid objects that could choke him if he swallows them.
What gift to choose for a 1 year old baby?
First of all, you should know that it is very likely that your baby will not necessarily be very receptive to the gift you have just given him. Don't worry, this is completely normal. Moreover, it is even a good sign, because it allows the baby to enrich his imagination and creativity. Here, we present to you the best categories of gifts that you can give to your baby for his very first birthday.
The walking carts
Learning to walk is one of the most important developmental phases for a one-year-old baby. It is also the biggest hurdle your child will have to overcome during this period. The walking carts will allow him to develop his muscles more easily, while considerably reducing the risk of falling. Thanks to these carts, your baby will be able to develop his coordination and his sense of balance.
Walkers come in several sizes and include a variety of functions, such as playing music or having activity objects. That said, the feature that we think is essential is the one that allows you to control the speed of the cart movement. If your child is just beginning to stand, a walker can be a big help with getting around because it keeps their center of gravity stable.
When your child manages to move around without the aid of supports, you can replace the walking cart with a pull-along cart. Children especially enjoy those with kinetic features, which mimic mechanical or animal movement as they move. These toys will be useful for your child, as they allow him to learn to look behind him while walking, without losing his balance. However, as you can imagine, this type of trolley is not suitable for the little ones.
The plush collections
Before his first birthday, your baby tends to lose interest in objects that leave his field of vision. However, during his second year, his memory will be much more developed and he will start asking for toys that are not even present next to him. This is where collectible plushies come in. Indeed, each one has at least one trait that makes it unique. It can be a color, a shape, or any accessory she wears.
Thus, when you offer a small collection of soft toys to your baby, the latter will be captivated by the elements that separate them and it is even possible that one of them will become his favorite. The point of giving your child a stuffed animal pack is to teach them the concept of losing and finding things.
Soft toys for awakening and comfort
Many believe that, since the soft toys stimulate the attention of the baby, they are not recommended for calming him. This is obviously false. These stuffed animals are perfect for helping the baby fall asleep. Indeed, unlike classic soft toys , they easily occupy the child for long minutes, until he falls asleep. You can find all kinds of them in the market. So take the time to choose one that is perfect for your baby.
Baby cloth books and bath books
While, as the name suggests, bath books are made to keep baby occupied while bathing, they can be used like baby cloth books. Introduce these books to your child on a daily basis, every night before bedtime. These books are specially designed to withstand any damage your baby will inflict on them. So, if you want, you can let him sleep with it.
Cloth books and bath books will allow your child to develop their language more effectively, and even enrich their vocabulary, at some point. Note that the best books are usually the ones with the most pictures and colors.
stacking toys
Toy designers have seen that children love to place objects on top of each other. It is practically a natural phase in the evolution of each individual and you absolutely must capitulate to it to accelerate the cognitive and psychomotor development of your baby. For this, do not hesitate to acquire a variety of stacking toys.
You can start by introducing him to the parts of a single toy, so that he learns the concept of stacking. We then advise you to mix the parts of several toys. This will push the child to tell the difference between the different pieces and to stack only those that are compatible with each other.
This exercise helps the baby to better stabilize his hands and better control them in order to manipulate objects of any shape. Likewise, it allows him to better coordinate his movements and to master bilateral movements. Finally, it is important to note that playing with stacking toys strengthens the child's muscles (especially the lower back), since the latter will have to sit perfectly in order to accomplish the task.
rocking toys
Rocking toys are among the most famous toys in the world, thanks in particular to the famous rocking horse . In addition to being particularly appreciated by children of one year and older, they have a variety of advantages for them and particularly when it comes to maintaining balance. When choosing a rocking toy, make sure it's neither too high nor too low for your baby.
The ideal height of the toy varies according to the size of the child, but the essential idea is that the latter manages to tip the toy while having enough contact with the ground. In addition to being effective in teaching your child to balance, this height limits the risk of falling during use.
Rocking toys are great for 1-year-olds because they're not yet ready to ride tricycles, let alone bikes. Plus, these toys can prepare them to ride the bikes by teaching them essential basics, like pushing with their legs to gain momentum. This exercise has several benefits, since it helps the baby to gain coordination and muscles. Don't forget to choose a stable toy that won't cause your child to fall.
On the other hand, unlike the tricycle with push bar, which does not push the child to learn anything, rocking toys constantly impose challenges on him to overcome, which will have the effect of strengthening his self-confidence. -even.
musical toys
It is obvious that our list would be incomplete if it did not include musical toys. These are naturally popular with children of all ages, but they are even more so with one-year-old babies. Indeed, while the latter are not yet ready to take music lessons, they love to generate sounds.
By exposing your baby to musical toys, you stimulate their sensitivity to different sounds and help them develop their musical sense. By the way, musical toys also have unique qualities, as they are among the few that develop children's ability to learn languages.
Toys that focus on creating music are still better than those that just randomly create sounds. Moreover, babies love to repeat their experiences. Thus, they will certainly want to listen to the music they produce again and this encourages them to make the link between the buttons and the sounds they produce.
Understanding this causal relationship is important in a child's development and allows him to have a clear advantage over children his age. Finally, by playing with the musical toys, your baby will start dancing much earlier, which allows him to further develop his sense of balance.
creative toys
As their name suggests, creative toys encourage babies to develop their imaginations. These toys often come with problems that they must find the best ways to solve. Of course, these are in no way puzzle games, since they are aimed at children much older than your baby. However, by analyzing your child's behavior with the toy, you will be able to see that he diversifies his play methods and that he finds, each time, a new way of having fun.
Now that you have an idea of the different options available to you, you are now in a position to find the perfect gift for your child's first birthday. Moreover, you are not obliged to limit yourself to a single gift. You can buy several. That said, in this case, make sure that they are complementary, to allow your baby to develop in a balanced way. This approach will also help you recognize his talents from an early age. Up to you !
