Top Developmental Toys for Christmas

When choosing toys for children, it is important to get something that is age and ability appropriate, this is particularly important when the recipient is a child with special needs to ensure that the gift is right for their development.  Buying the perfect toy doesn't necessarily mean getting a toy that has been specially adapted nor does it need to cost a fortune.  In fact, there are some great developmental toys available from toy retailers, as long as you know what sort of toys are appropriate to suit a child's individual needs.

Choose toys that encourage a child’s development: ones that help children to work on their language skills, cognition, co-ordination or motor function.  Here are some ideas for toys that help children to do just this.

For Hand to Eye Co-ordination

Chunky toys, such as the Little People House and Farm  would be fabulous for developing co-ordination, while also helping language skills and imagination. Hand to eye co-ordination can be developed by grasping the figures and making them interact with the playset.  Playing together will help your child to think creatively, plus it's a lot of fun for both parent and child!

For Speech and Communication

Any toy that encourages speech and communication is perfect for a child who has language delays. Choose a toy that sings or talks. Cuddly toys that sing and which speak repeated phrases make an ideal, if noisy, gift.

For Fine Motor Skills

Shape sorters, chunky building blocks and musical instruments are excellent, not only for helping to develop fine motor skills but to also improve visualisation, the understanding of cause and effect and concentration.

For Gross Motor Skills

Toys that can help with movement can help with gross motor function.  Ride-on cars, rocking horses or space hoppers can help with balance and muscle strength, helping to build confidence and control – as well as being great fun!

For Cognition

There are plenty of tablets and child-friendly apps available across the various platforms that can help a child of any age to improve their cognition and learning development. Children really enjoy exploring technology and apps are a great way to introduce them to a variety of subjects in a fun way.

With Christmas fast approaching, it's the perfect time to buy something perfect for the children in your life!

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Getting Down With Master Moves Mickey

Fisher Price Master Moves Mickey Mouse a.k.a. M3

With 15 funky dance moves and his own unique combinations, Master Moves Mickey (who also goes by the name M3!) is the hippest toy in town.  Little ones will love entering into a dance-off as Mickey does the windmill, the sprinkler or pops an insane handstand with a 360!  Dressed in his best street gear with a hip-hop flavour, Mickey is ready to tear up the dance floor.  Just press his nose and he plays one of his eight original tracks and busts his best moves.

This toy from Fisher Price did not disappoint one bit.  It is hilariously fun and Mickey's moves are really incredible.  His humorous phrases and cool tunes add to the fun.  Freddy absolutely loves him and giggles continually as he joins in or watches Mickey perform.  He is a total pro and is thoroughly entertaining and any toy that gets the kids up and dancing has got to be good!

Master Moves Mickey costs £70 and is one of the best toys of this kind we have ever played with (compared to other similarly priced toys).  The coolest mouse in the house will be a fantastic Christmas present for children aged 2 and over.  Mickey will get the whole family up and dancing and laughing!

*CLOSED* Win 1 of 3 Fisher Price Apptivity Cases and Baby Show Tickets!

WIN!
Tickets to The Baby Show & Fisher-Price  Apptivity Case

The UK’s most popular shopping event for parents and parents-to-be The Baby Show is back! To celebrate The Baby Show and its headline sponsor Fisher-Price have teamed up to offer three lucky winners an Apptivity Case and a pair of tickets to this year’s ExCeL show running from the 24-26^th February.

With 10 years’ experience of sourcing the best in baby and maternity products, The Baby Show is a unique shopping environment purposefully designed for mums-to-be and parents. There are over 250 must-have brands, including niche, designer products not yet available elsewhere, making it the perfect opportunity to test, try and compare before you buy and save money with exclusive offers. From product specialists to first class speakers, including two midwives from hit show One Born Every Minute, there is expert advice on hand to assist in decision making for you and your baby. With everything in one place you’ll be spoilt for choice at The Baby Show without the stress of the high street. For more information log on to www.thebabyshow.co.uk.

 If you fancy a little time of baby free shopping so you can really get to grips with the products at the show, go to the Fisher-Price Crèche where trained supervisors will look after your little one – for free! Be sure to visit the main stage too, where you can enter Fisher-Price’s Win All of This competition.

Fisher-Price is offering four lucky readers the chance to win the Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case worth £13. Suitable from 6 months+, this fantastic prize means your techo tot can play their very own apps on your iPhone or iTouch with its specially designed rubberised case. Simply slot your iPhone behind the safe screen to stop baby from accessing your files and protect the phone from dribbles and grubby fingers! The durable case comes with chunky handles perfect for little hands, and when you need your phone back, there are rattles to keep baby busy!

For your chance to win, simply enter using the Rafflecopter enty form.

Fisher Price Ducky Fun 3 in 1 Potty for Potty Training

Potty Training Made Fun With The Ducky Fun 3 in 1 Potty!

Potty training can be an arduous task!  Making the step from nappies to the toilet can be perilous and must be quite daunting for a toddler.  Thankfully Fisher Price have come up with a product that is set to ease my son into this stage of his life.  The Ducky Fun 3 in 1 Potty promises to add an element of fun to potty training which will hopefully make the whole process a lot more inviting, keeping Freddy interested and eager to 'perform'!

The potty is made to look like a cute Ducky character (OK it is not exactly anatomically correct as it has four feet which my 8 year old noticed immediately....but if it had just the regular pair of feet, it would not be stable!!  Artistic licence is acceptable in this case!)

The friendly face really appealed to Freddy.  It certainly made the potty much less intimidating.

The potty plays a quacktastic tune when the child does a wee in the potty which rewards them and encourages a return visit.  It is really motivational and adds a bit of fun to the proceedings!

The potty itself is a really good size and shaped like a mini-toilet which was nice.  I think Freddy recognised the shape from the bathroom and seemed to understand exactly what it was and promptly sat on it!  He's been a bit reticent with traditional potty shapes up to now, so this was quite a breakthrough for us!

The potty comes with a removable easy clean bucket and splash guard.  The toilet seat part also can be removed and used as a trainer seat on a big toilet so that is a real bonus.  The lid then closes down making a stepstool for your child to climb up onto the loo.  It will take you through to the next stage of toilet training making it better value for money.

The potty takes 3 AA batteries to power the music which is activated by contact when the child uses the potty.  At first I saw it as a bit of a novelty item, but seeing Freddy's eagerness to get to know his new potty makes me think that Fisher Price have really come up with an excellent product.  The longevity of the product is also very attractive...it will be useful for years to come as a step up stool and trainer seat.  

"So is this instead of a nappy Mum??"

The 3 in 1 Duck Potty costs £32.99 which makes it a top end product in terms of price.  However it is definitely very unique and could be exactly the thing to make the transition to toilet training easier for your toddler, which to me makes it worth the money.  

It is definitely a fun way to tackle a potentially challenging stage!  We'll keep you updated with his progress!

*Freddy was given the potty to test so we could do a review for Mums Like You.  The opinions are all ours!*