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Choosing the Best Toys for Your Blind Baby
It is possible to find toys designed specifically for blind children. American Printing House for the Blind (APH), for example, has some really cool things you can buy for your blind child. However, most of these are for older children, so when it comes to baby toys, you're probably going to find yourself purchasing toys originally designed for sighted children.
How do you know which toys will work best for your kid? Here are some of our favorite toys as well as some tips on how to choose the best toys for your child.
Ivan's Favorite Toys
These are Ivan's top picks for toys. Most of them are available through Amazon
We first saw this toy at the Perkins Infant and Toddler program. Each flower makes a musical chime with just a soft tap. It's a very sweet sounding toy that doesn't take too much pressure to activate. It's a great way to teach babies about cause and effect.
These cups are simple, safe, and sturdy. They're great for enhancing fine motor skills. Use them to introduce the concepts of "big" and "little," "in" and "out," etc.
Fisher Price Baby's First Blocks
These blocks are great for encouraging your child to pick things up. The bucket has a sorting top and is a wonderful way to introduce putting things in and taking things out.
If you're looking for a shape sorter with a bit more pizzazz, you'll definitely want to check out this Sound Puzzle Box. I'm not sure how they do it, but every time you place a block in the correct hole, it slowly falls down the chute and makes a unique noise, so for kids with vision impairments there's some added incentive to getting those shapes in the puzzle box!
Ivan loves to play with instruments, especially his keyboard. The Casio SA-75 is a good size and a good price for a baby's first piano. And it works very well.
Each leg on this octopus plays a note when squeezed, but my favorite thing about the Octotunes is that it smells like vanilla!
Gund Tinkle Crinkle Rattle & Squeak
Each section on this caterpillar provides some sort of feedback, whether it's a rattling bell, a squeeze sound, or a crunchy texture. Ivan loves this toy.
LeapFrog Spin and Sing Alphabet Zoo
The Alphabet Zoo makes music when you tap or spin it. It also plays the ABC song and will play a different sound for each animal pictured. It's a great way to learn about cause and effect and funny animal sounds.
The learning table does a lot of things—too many, maybe, for a young baby. But Ivan likes to sit on one end and smack the table to make it sing the ABC song or tell him about shapes (you can remove the legs and set the table on the floor). He's learned about object permanence with this table because he knows which parts of the table will provide what feedback. It'll also be a great toy to play with when he learns how to stand!