Blocks

• Blocks can teach babies and toddlers many things. Infants explore by touching and chewing, and will enjoy soft, colorful plastic blocks covered in different textures. Older babies may be interested in building small towers and knocking these blocks over. Try Especially for Baby soft blocks for your infant. Toddlers will enjoy wooden blocks with numbers and letters in various colors. These will facilitate problem-solving by learning how to make a tower so it won't fall over, teach your child colors and help with early reading skills. Melissa and Doug's wooden ABC and 123 blocks would be ideal for your toddler.
  
  

Noisy Toys

• Toys that make sounds help your little one learn about cause and effect. Your infant may be delighted by a rattle or a stuffed animal that squeaks when she squeezes it. She may enjoy a baby piano or guitar that makes noise when she presses the buttons. Other toys say a letter, number or color when certain buttons are pressed. Toys that make music may also teach your child rhythm as she claps and dances along. Try the Precious Planet Kick and Play Piano for your baby or Learn and Groove Musical Table by LeapFrog for your toddler.
  
  

Active Toys

• Activity mats are ideal for floor time. Your infant will enjoy batting at toys and learning to roll over to explore everything his play mat has to offer. The Baby Neptune Ocean Adventure Gym features lights, music and a baby-safe mirror to keep your little one engaged and learning. Toddlers love simple puzzles, nesting and shape-sorting toys and other games that improve dexterity. The Melissa and Doug Shape Sorting Cube is sure to entertain your toddler.
  
  

Push, Pull and Ride Toys

• Babies enjoy pushing soft rubber balls or large plastic cars across the floor. This activity encourages them to become mobile because they want to chase the toy. The Fisher Price Lil' Zoomers Shake and Crawl Racer makes rattling noises and music as your baby pushes it along. As children get older and more mobile they enjoy toys that they can push or pull along with them. Fisher-Price's Laugh and Learn Mower will help your child learn numbers and letters while he pushes the mower around. A small, sturdy wagon is another good idea for your toddler; he will enjoy filling and emptying it as much as pulling it around behind him. A ride-on toy with a toddler-sized handle at the back, such as the Little Tikes Handle Haulers Haul and Ride will first help your child learn to walk while he pushes it, and then provide hours of ride-on enjoyment.