From birth to one year old, babies develop from reflexive behavior to consciously exploring their environment. So much changes in this first year of life: from following sounds and lights to rolling, crawling, and finally, their first steps.

View the newborn gift guide here.

3-6 months
Babies learn to consciously grasp objects, bring toys to their mouths, and begin to roll. They are increasingly interested in different colors, shapes, and textures.

1. Rattles and teethers
   A rattle helps develop motor skills. The sound attracts attention, helping babies learn to focus and develop their hearing. Grasping, shaking, and feeling the rattle promotes hand-eye coordination and grasping reflexes, and teaches them that their actions trigger a reaction—a key principle for cognitive development.
   Gift tip: Pacifier & Cord - teething rattle , Mushie - Teething Toy Ball , Petit Boum - Sensory Donut
2. Play side
   Play silk stimulates babies' senses and helps them take their first steps in sensory exploration and interaction with the environment. They love to touch the soft, smooth texture of play silk. Feeling and grasping the silk stimulates their sense of touch and helps develop their grasping reflex.
   Gift tips: Sarah's Silks - play silk
3. Play mat
   Activity mats are equipped with various objects to touch, grab, and sometimes even bite. These mats encourage babies to roll, reach, and lift their heads, which strengthens their neck and back muscles.
   Gift tips: Wee Gallery - play mat
4. Crinkle books and touch books
   Soft books with different textures, sounds, and colors stimulate the senses. This stimulates both sensory and cognitive development.
   Gift tips: Touch and sound books

6-9 months
At this stage, babies often learn to sit independently and begin crawling, which greatly expands their world. They also begin to understand the principle of cause and effect, such as something moving or making a sound when they touch or shake it. Babies become more curious about their surroundings and want to discover how things work.

1. Activity centers and button books
   Toys with buttons to press, sliders to move, and sounds to explore help babies understand that their actions can cause reactions. These toys stimulate cognitive thinking and problem-solving skills.
   Gift tips: Touch and sound books
2. Crawling toys
   Balls, cars or other moving toys encourage babies to crawl, which improves their strength and coordination.
   Gift tips: Natruba - sensory balls , Wooden Story - Wooden car
3. Musical instruments
   Musical instruments and rattles that they can use to make their own sounds teach them the principle of cause and effect and stimulate their hearing.
   Gift tips: Wooden story - rattles
4. Sensory bottles
   Sensory bottles are transparent bottles filled with colorful materials, glitter, or liquids that move when shaken, rotated, or tilted. They are suitable for babies from about 6 months, when they begin to show an interest in cause-and-effect relationships and visual stimulation.
   Gift tips: Petit Boum - Sensory bottles

9-12 months
In this final phase of their first year, many babies begin to pull themselves up on furniture and may even take their first steps. They also refine their hand motor skills: they can now often pick up small objects with their fingers. They become increasingly interested in playing with objects that challenge them cognitively, such as sorting, matching, and turning.

1. Blocks
   Stacking and knocking over blocks promotes fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and spatial insight.
   Gift tips: Wooden Story - Wooden blocks , Grimm's - blocks , Chack Chack Cube
2. Shape sorter and stacking cups
   Babies learn to recognize shapes and solve simple problems by fitting objects together. This stimulates fine motor skills, concentration, and spatial awareness.
   Gift tips: Wooden story - shape sorter , Mushie - Stacking cups , Wooden story - stacking game , Mushie - Sorting box
3. Walkers and push carts
   These provide support and stability while learning to walk. Walkers boost babies' confidence and encourage them to practice walking.

One beautiful, shared gift
Children are often showered with gifts, both on their birthdays and during the holidays. But eventually, one gift will become their favorite, and the rest will prove unnecessary. Save up all your money and opt for one beautiful gift that will be enjoyed for years to come.
Quality over quantity.
Open-ended toys are the perfect solution. They have a long lifespan because they grow with your child, fostering ingenuity, creativity, and imagination. And siblings can play with them too. But toys that you can expand and collect are also valuable.
Investment gift tips: Grimm's - large pyramid block set