what to get a 4 month old for christmas

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Verywell / Sabrina Jiang

At 4 months onetime, nigh babies are condign more than mobile by start to roll over or reaching for toys. At present that they're starting to motion more consistently, toys can become fifty-fifty more important to their development. Playing with toys is how they learn nearly the world around them.

Before purchasing any toy, ever consider prophylactic since babies honey putting anything, and everything, into their mouths. "Around four months, babies are kickoff to achieve for and catch objects. They wave them around. They put them in their oral cavity. When they put objects in their mouth or feel them with their fingers, they are learning about object properties such as shape, texture, and size," says Elizabeth Zack, PhD, outreach and educational activity specialist at the Academy of Washington. Nosotros considered toy safe, design, maintenance, material, and boosted features when reviewing products.

Here are our favorite toys for the 4-month-one-time in your life to enjoy all solar day long.

Pros

• Inspires learning

• Includes a babe milestone pamphlet

• BPA-free

If you lot desire to get a toy that volition assistance inspire the growth and development of your 4-month-erstwhile, the SmartNoggin NogginStik is your all-time bet. This light-up toy was invented past a mom and early intervention specialist and comes with an included pamphlet on helping you understand what milestones your baby should be achieving at a certain calendar month, equally well as some ideas on how to encourage growth in these areas.

Designed for utilise from infancy through historic period one, this toy will help inspire learning equally babies runway objects with their eyes, exercise grasping and holding, mind to a rattle noise, and much more. It tin can be easily wiped downward with a cloth when dirty, and includes the three batteries required to operate the toy, then parents and caregivers don't accept to add some other item to the shopping list.

What Our Testers Say

"The SmartNoggin NogginStik provides hours of entertainment and sensory stimulation. With a meaty pattern, it'due south small enough to tote along pretty much anywhere you have your kid. Retailing at nigh $25, it's more than expensive than almost infant rattles. However, the interactive features and engaging design are the perfect combination for a curious, growing infant." — Theresa The netherlands, Verywell writer and product tester

Pros

• Durable

• Stimulating

• Pleasing rattle sounds

• BPA-gratuitous

Choice up the Winkel Rattle and Sensory Teether Toy by Manhattan Toy to provide your baby with a multi-utilize, functional object. This Amazon'south Option product is a mesmerizing maze of safe and soft tubes that make the perfect baby teething toy, while the tubes as well promote gross motor skills like clutching and two-handed play. The eye tube besides gives off a rattling sound that'due south very pleasing to babies.

This product has won multiple newborn toy awards, including the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Blue Chip Award. The plastic loops are BPA free and the toy is suitable for kids from nascence till 24 months.

Verywell Family / Ashley Ziegler

What Our Testers Say

"My favorite affair about this toy is that information technology not only occupies my baby at present but will also go on her involvement in other ways as she grows. If you're filling out your babe shower registry, or are simply on the hunt for a toy that will go along your baby entertained without flashing lights or loud noises, the Manhattan Toy Winkel is the one for you. It's a simple toy that will help your infant develop in so many ways, and it's durable plenty to make information technology through multiple milestones." — Ashley Ziegler, Verywell writer and product tester

Pros

• Teaches oral hygiene

• Dishwasher- and freezer-safety

• Comes in various colors

• BPA-gratuitous

Cons

• Clay and hair stick to information technology easily

Why not get a laugh while your baby gnaws away on this baby banana that helps massage achy gums as your little i chews on. The silicone bristles do a expert job of providing relief from teething while also helping to prime them to learn most the importance of oral hygiene (it'southward never too early to start!).

This teether can exist used from 3 to 12 months, and after that, they tin can graduate to a model more suitable for more teeth. Y'all won't have to worry almost the babe choking since the "peel" role prevents them from pushing it back too far into the pharynx.

This teether gets glowing reviews from parents saying it has helped their baby go through the cranky days of teething and helps go along the baby entertained. Many parents say this is a must for any household with an infant.

