Activities and Toys for different stages

Newborn/Infants
Rubber car keys help the child with the coordination of reflexes. It stimulates sight, taste and hearing. The Colors help the child identify the object; they can put it in their mouths and explore it while helping them with the teething process. Additionally it generates a sound by shaking them Very important to develop sensory-motor skills.

Toddlers
Age appropriate puzzles and shape sorter toys. They stimulate both hand-eye coordination and the identification of different shapes and sizes. Good to encourage fine motor skills.
I also like Toys that look like house hold items and Music. Music plays a key role in the development of language skills since it increases the child vocabulary and memory by repetition.

Young Children
Outdoor activities, playgrounds and Sand Boxes: Sand manipulation and use of different toys improve gross motor skills and encourage interaction with other kids and adults. Even by parallel playing. Great for experimentation stages. The contact with nature also helps the child identify new objects and increase his/her vocabulary.

All ages: A walk in the forest or in a natual setting.

I believe the best activity for a child is interacting with an adult or another kid in addition to the toys. We best learn by example and an engaged caregiver/ friend will make all the difference no mater how technologically advanced and well design the toys are. During early childhood making connections and developing concepts is the primary objective, and human interaction facilitates this process by parallel playing or group playing. Off course without overstimulating!!

For me, it was always more fun for me to play with somebody, specially my cousins. I loved to play with wooden blocks and Lego blocks in my grandmother’s house. However it was half the fun when I was alone.