Hobbies And Interests
Visually Stimulating Toys
Mirrors, mobiles, books and toys with lights help stimulate your baby's visual perception. Babies, up until around 6 weeks of age, respond to bold patterns. Black and white toys or patterns are easily seen and stimulate your baby's vision. Heidi Murkoff, author of "What To Expect The First Year," suggests hanging mobiles with a black and white pattern 12 to 15 inches above your baby's head for optimal results. Lay your baby on a blanket, and move a rattle or mirror back and forth across your baby's line of vision to encourage your baby to begin tracking objects in her line of sight. The Lamaze Company offers a line of visually stimulating baby toys for this purpose.
Auditory Stimulating Toys
Use rattles, mobiles, music boxes and similar toys to stimulate your baby's hearing perception. According to Murkoff, your baby can recognize songs or tunes she heard in the womb, making these sounds pleasing as well as stimulating. Shake a rattle on one side of your baby's head and she will turn her head to find the sound. Alternate with loud and soft shaking to help develop her hearing further. Toys with bells inside or buttons to push -- for an older baby -- help hand-eye coordination, as well as developing an understanding of cause and effect.
Kinesthetically Stimulating Toys
Kinesthetic, or touch, toys are invaluable to your baby's development of perception, according to Murkoff. Touch allows your baby to learn concepts such as soft or hard, hot or cold, and understand different textures. Blankets, teddy bears, wooden blocks and rubber balls are all examples of kinesthetically stimulating toys. Place different texture toys in your baby's hands or rub one gently over his belly. Give him a wooden block in one hand and a plush animal in the other, explaining the difference, even at a very young age.
Sensory Cubes, Play Mats and Activity Gyms
Sensory cubes, play mats and activity gyms combine a variety of toys in one place, allowing you to stimulate the development of your baby's sight, sound and touch perception at the same time. Sensory cubes, such as the Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube, use music and lights to stimulate your baby when a button is pushed. Baby Einstein offers several activity gyms and play mats with soft toys, rattles, motion and sounds to assist your baby in developing all of his perceptive skills.