Sensory toys can be stimulating or soothing for babies. They engage their senses of sight, touch and hearing. They help them discover and develop their own abilities. They help them learn spatial awareness and encourage them to move. These toys need to be safe because babies explore texture as well as taste with their mouths. When they are teething they are inclined to gum everything. Here are 5 of our favourites.

See Me Sensory Balls

These brightly coloured balls have nodules all over them which make them easy to grasp and interesting to touch. Their size and weight suits babies and they are long-lasting. Babies can track or roll them to exercise fine and gross motor skills. They can start to throw, bounce and catch them, developing hand-eye coordination. They will crawl after them. Although made of plastic, they are BPA and phthalate-free. Suitable from birth onwards.

Sassy Baby Big Bumpy Ball

This larger, squishy ball has bumps of different materials that are easy to grasp. It's colourful with different patterns and textures of cloth to stimulate touch and sight. It also rattles. Rattles are a satisfying way for babies to make something happen with movement and grab your attention. The bumps mean the ball rolls more slowly yet babies can still track it practising head and eye movement. Suitable for 6 months onwards.

Wooden Blocks

Wooden blocks in cubes, rectangles and cylinders are great for developing children’s creativity and imaginations. They can tap them together to produce satisfying sounds. They learn the shape by handling them. They can build them into endless different structures and combinations. They love to knock down towers so blocks help them learn and delight in their own strength. You can teach them colours and shapes by repeating them and then asking them to point to specific ones. Suitable from 3 months but will provide entertainment for years.

Fisher-Price Activity Centre

This classic toy is wonderfully interactive and keeps babies from three months amused in one spot. They can make so many things happen. There’s a telephone dial, animals that slide, a ring that twirls, a cylinder that spins and a mirror. They can make a bell ring if they push a squidgy button hard enough. The colours, sounds and patterns fascinate. It can be attached in a cot or playpen.

Dancing Cactus

The Dancing Cactus wiggles, flashes, glows and records. It plays 120 different songs that teach language and stimulate babies to move rhythmically. The wide variety will ensure you don’t get bored! It wiggles when it dances a little awkwardly like a toddler. The recording feature means it will repeat sounds back to babies encouraging them to produce sounds and giving them confidence. It has a smiley face and googly eyes that are most appealing and it’s made of soft material. It makes both babies and adults laugh. It creates a pleasant atmosphere for play dates and parties. Suitable from birth.

Photo by Tatiana Syrikova