Adults can facilitate babies’ language development by playing with them, focussing on particular toys, reading books and naming everyday objects.

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Toys that name alphabet letters and everyday words satisfy young children’s need for repetition and rehearsal when practicing words and sounds. Babies who handle shapes and also fit them through a hole are learning to solve problems through touch and sight. The set contains various track pieces, plus a SmartPoint racer that plays three fun sing-along songs and six melodies.

br /> Children can engage in imaginative play with other children where they have agreed on a story or scenario that they want to act out. Social interaction is important for language development and turn-taking games are a fun and educational way for babies and young children to learn. Infants also learn about the links between sights, sounds and feel of toys when these are demonstrated by adults.

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Children who use their imagination when playing with other children are increasing their social competence and their understanding of other people. Babies can perceive input from different sensory systems in a unified way; for instance, vision and touch are closely coordinated when using a shape sorter.

Sound and movement attract a baby’s attention; if a toy is placed almost within reach of babies their movements become more animated. Babies begin to learn about conversational turn-taking from an early age; if a baby is babbling the adult waits for a pause and then talks to the baby. Imaginative and social pretend play is beneficial for children as it allows them to explore different ways of viewing the world. br /> From an early age babies use touch to investigate their world; as they learn to reach they begin to run their tongue and lips over toys and then look at them.

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It helps them to begin to understand that other children think differently to them and have different ideas. You will often see young babies in a bath reaching with their legs towards a floating toy and kicking. After the first year, infants adopt the ‘pincer grasp’ where they use their thumb and index finger to grasp even very tiny objects.When young babies watch a mobile they are constantly moving their head, arms, legs and even their mouths in response to the movement of the toy. Young children pretend or imagine that, for instance a wooden block is a cake and they carefully ‘cut’ it. Not only will children have fun speeding along at one-hundred miles per hour, this set also encourages language development and imaginative play. In a study where we observed children playing in a nursery we found that young children engaged in imaginative play, often using the toys in unexpected ways.