10 reasons that we love links!
If you’ve been coming to our classes or following our posts you might have noticed that we really, really like using links in our sessions, they are amazing for baby development and an ideal ‘first toy’ for your baby. We make sure we have some available at each session.
There are many companies making links, our favourite are by bright starts, and they are available from lots of stockists including amazon, boots and asda. As the links are all different textures and an oval shape, every time your little one holds them their hand is continually communicating with their brain giving them continual information about their positioning in space.
We’d love to share some baby development activity ideas that you can use them for….
use a single link
1. links are amazing for visual development, as a single colour toy our little ones will be able to see the whole of the toy at the same level of focus, great for developing the muscles at the back of their eyes
2. great for very small hands to hold. Our babies are born with a reflex that keeps their fingers closed, these links are an amazing diameter, perfect for little hands to hold.
3. amazing for hand to eye co-ordination, they are light enough for little ones to be able to raise it up to their eyes
4. great for hand to mouth co-ordination, easy for baby to manipulate and raise to their mouths, they work really well as a teething toy. They are easy to sterilise too.
5. pop a chiffon or muslin scarf through the link to create a 2 texture toy which is lovely to hold, touch and shake. Try and get your baby to hold the link in one hand and the chiffon in the other so that they are experiencing two different textures at the same time.
pop some links together
1. putting a couple of links together creates a toy that rattles and is still easy to grip and manipulate. Your baby gets a great noise from very little effort and it is the start of understanding cause and effect
2. have a set of a couple of links in your change bag that you can give your little one to distract them when you are changing them
3. use the links to make a change that can be looped across a pram or carseat
4. use them to attach toys to prams and bouncers
5. we’ve even used them to keep cupboard handles together when little ones are on the move!
Links are a great way of incorporating a familiar texture in a sensory play space or during weaning. When introducing a new activity or texture to your little one having something familiar can make regulation easier and the activity less overwhelming.
We use the ones from bright starts in our sessions as they sterilise well and even the smallest hands can grip them. You can purchase links from lots of retailers including amazon, boots, tesco and asda
Happy Playing!
Safety first – please make sure your baby is in eye sight and arms reach at all times, never leave your baby playing with toys unattended.