ON OUR RADAR ASHLEE COFFEY + DR. AIMEE KETCHUM
7
LEGO CLASSIC
THINGS TO TRY THIS MONTH
NISKITE INFLATABLE TUMMY TIME WATER PLAY MAT This inflatable water mat is great for babies who are able to hold their heads up, push their upper body up and even rock on their hands and knees. They’ll like the squishy feel and the ability to move the objects around the mat, allowing them to learn basic cause-and-effect. Tummy time helps to strengthen babies’ core muscles for crawling. $13.99 at Amazon
Lego bricks and other simple construction toys are great for STEM learning; they encourage creative innovation, finemotor skills, spatial skills, manipulation of objects and following directions. This set for younger children has more than 200 pieces which are slightly larger than regular Lego bricks. Special pieces such as windows and propellers encourage imaginative building and engineering. $16.99 at Amazon
SMART TEDDY Are you tired of telling your kids to eat their dinner, pick up their room, wash their hands, brush their teeth or go to bed? Then let Smart Teddy give you a hand. All you have to do is hook Teddy up to wi-fi, download the app and you’re good to go. Teddy can play games with kids, teach and tell stories (including shorter ones and longer ones for bedtime). He can even help kids learn to manage their own emotions. Our 5-year-old reviewer loved how he can push Teddy’s paw to get him to talk (“That tickles!”) and was in awe when he talked on his own (thanks to mom using the app). Teddy is soft enough to sleep with at night and sturdy enough to hang out at the table and tell stories or remind kids to finish their dinner. $149.95 at SmartTeddy.store or Amazon
KUANGO TUMMY TIME MIRROR This baby-safe mirror encourages tummy time and visual development, two essential skills for exploration. Babies can see black and white the best in the first several weeks, so the designs on the backside are perfect for developing eyes. The colored fabric encourages touch for older babies, and the whole thing opens up and can hang on the back of the car seat. $13.99 at Amazon
This article was written for BestReviews by Dr. Aimee Ketchum, a pediatric occupational therapist in Pennsylvania and the owner of STEM Starts Now, an early child development program. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
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November 2021
