One of the things I love most about being a mum is experiencing all of the firsts with each child. I feel so proud to see them learning new things, and mastering new skills, over coming obstacles and developing into fantastic little people. My youngest, N, is constantly picking up new things at the moment and it’s so rewarding to see. As she’s approaching two years old, she seems to be growing up all the time and the new firsts are coming thick and fast as she moves out of the baby days, into the toddler territory with growing independence.
These are some of the firsts we’ve experienced together over the last almost two years, with her singing voice featuring a lot over the past few days. She’s developed a love of singing the Baby Shark song, and it is actually the cutest thing ever!
But the little ones don’t have the monopoly on milestones – Here are some we might have experienced as mums, although I’m still waiting for my lie in!! The toddler conversations are always a highlight of my day though, especially as she’s starting to say more and more.
Little Tikes have put together a new range of toys to help guide little ones through all of their developmental stages, with toys that grow with them as they develop. We were sent a couple of products from the range to try out and N has been having lots of fun exploring and playing with them.
The Sleepy Stacker is a really cute 9 piece set that can be put together to mix and match three different colourful animal friends. Their eyes close as the head pieces are taken off, but you’ll see them pop back awake as soon as they’re put back together.
They can be used for colour matching, building and stacking, or pretend play with putting the animals to sleep and waking them back up again. They also have sounds and textures to explore, which make them engaging for younger babies too.
The Sleepy Stacker is suitable from 6 months+ and is definitely something that can grow with a child from sitting and holding and shaking the pieces at 6 months, to matching up the colours and talking about the animals as a toddler.
The next toy we tried is the Singing Sorter. This combines 2 favourite toddler toys in one – the shape sorter and the pull along toy, in the form of a cute little caterpillar. The body of the caterpillar has sections which each hold one shape – star, heart, triangle, square and circle. Each one is a different colour, making them easier to match up, and helping to learn colours at the same time.
When you pull the caterpillar along, you’ll hear a song, and you see the shapes jump up and down as the caterpillar wriggles along. Each of the shapes has a smiley face drawn on the side of it, which makes them extra cute too. N enjoys taking them all in and out and naming the colours and the shapes.
These are just two from a wide range of new Fantastic Firsts toys, so visit the Little Tikes website to find out more about the Fantastic Firsts range and see what else there is to explore with your little one!
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.