Parenting is a wonderful experience that comes with lots of responsibilities. Along with everything you do to keep your baby healthy and happy, you also realize that they are constantly learning new things about their surroundings while playing. That is why you tend to buy lots of toys for the little ones which not only keep them entertained and engaged but also happen to be one of their first teachers.

Here are some tips to remember before indulging your baby with a toy.

Choose the toy which not only entertains the baby but also supports their curiosity and creativity. The idea of choosing a toy for the baby is to help them improve their imagination and encourage knowledge gathering in a fun way.

Go musical: Good toys help kids to learn new skills and practice relationships with others. Music can be one of the best ways to bring out the confidence in them along with teaching them soft skills. The little musical instruments, happy music toys or the voice modular, these types of toys are always a good pick as they can help a baby learn sounds and react to it.

One of the most important facts to remember is that parents must choose the right toy for the age. For example a two year old might not be able to understand how to play with a board game or a doll house. It is important to opt for the toy designed for the specific age group. Children under the age of 3 must not indulge in detachable toys with tiny parts to prevent choking.

Sometimes the best way is to go simple. Spark the imagination and encourage babies to learn more about animals, science, cartoons and history with soft/plush toy. Whether the cute bunny or the wise owl or little dinosaur, the soft toys are colorful yet harmless; it helps develop the feeling of love in babies.

Many parents choose a toy on the basis of fun value it offers, however they must consider shopping for toys, that comes with educational features as well. These kinds of toy bring an opportunity to make the little one learn new things, new words and even sometimes new languages.

(With inputs from Chicco Osservatorio. Author,  Rajesh Vohra is CEO, Artsana India (Chicco) )