Top 5 Gifts to Achieve Baby’s (S)milestone

Whether you’re going to a birthday party, a baby shower, or you’re trying to be aunt/uncle or grandparent of the year, you want to gift a toy that is going to benefit baby at their stage of development, and now its easier than ever before.

The first giggle, the first time they roll over, their first steps… little ones will reach joy-inducing milestones - or SMILEstones - in the first few years of their lives. Sharing a Fisher-Price toy with them allows them to play with an item designed with an industry-leading Childhood Development & Learning (ECDL) Framework at its core.

These are 5 of the best gifts support babies’, toddlers’ and preschoolers’ physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development:

Developmental smilestones, and the toys designed for them

0-3 months

• During this time, your little bundle of joy will begin to return emotions, smiles and holding eye contact.
• They'll also be able to lift their head, extent their legs and briefly grasp objects.
• In terms of cognitive ability, babies will be able to look at objects, listen to sounds and recognise smells.

Recommendation:Fisher-Price Deluxe Kick & Play Removable Piano Gym: Kick play time up a notch with this deluxe gym featuring five light-up piano keys, a repositionable toy arch, and four musical settings that keep your little one rocking out for years! As your baby grows from lay and play to tummy time to sitting up at the piano, you can change up the music and learning, too!

3-6 months

• You can expect your baby to start giggling around this time, while playing, and they'll even start to imitate your facial expressions too.
• Little ones will be able to turn their heads in all directions and begin to roll over.
• They'll also imitate sounds and actions, they will like feeling different textures and be curious to examine objects too.

Recommendation:Fisher-Price Roarin' Rainforest Jumperoo®: There’s so much for little ones to discover with their animal pals on this Jumperoo® – music, lights and exciting sounds reward their every jump! A rotating seat gives your baby 360-degree access to toys, activities, and animals, including soft monkeys overhead, spinners, clickers, a bead bar, mirror and so much more.

6-9 months

• Around this time, your little one will start to recognise family members, and they may throw kisses to familiar people.
• Watch them as they begin to clap their hands and sit up without any support.
• They'll like repetition, and be able to follow one-step instructions such as smile or wave.

Recommendation:Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Puppy’s Remote: With light-up screen, push buttons and 35+ sing-along songs, tunes & phrases the remote will really “click” with baby. For starters, it looks like a real TV remote to make the pretend play more real. And when kids press the buttons, the screen lights up and they’re rewarded with songs & phrases that teach numbers, ABCs, opposites, colors and more. What a great way to give fine motor skills a push in the right direction!

9-12 months

• Start to play games such as hide and seek or peek-a-boo - little ones will like it.
• Around this age, they'll begin to crawl, cruising along furniture and turning the pages of a book.
• They'll be able to point to named objects and understand simple commands.

Recommendation:Fisher-Price Eco Rock A Stack: The iconic Rock-a-Stack toy features a bat-at rocker base and 5 colorful rings to grasp and stack. This adorable gift set is loaded with hands-on play that helps your baby develop dexterity, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving skills.

12+ months

• Making their way to toddlerhood, little ones will be able to show affection with hugs, smiles and pats - especially towards parents.
• You'll need to keep your camera to hand, as around this age your baby will take their first steps towards becoming a confidence walker.
• They're off! Babies at this age love to explore environments and they'll be able to say words like 'mama' and 'dada'.

Recommendation: Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone: With its friendly face, spinning dial, fun ringing-phone sounds, and eyes that move up and down as you pull it along, the Fisher-Price® Chatter Telephone® helps get baby chatting—and strolling—like a pro!