Push and Pull Toys For Babies – How it Helps in Baby’s Development

What Are Push and Pull Toys?

Push and pull toys are one of the most classic toys for babies. These toys are tremendously popular and come in different types, shapes and sizes. Popular push and pull toys for babies include ducks, crocodiles, trucks, trains, dogs, and so much more.

Babies love to play with push and pull toys as these offer them ultimate and endless fun and entertain them. Moreover, if your baby is 1 year old, they will require physical and social development, and these push and pull toys best serve this purpose. Furthermore, many parents prefer to push and pull toys as these help their babies maintain whole-body coordination and simultaneously allow them to develop their problem-solving skills.

When to Introduce Push and Pull Toys to Babies?

If you are considering buying push and pull toys for your baby, the most appropriate age is when your little one is approaching or has completed one year. By this time, most babies have taken at least a few steps with support. In such scenarios, push and pull toys can be of great help to your munchkin.

Top 2 Developmental Benefits of Push and Pull Toys For Babies

The parent’s primary goal is to encourage their child to hone their skills which could help them coordinate with their body development. Moreover, push and pull toys are the best way to teach your kid to walk straight and explore their surroundings.

Here are a few skills which push and pull toys work on for babies:

1. Muscle Strengthening

Your baby’s muscles must be strong to indulge in various physical activities. Nothing can work more beneficially than a push and pull toy. These toys engage many different muscles, which helps the babies balance themselves. Moreover, your baby’s arms and feet gain strength every time they hold on to a push and pull toy.

2. Improving Coordination

It will lack coordination when your baby has just started playing with the push and pull toy. Sometimes they may even strike themselves on the head but don’t worry. They will learn with time. As they get familiar with the push and pull toy, they will learn how to use it correctly, and hence they will successfully learn to coordinate more intensely. It would even enhance their multi-tasking skills.

What Does a Push and Pull Toy Teach a Baby?

There are many things that a push and pull toy teaches a baby. Push and pull toys are best for a baby’s early development.  Push and pull toys can be beneficial in the following ways to your baby.

• Speed the process of learning to walk
• Encourage exploration and movement
• Improve coordination and balancing
• Encourge problem solving
• Improve fine motor strength
• Promote cognitive development
• Improve Spatial skills

Spatial skills help older babies to understand where they and objects are about each other. As they begin playing with push and pull toys, their brains start to use spatial skills to decide which direction to move on, how far they must go, and which turn they must make. These are very beneficial to make your kid aware of directions too.

[Read : Motor And Cognitive Skills Development Of A Baby]

How Can You Teach Your Baby to Play With Push and Pull Toys?

Here are a few things you can try out push and pull toys for your baby.

1. Set a Designated Space

You can teach your child how to play with push and pull toys by setting up an area for them. For instance, if you are making your baby play with a push and pull toy in your living room, then you would have to clean the entire area and remove all the harmful pointed objects first so that your baby can get a harmless, vast space to play. This way, they would be able to make more coordination’s which would help them develop their motor skills.

2. Start With a Familiar Toy

Babies are familiar with shopping cart trolleys. You can start by buying your baby a shopping cart trolley toy or something similar. Since they have already seen you using one during your shopping trip, your baby may get excited to use a toy version of it. You can also convert it into a pretend play by setting up small stands imitating the shelves of a supermarket.

3. Add More Toys as Your Baby Gets Comfortable

As your baby gets comfortable with walking and taking steps confidently, you can buy them pull-along toys such as animals which they can pretend-play as pets and take for walks.

Push and pull toys for babies have many advantages. Apart from working on gross and fine motor skills and improving coordination, these toys also help improve spatial skills. These toys also help improve your baby’s confidence with walking as they get into the toddler stage. So, do consider buying at least a few your baby.

[Read : Baby’s Gross Motor Skill Development]

FAQ’s

1. At What Age Do Babies Start With Push or Pull Toys on the Floor?

At around 15 to 18 months, a baby begins playing with push or pull toys on the floor. It hints at their physical growth and is an excellent move to begin with, cognitive development.

2. Do Push Toys Delay Walking?

No. In fact, with the help of push-or-pull toys, a baby begins to develop their walking skills.

3. Do Push Walkers Help a Baby Walk?

Not all the time. Your baby’s walking might be delayed with walkers. The only best way to make them good at walking is only by pushing or pulling toys.

Read Also: Musical Toys For Babies – How it Helps in Baby’s Development