Q&A:
What are the best learning toys for my 11-month-old?

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Answered by Linda Jonides R.N., C.P.N.P.

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"I have worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner (P.N.P.) for over 30 years," says Linda Jonides. "I continue to thoroughly enjoy forming new relationships with parents and newborns and working with them through infancy, childhood, and adolescence."

Linda Jonides is a pediatric nurse practitioner in a private pediatric practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She received her Diploma in Nursing and Certificate as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner from The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is a past recipient of the Michigan PNP of the Year Award. She has a B.S. in Nursing from Eastern Michigan University. She has published articles and lectured on childhood obesity, infant colic, role of the P.N.P., growth and development issues, and infectious diseases. She was an author of "Clinical Insights Column," published biannually in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care for nine years. Jonides is past president of NAPNAP. Currently, she is a steering group work member of NAPNAP's HEAT (healthy eating and activity together) project. One outcome of this group's work is the clinical practice guideline, "Identifying and Preventing Overweight in Childhood," that was published as a supplement to the March/April '06 issue of the Journal of Pediatric Health Care.

Ms. Jonides has been married to John, a university professor, since 1971.

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Question

I want to know some good toys my 11-month-old baby could be playing with to help him learn developmental skills. I read to him all the time, but I know studies show good learning toys also help.

Answer

That's great that you are reading to your baby already. It's so important to start reading to him early and to continue through childhood. Here are some other suggestions for toys to stimulate his development at this age: stacking toys in different sizes, shapes, and colors; cups, pails, and other unbreakable containers; unbreakable mirrors of various sizes; large building blocks; "busy boxes" that push open, squeak, and move; squeeze toys; large dolls and puppets; cars, trucks, or other vehicles made of flexible plastic with no sharp edges or removable part; balls of all sizes -- but not small enough to fit in his mouth; musical toys or records and tapes; push-pull toys; toy telephones; empty boxes, paper tubes, egg cartons, and clean empty plastic soda / juice / milk bottles. Have fun playing with your baby and watching him learn!