Pros

• Promotes sensory play

• Easy to grasp

• Stimulating

The Brilliant Starts Clack and Slide Activity Brawl is an Amazon's Pick production approved by hundreds of parents whose kids accept fallen in love. There are many play options that are a office of this toy that volition assistance build your kid's sensory skills. For case, it includes a spinning frog character and caterpillar dewdrop chaser, a spinning paddle with mirror, a squeaker with clacking rings, a roller ball with colorful rattle chaplet, and handles with multiple textures that are piece of cake for baby hands to grasp.​

Pros

• Attaches to strollers, carriers, and motorcar seats

• Develops gross motor skills

• Durable clip

Help babe develop his visual skills with the Wimmer-Ferguson Baby Stim Mobile To Get Travel Toy by Manhattan Toy. This product attaches to virtually strollers, infant carriers, and car seats with a plastic clamp, which means y'all tin bring the entertainment with you anywhere yous go.

The high contrast blackness and white patterns and color graphics are great for early visual and multi-sensory development, and iii reversible cards display black and white graphics on one side and color images on the other. The toy is recommended for kids from nascency to 5 months.

Pros

• Easy to grasp

• Machine-washable

• Promotes sensory play

Reading to your picayune 1 is spring to exist one of your favorite activities, so why not add together a book to your routine that'south only perfect for trivial hands to touch, feel, and play with? The book is suitable for kids from birth to 2 years and is made with soft polyester that your baby can grab and hold on to.

With just enough item and contrast to keep your lilliputian one's interest while you read, your babe will honey looking at the unlike pages every bit she explores the dissimilar textures on the cover and discovers how some of the pages crinkle which according to Dyan Hes, MD, Medical Director of Gramercy Pediatrics in New York City "[babies] beloved the toys with the crinkled paper inside."

The story of Oodles, the owl, will exist one both you and your lilliputian one can treasure for months to come.

Pros

• Promotes visual development

• Measures baby's growth

• Includes songs, bells, and other sounds

Cons

• Music push button is hard to printing

If you've been researching toys for your four-month-old, you've probable discovered that most come with some sort of musical element, whether it's a rattle or a total-on recorded tune. If y'all're looking for the perfect musical toy, though, check out LIGHTDESIRE's musical caterpillar baby toy.

When your baby squeezes the head of the caterpillar she'll be greeted with a song, while the caterpillar's body contains a diverseness of colors and patterns to promote visual development. The stomach functions as an actual ruler in both meter and foot scale, so mom and dad can continue track of baby's growth progress during playtime, as well.

Likewise the caput, each additional department of the caterpillar is designed for functionality and entertainment. There are bells, rustling, and squeaks, all sure to delight and entertain your child.

Pros

• Promotes sensory play

• Helps piece of cake stomach discomfort

• Folds down for easy storage

Don't have a playmat? Now might be the fourth dimension to invest in one that will non simply please your baby just will besides requite your arms a solid break. This choice from Skip Hop will delight all of their senses with toys that are moveable to keep upward their visual interest and take them reaching up. Other features include a mirror and crinkle toys to perk up their ears. What's more than, it even has a tum time pillow that can assistance ease discomfort some baby's get when being put on their stomach.

Parents dearest that this isn't so loud in terms of colour and design while some note that they wish information technology had musical elements (others are happy it doesn't). Many say that this mat is a daily activity for their baby, which both mom and kid savor.

Final Verdict

Celebrate baby'southward first few months with a multi-functional choice. Designed to exist used until your footling 1 reaches one year one-time, the SmartNoggin Light-upwards Rattle (view at Amazon) promotes both visual and sound stimulation and includes a guide on agreement milestones.

If you're looking for a choice that's both soothing and attending-grabbing, the Manhattan Toy Winkel Rattle (view at Amazon) offers relief from achy gums while its BPA-free tubes encourage gross motor skills.

What to Wait for in Toys for four-Month-Olds

Rubber

As with all purchases for a infant, safety is 1 of the first things you lot should be mindful of when looking for toys for four-month-olds. "A 4-month-old brings everything midline or to the rima oris, and then information technology'southward important to make sure that all toys are safe from choking hazards," pediatrician Dyan Hes, Doc, tells Verywell Family.

She also explains that babies first to teethe effectually this age, so not only should the toys exist safety for the mouth (in terms of materials) but they should also be free of any pieces that can somehow come apart with force. "Nosotros do not desire any parts that can be sucked off," Dr. Hes says. "Information technology is amazing what strong gums can exercise."

Look for toys fabricated from materials that are free of toxins, won't grow mold when they become wet (from saliva), and are easy to clean. Besides, since you can assume whatsoever toy yous give them volition get into their oral fissure whether it is meant to or not, expect for products with different textures that can massage sore gums.

