First Musical Toys for Babies
Remember when Kodi Lee’s audition for America’s Got Talent was trending? If you have no idea what I am talking about, do yourself a favor and look it up. This performance touched me in a way I can’t explain. A few days after hearing it, I played it to Emma. She was only a few weeks old at that time. It was one of those days full of seemingly non-stop nursing sessions. I was sitting on our couch in the living room with Emma resting on my lap. I pulled my phone and looked up Kodi’s audition. I had no expectations of what her reaction would be. To my surprise, as soon as the song started, Emma became more alert. Her eyes opened up a little more, her body calmed down, and she was listening. While she was listening to Kodi’s voice and the piano, her eyes started to fill with tears. I couldn’t believe it. She was moved to tears. And that’s when I realized that even very young babies could feel and experience music on a deep level.
With this in mind, it’s never too early to introduce music and some musical toys to your baby.
There are a few ways to do that. You can either:
Show your baby how to use the musical toy. Demonstrate it first and then hand it to her to try. Or
Let your baby discover the musical toy for herself.
I picked the latter option. I put a wooden baby maraca in a basket on Emma’s shelf. She looked very excited when she discovered the basket with the maraca. She enjoyed playing with it as it gave her immediate feedback.
Later on, I added another musical toy - musical shakers. I picked a musical toy with a different sound to offer a new auditory experience. The musical shakers were Emma’s favorite toys to play with. She listened to the sound they made when she shook them or when they rolled on the floor. She also discovered that she could use them with her object permanence box.
The musical toys not only help stimulate your baby’s hearing. You can use them in other ways too. For example, you can introduce rhythm to your child. Or you can jam along and have some fun with your little one. As your baby will grow older, you can add more musical toys and instruments.
What are your baby’s favorite musical toys? How do you use them?
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