We did a roundup of the best educational toys for toddlers, so it was only natural that we do a Finlee and Me guide to the best educational toys for babies as well.
Just in case you’re wondering, here’s a science-backed guide on whether educational toys are worth it or not as well.
Now, onto our top picks for the best educational baby toys for 2016.
1. Flash Cards for Baby
Flash cards are a treat for little ones! Not only are they perfectly sized for sweet, small fingers, they’re also beautiful to look at and are great for babies to learn their letters, numbers, colours, and even, animal names!
2. Fabric Books
While we love board books, fabric books have their own charm and when they help babies learn their letters, the charm becomes greater still.
This gorgeously designed ABC fabric book is perfect for introducing babies to the letters of the alphabet and also, helps with colour and object identification.
Plus, it’s portable and easy to toss into the nappy bag, safe for baby to gum on when out and about and easily washable too! Win-win-win!
3. Wooden Building Blocks for Babies
Building blocks that are carefully handcrafted from quality sustainable wood and then, artistically painted with non-toxic colours are great for helping babies learn about colours, improve eye-hand coordination, and explore and develop their spatial and motor skills as well.
4. Wooden Colour and Shape Sorter
A cheery, chunky and totally cute shape sorter is bound to have your baby engaged and entertained. Bonus points because it’s super sturdy too.
Get it out and place it on the carpet and lay down with your baby and watch him explore the sorter, pick the pieces and turn them around. His tiny brain will love the sensory stimulation and his motor skills will enjoy the workout.
Not just that, you can use this time to make memories by chatting about the different shapes, pointing them around in the house and cheering him on when he places them in the right spots.
5. 1-5 Wooden Stacker
Numbers can be entertaining and amusing especially when they’re as colourful as this 1-5 wooden stacker, that’s perfect for an early introduction to numbers.
Sized perfectly to fit little hands and built to last, baby and you will have a lot of fun learning to identify colours, numbers, count to 5 and boost hand-eye coordination as well, while making happy memories of giggling in delight and squealing in excitement when you get it right!
6. Wooden Play Food for Little Ones
Introduce the world of fruits and vegetables to your baby with these gorgeously crafted wooden play food sets, that are bound to help your little one learn about healthy eating, enjoy and identify a variety of foods and most importantly, work on their fine motor skills by “cutting” the fruits and vegetables.
7. Wooden Activity Work Bench
Every baby needs one of these awesome wooden activity work benches that are wonderful for building motor skills, encouraging active exploration and boosting creativity in little ones too.
They can be a carpenter, a builder, an engineer, even as they use the hammer, the handsaw, the screwdriver, the clamp and more to pound, screw, measure and more!
8. Musical Education with Melody Mix
There’s a reason the Melody Mix is one of the most popular music toys for babies.
Not only is it made from sustainable rubberwood which gives it that extra edge of durability which baby toys need, it’s the perfect introduction to music for babies.
This all-in-one musical baby toy comes with 10 removable musical instruments, including chimes, xylophone, cymbals and more.
It’s a great way for kids to practice musical notes, learn to identify rhythm, enjoy music and yes, also improve their motor skills.
9. Stackable Crayons for Colouring Fun
It’s a crayon. It’s a toy. It’s both!
Yes, these super stackable crayons are perfect for babies, since they’re chunky and shaped perfectly for little fingers to grasp easily. Not only that, they’re really hard to break which reduces the choking risk with regular-shaped crayons.
Plus, babies really love stacking them away and it makes them perfect for helping them identify colours, stacking and more.
10. Sensory Play Made Simple
Sensory blocks are a wonderful educational toys for babies to help them explore and engage their sense of touch, sight and sound.
Hand them to baby while he’s on the playmat or in the stroller and you can be sure that he’ll be engaged easily. Enjoy the sweet sounds and delighted expressions he makes as he discovers different textures and colours that fascinate his little mind.
So, there you have it. 10 of the best educational toys for babies that are bound to entertain, engage and excite little ones without overly stimulating them. Plus, these toys grow with baby which means that even, when they’re toddlers, they’ll love playing with them and learning with them.
Do you have a favourite baby toy that’s great for both learning and play? Share with us!
Click through to see the entire Finlee and Me selection of carefully handpicked and {crash} tested educational toys for babies.
Thanks for sharing this post! I was looking for some educational toys for my baby boy. After going through your blog, I guess it will not be difficult for me to choose the best toy for my baby. Much appreciated!
Thank you for your kinds words and wishing you a great day. Hugs from Australia, Angela.