Developmental Milestones

By 4 months erstwhile, babies are begin to accomplish many exciting new milestones. While every babe develops at their own pace, common milestones at this historic period include:

• Mimicking facial expressions
• Babbling and exploring language
• Strengthening hand-eye coordination
• Tracking objects with their eyes: Wimmer-Ferguson Babe Stim Mobile To Go Travel Toy (view on Amazon)
• Holding up their head steadily without support
• Rolling from stomach to back
• Holding and shaking toys: endeavor the SmartNoggin NogginStik (view on Amazon)
• Swinging at dangling toys: SkipHop Treetop Friends Babe Play Mat (view on Amazon)
• Bringing hands to their mouth: Baby Assistant Babe Toothbrush (view on Amazon)
• Pushing up to their elbows when they're on their tum: LIGHTDESIRE Musical Caterpillar Baby Toy (view on Amazon)

The toys yous give to your baby to play with can help support these areas of development. Look for toys without sharp edges, that brand sounds when shaken or played with, and have different textures both for sensory play and teething.

Gross Motor Skills

At this age, babies are starting to motion more and more, developing and strengthening their gross motor skills. It's of import to encourage this physical motility, because it will continue to evolve into larger movements, such as sitting, rocking, crawling, and eventually walking. Right at present, you want to provide your babe with toys that will get them rolling and lifting themselves up during tummy time.

For these larger movements, playmats are perfect. "Playmats are great for both tummy time and looking upwards at the arches with toys. Playmats with mirrors [also] encourage a baby to lift their caput up and await at their image," says Dr. Hes. Wait for these and other toys that keep your baby'due south attention and help them primary pulling up onto their elbows and holding their head steady.

Ofttimes Asked Questions

• What toys should my 4-month-old babe accept?

  The all-time toys for 4-calendar month-olds volition back up their developmental needs while also providing safety entertainment.

  At 4 months onetime, your little i will likely exist rolling over from front to back and may be sitting with support. Not but will a soft playmat make tummy fourth dimension and rolling more comfortable, it will likewise provide a safe landing for when your infant starts attempting to sit up. A playmat that doubles up as an activity gym will help encourage the gross motor skills needed for this developmental leap, while dangling objects will help stimulate your babe's newfound skill of exploring their environment by looking around.

  Your infant may take merely learned how to accomplish out and grasp with 1 hand, so colorful, crinkly grabbing objects that are safety to go in their mouths (at this age, much of your little one's exploration is done via their mouths) volition be a great way to practice their newly acquired abilities. Rattles, infant teethers and soothers are perfect for this.
  

• What tin my 4-month-old play with?

  You! At 4 months, your baby will be receptive to reciprocal play. This could involve you responding to your niggling one'due south babbles, which will prompt them to answer back. This turn-taking could even extend to playing peek-a-boo or simply smiling or making different facial expressions at one another.

  Your babe is too busy learning about crusade and effect this month: if they push the soft ball, it will roll away; if they shake their rattle, it will make a sound. Opt for toys that facilitate this development, such every bit soft blocks or toys that brand a sound at the touch of a push,

  Remember, your petty 1 is learning through touch, sight and sense of taste, so everything they play with needs to be sanitary and large enough to non pose a choking risk. Toys made up of unlike weights, textures and sounds will provide the sensory stimulation that your little one craves.
  

• Can my iv-month-old play alone?

  At 4 months one-time, your little one will demand direction when it comes to learning how to interact with their toys. While every infant will hit their milestones at their ain footstep, a 4-month-erstwhile may accept difficulty manipulating their toys without your aid.

  Encourage independent play by sitting quietly nearby as your child explores a toy or object. Fifty-fifty the small act of choosing what to achieve for is significant; your lilliputian ane is exercising their independence. Assuasive them to explore their toys at their own pace is a good foundation for solitary play as they get a niggling older.
  

Why Trust Verywell Family?

Katrina Cossey has been a digital content producer and news and feature author for more than half dozen years. She has covered local and national news as well every bit writing and researching parenting topics. Katrina is a parent herself and loved crinkle sensory toys, like the Soft Textile Owl Crinkle Sensory Preschool Toddlers Toys (view on Amazon), for her kiddo at this age. They're typically machine washable, promote sensory play, and keep babies' interests every bit they feel different textures.

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Source: https://www.verywellfamily.com/best-toys-for-4-month-olds-4167277

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