What games or toys should I orgnaize for our baby?

Q. Our baby is 4 months old. We live overseas, so toys are not so varied. What games are good to play with her and what toys are useful at this age?

A. Most toys you can make yourself. You need to make toys that engage your baby's senses, especially touch, sound, and sight. You can make your own shakers by putting beans and ANY other small object in a can or bottle and tapping it shut. It will give your baby a variety of noises to hear and sharpen her sense of hearing. Also, bright colors and lights are easiest for baby to see right now. When you introduce sights, sounds and textures to your baby, you help stimulate the senses and prepare a memory bank of experiences that feed imaginative thinking. You can use anything...try a flashlight on the wall, a laser pointer on the ground (not in your baby's face, of course!) or a prism so your baby can see the different colors. For texture, just use different types of cloth and towels from around your house. Put them near your baby so she can reach for them herself and explore on her own. She will feel them and experience different textures.
Here are some other ideas for encouraging your 4 month old to learn and play:

* During tummy time, place a favorite toy or soft ball in front of the baby to reach for.
* Hide one of your baby's toys - but don't hide it very well - and encourage him or her to find it.
* Let your baby discover that her actions can make things happen. Provide toys that will move or make sounds when your infant manipulates them, such as baby musical instruments, busy boxes, or see-through toys that show motion.
* Sing your favorite nursery rhymes like "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and "Hey Diddle Diddle".

Original Question

What can cause abnormally fast strength and skill development in infants?

Q. My 10 week old infant has been gaining certain abilities at a very fast rate. He started trying to lift his head the day after he was born. At 3 weeks old he had full control of his head and learned how to roll over from his tummy to his back. At 7.5 weeks he started trying to roll from his back to his stomach. At 8 weeks he started trying to crawl. He can't get his knees under him but he manages to travel across the designated play spot at a very slow pace. He hates tummy time and fights to get out of the position which results in the rolling over and crawling. I try to encourage play with toys because tummy time is good for him but he just screams so he has gotten limited practice. At 10 weeks he can almost sit, has full control of his back, can roll from tummy to back, can almost roll from back to tummy, and is in the process of gaining skills to crawl. He also has a very strong grip and very strong legs. When we are holding him he tries to stand on our laps. If he is laying down and holding our hands, if we try to pull our hands away, instead of him letting go he holds on and his whole body comes up with us.
What causes this abnormal amount of strength and skill development?
How can I get him to have more tummy time without screaming his head off?
Is this considered a birth defect?
This is not me thinking my child is special or trying to brag. Some of the stuff he's doing typically doesn't occur till 5 months or later. I'm asking what can cause this and if it's reason for concern.
Then why did the doctor say he's very strong for his age? He also said it was abnormal for him to have full control of his head. I've also had other parents saying it's weird and how their kids couldn't do this. He can crawl it's just very slow and not up on hands and knees. I read that kids don't roll from tummy to back till 5 months and back to stomach even later and he did it at 3 weeks and gets 3/4 over from back to tummy. So I wanted to know if he can hurt himself or if there is something wrong.

A. Your baby is on a normal development track. Being "almost" able to do something is not the same as doing it. He does not have full control of his back if he can not sit unsupported. Babies try to make the motions of crawling often for months before actually being able to do so. Rolling over can easily occur early depending on the muscles he is using to accomplish the task. I am not trying to minimize your son's performance, but from a developmental standpoint he is not so advanced that you have need to worry about something being wrong. Just let him develop at his own pace.

Original Question

What endless fun toys are great for two children ages 6 months and 26 months of age?

Q. I bought over the weekend the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn House, I hear from many parents that this toy keeps a child entertained for hours... From your experience, what other toys keep young children entertained?

I'm looking for toys that will be fun for both 6+ months and toddlers, since I'm in a budget.

To clarify, when I say fun I mean toys that will keep them entertained for long periods of time no just for 5-10 minutes.

Thanks!

A. http://babyproducts.about.com/od/giftguide/tp/baby_gifts_6_months.htm
http://www.squidoo.com/toys-6-month-old-baby

http://babyproducts.about.com/od/toysgames/tp/toys_gifts_2_year_olds.htm
http://www.babycenter.com/0_toys-for-children-24-to-30-months-old_5691.bc

Stuffed toys and books are always great too.
Infants and toddlers do not have very long attention spans.Don't expect more than a few minutes with your infants and a bit longer with your 2 yr old.

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