Developmental Benefits of Your Baby Using a Baby Play Gym
Buying toys that will help your baby to develop faster gives them a head start on growing up. While they still cannot do much in the crib, toys such as those found on a baby play gym can help the child develop in terms of coordination, and be entertained at the same time. Here are some of the many ways this toy gym can help your child develop.
The Play Gym
A baby play gym is a combination of toys that hang over or near the baby while in the crib or another area. They come with many brightly colored objects hanging within easy reach of the child. Some gyms have objects on the strings that make noises when moved, squeezed or pulled. Some objects have different textures, and there may be a mirror attached.
Developing coordination
Because the toys hang down near the baby’s face, the child can see them and will reach out and grab the toys. This helps the baby develop hand-eye coordination, which also begins to develop the strength in the arms.
Babies quickly learn to begin to grasp things on their own. It is an automatic reflex action to grab anything put into their hand in the first few months. Later, at about five or six months old, they will be able to deliberately grab toys that are nearby.
Increasing auditory and visual skills
Just after 2.5 months, a baby will be able to start looking for the source of sounds. The gym offers a number of toys that make various sounds. By moving the toys, it will help to develop eye and ear coordination. Soon, the baby will begin to make sounds when it wants, by grabbing and shaking a particular toy in the gym.
Rotating the baby
Baby play gyms are made differently. Some are stand alone, and others are simply strung across a crib with two strands of toys hanging down. Some come attached to a washable mat. Some gyms have many objects hanging down allowing the baby to see toys in most directions. If this is not the case, be sure to turn the baby on its stomach for a while, then onto its back, etc., to develop coordination at different angles.
As the baby reaches for the different toys to play with them, he or she will be strengthening their core. Kicking and moving their legs also helps.
Learning to use both hands simultaneously
The objects hanging down will also help the baby to learn to grab objects with both hands. That normally occurs between four and five months. As they learn to use their hands and bring them across the center of their body, it helps their brain to develop. They also benefit by learning how to coordinate both hands at the same time.
This development has a further use. As they learn to use both hands in a coordinated way, it also helps them to learn to crawl. One very important aspect of this coordination is that they learn to move their hands across their midline, which means across the center of their body, up and down, and from left to right, or vice versa. This helps their brain develop the corpus callosum and enables one side of the brain to communicate efficiently with the other side.
They can also learn on their belly
With the gym, a baby is not limited to time spent on its back. They also benefit greatly by spending time on their tummy. As they lift their head, turn it, and try to reach for the toys on their gym, they strengthen their neck muscles, shoulders, back, and arms. This is very useful in helping them support their weight as they begin to try to crawl.
Helping mom get some peace of mind
Besides helping the baby develop more, it also provides the mother with a little more quiet time. The baby can quietly play with the various gadgets on the play gym and learn to entertain him or herself. Of course, they might like to know that you are still nearby, but they really do learn to love to play and learn infant activities with a baby play gym like Camping Cubs.
Another feature that mothers are sure to love is that the toys can be cleaned easily. The mat is detachable and can be washed. Just as important, though, the baby play gym is portable. It can be folded up and taken with you to another location and set up quickly.
