Toys for this age are primarily for: looking, listening, sucking, or fingering.
Infants 0 to 2 months enjoy seeing and hearing interesting things.
Infants 2 to 6 months show growing interest in touching, holding, batting, turning, shaking, kicking, mouthing and tasting objects.
Infants like to see:
Bright primary colors.
High contrast.
Simple designs.
Clear lines and features.
Human face features (especially eyes).
Bull’s eye pattern.
Infants enjoy watching hanging objects or "mobiles" that move by wind, wind-up action, or infant’s own activity.
Toys for watching should be suspended only 8 to 14 inches (200 to 360 millimeters) from the infant’s eyes and angled toward his/her eyes, then moved up out of reach when he/she can touch them.
Toys for watching are more appealing if they move and make noise (but movement should be slow and noise not too loud or sudden).
Infants enjoy variety.
Infants enjoy producing effects on toys by their own activity.
Toys for holding should be light and easy to grasp.
Mouth-able toys should have all safety features recommended for infants:
No sharp points or edges.
No small parts to be lodged in throat, ears, nose.
No electrical parts.
Nontoxic materials.
No glass or brittle plastic.
No parts to entrap fingers, toes, hands.
No long strings.
Active Play
Push and Pull Toys - Not suited to age group
Ride-on Toys - Not suited to age group
Outdoor or Gym Equipment - Infant swings (with adult supervision)
Sports Equipment - Clutch balls, texture balls, and/or soft squeeze balls are allowed for ages of 6 to 8 weeks.
All balls given to this age group should be at least 1 and 3/4 inches (44 millimeters) in diameter; however if any object appears to fit easily in the child’s mouth, keep it away from the child
Manipulative Play
Construction Toys - From about 4 months - Soft blocks
Puzzles - Not suited to age group
Pattern Making Toys - not suited to age group
Manipulative Toys - Simple rattles, teethers, light, sturdy cloth toys, squeeze toys, toys suspended above or to the side of infant for batting and grasping
Manipulative Toys - From about 4 months - Disks, keys on ring, interlocking plastic rings, small handheld manipulable items, crib gyms (children who can push up on hands and knees can struggle on crib gyms - be sure to remove crib gyms from crib or playpen at this time)
Dressing, Lacing, Stringing Toys - Not suited to age group
Sand and Water Play Toys - Not suited to age group
Make Believe Play
Dolls - Soft baby dolls, soft bodied dolls, or rag dolls all with molded not loose hair.
Stuffed Toys - Small plush animals, music box animals (operated and monitored for safety by adults), grab on soft toys
Puppets - Soft hand puppets (held and moved by adults)
Role-Play Materials - Mirrors (Large, unbreakable) fastened to crib, playpen or wall (Peak interest in mirrors 4 to 6 months)
Play Scenes (including small figures) - Not suited to age group
Translate