A good toy will entertain, stimulate and educate. Entertainment is the most important element, because your child won’t want to play with a toy in the first place unless it’s fun and rewarding for him. At this age, ‘education' means developing new physical skills like holding, pushing and pulling; learning about what happens in real life by imitating Mum or Dad, or recognising different shapes and colours.

For the first couple of months the most interesting thing in your baby’s life is you. Your baby can only see things clearly around 25cm (10 inches) away from him until this time, so the vast majority of play activities will be beyond him. A smiling, loving parent with sparkling eyes will be much more fascinating than a jingly teddy bear.

While it’s true that developing babies and toddlers need lots of things to touch, discover and play with, you don’t have to buy out the local toy shop. Carefully selected objects from around the house can provide plenty of fun - there’s nothing like banging a saucepan with a wooden spoon when you’re sitting on the kitchen floor to learn all about cause and effect.

Having friends round to play or going to their house is all part of enhancing your baby’s social skills, even though babies and toddlers tend to play independently but alongside other children for some time. It also gives you a chance to try out some different toys to discover the kinds of thing that might appeal to your baby.

Don’t be disappointed if a new or expensive toy isn’t played with endlessly. Every toy has its moment; some will be discarded quite quickly, others will become firm favourites, to be got out again and again.

• Safety
• Age and ability recommendations
• Which toys to buy
• Storage

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