March 21, 2016 Meghan Volpe

Meet one of our favorite infant toys: the NogginStik!

The amount of infant toys out in the market can be overwhelming, especially for new parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends looking for that special gift for the new bundle of joy! That is why I always recommend the NogginStik Rattle Clutching Toy. It is a multi-activity baby toy that encourages brain development – plus, it’s absolutely adorable.

At first glance, the NogginStik just looks like a cute light-up rattle: the head lights up for the child to see and follow with their eyes. The color of the light changes to red, blue, or green if you shake it (or if the baby does). The stick part of the rattle is textured, making it pleasing to touch and easy to grab. The base contains the rattle, and it has a mirror at the bottom to surprise and delight your baby with the image of her own face.

Along with these cool features,the NogginStik comes with a booklet on development milestones, to help you understand how to use this toy with your baby to enhance her skills while having fun and bonding together. Playing with the NogginStik together will help to develop:

Visual tracking, as your baby follows the light-up head with her eyes;
An understanding of cause and effect, as your baby sees how shaking it changes the color, and produces sound;
Auditory skills, as she listens to the rattle;
Grasping skills, as she learns to hold the rattle and shake it herself.

The guide will help you understand where your child is at developmentally and teach you activities to encourage and entertain your baby.

For all these reasons, I am a huge fan of the NogginStik! I recommend it to anyone looking for unique infant toys that will last the child from birth-12 months. The price may be a bit higher than an average baby toy ($22.99), but it’s an unusual toy that covers all stages in the first year, so it will get a ton of use.

Plus, I’ve seen how much babies love it myself – I use the floor model to entertain babies while their parents are trying on baby carriers! It’s so much fun to keep kids happy and entertained while they’re being taken in and out of carriers.