A Friendly Guide for Parents from Pettengill Academy
Choosing toys for your baby at Christmas can feel overwhelming. Every aisle is packed with lights, sounds, and buttons, and it’s hard to know what actually supports your child’s development. The truth is, the best toys for infants are often the simplest ones—materials that invite curiosity, movement, and natural exploration.
At Pettengill Academy, we help families every day choose toys that truly support early learning. Here are five of our top recommendations for infants this holiday season. These suggestions come straight from what our educators use and love in our classrooms and from what families ask us about most.
1. Montessori Teethers
Montessori teethers focus on natural materials, simple textures, and open-ended exploration. They are designed to help babies learn through touch and mouth exploration without overwhelming their senses. These teethers support early grasping, oral motor development, and safe sensory play. Wooden or silicone teethers with smooth edges and simple shapes are excellent choices for young infants.
2. Stacking Rings
Stacking rings are a classic for a reason. Babies are naturally drawn to exploring size, color, and shape. This toy supports fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and early problem-solving. Whether wooden or silicone, stacking rings are a wonderful toy that grows with your child from early exploration to purposeful stacking.
3. Soft Activity Gym and Play Mat
Tummy time is an important part of development during the first months of life, and a soft activity gym makes it much more inviting. Play mats encourage reaching, rolling, visual tracking, and strengthening of core and neck muscles. Look for a simple mat with soft textures and safe, engaging toys overhead to support early movement and independent discovery.
4. High-Contrast Board Books
Even very young infants enjoy looking at books. High-contrast images help support early vision and encourage babies to focus and track with their eyes. Reading together also builds early language skills, strengthens bonding, and introduces rhythm and sound. Black-and-white books or books with bold, simple patterns are especially effective for this age.
5. Musical Push and Pull Walker
As infants begin to stand and move, a sturdy push walker becomes a wonderful tool for building balance and coordination. It helps strengthen leg and core muscles and teaches cause-and-effect through simple musical or movement features. A well-designed walker provides support without being too fast or overstimulating, making it perfect for early standers.
Why These Toys Matter
During the first year of life, babies learn through movement, touch, and exploration. Toys like the ones listed above encourage hands-on learning, support key developmental milestones, and offer safe, meaningful play at home. These are many of the same materials our team uses every day in our infant classrooms because they truly help children grow.
Final Thoughts
This Christmas, choose toys that help your baby explore, learn, and enjoy the world around them. Play is more than entertainment—it’s the foundation of early learning.
If you ever have questions about infant development or early childhood education, Pettengill Academy is always here to support families in Lewiston, Auburn, and Brunswick, Maine.