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This is our complete list of the best cause and effect toys for infant development.
These 9 cause and effect toys will promote your baby’s cognitive development and visual, gross, and fine motor skills.
Cause and effect toys are important in child development because they help your child understand the relationship between their actions and their outcomes.
This is an important life skill to master because it forms the basis for understanding how the world works and how your child’s actions can influence outcomes.
The toys I recommend provide real developmental value rather than short spurts of entertainment.
Our daughter has used some of these toys and I can confidently say that you will also experience your child’s growth when you use these toys correctly.
And the best part is that your child will develop life skills all through play!
These cause and effect toys will teach your child that their actions cause a reaction. Use them to help your child improve their fine motor skills, problem-solving, and decision-making.
Image: My Monte Home
Infant rattles stimulate sensory development and teach your infant about cause and effect through sound and touch.
Infant rattles stimulate your child’s auditory senses and encourage motor skills development.
Studies show that sensory play with rattles can enhance your infant’s brain development and promote early language skills through exposure to different sounds and textures.
This is one of the simplest toys that teaches your child cause and effect. When your infant shakes the rattle, they hear a sound.
The sound they hear will grab their attention and begin to wonder where the sound is coming from.
They will then connect their action of shaking the rattle to the effect of producing a sound.
For this toy, hold the rattle within their reach and let them grasp it. Shake the rattle gently to create sounds and show them how their actions cause the noise.
Include rattles in your baby’s routine to support their sensory and motor development.
Use code LATINXMONTESSORI to save 10% off your order.
Image: My Monte Home
The ball tracker enhances visual tracking and hand-eye coordination as your infant follows and reaches for moving balls.
The ball tracker is a common Montessori toy because it improves your child’s visual tracking and hand-eye coordination.
It can also help your child strengthen their core muscles because they need to squat to grab the ball and stand up to place the ball on top of the ball tracker.
This repetitive movement can ultimately help your child walk because they are learning to balance as they slowly stand up.
For this toy, place a ball on the tracker and gently move it to catch your baby’s attention. This encourages them to follow the ball’s movement with their eyes and to reach out and touch it.
It also helps them learn to control their visual focus and improve motor skills.
I encourage you to incorporate this activity into your infant’s play routine because it supports their visual development.
Studies suggest that visual tracking activities in early childhood can contribute to better reading readiness.
Use code LATINXMONTESSORI to save 10% off your order.
Image: My Monte Home
Ball push toys help develop your child’s gross motor skills and balance while teaching cause and effect through pushing and rolling.
My daughter loves this toy and she goes at it hard every time she plays with it!
This is another simple but effective infant toy to develop your baby’s gross motor skills and coordination.
It also helps your child learn the concept of object permanence because when they push the balls through the hole, they are no longer visible but your child will learn that the balls still exist.
They will see the balls roll out from the bottom hole and they can repeat this movement with the other balls.
For this toy, encourage your baby to push the ball through the hole. You might have to show your child this movement a few times.
If the ball is too big for your child’s hands, you can help them grab the balls with both hands and this can help them coordinate both hands to grab the balls.
Use code LATINXMONTESSORI to save 10% off your order.
Image: Montessori and Me
Spinning drums engage your child both visually and auditorily and promote sensory perception and fine motor skills.
This is a great cause and effect toy that you can use with your infant during tummy time.
I think this is a great toy to stimulate your baby’s visual tracking skills. When your baby spins the drum, they will see the different colors.
It also has an acrylic mirror where your baby will see their reflection. And as the drum spins, your baby will hear sounds being produced.
The enticing colors and sounds encourage your little one to push up and bat the drum repeatedly, rapidly advancing core, arm, and wrist movements.
Use code LATINXMONTESSORI to save 10% off your order.
Image: My Monte Home
Fabric winders help improve your infant’s fine motor skills and finger dexterity.
This is another favorite Montessori toy that I consider a must-have for every infant.
It may look very simple but believe me, this cause and effect toy will set the foundation for other skills like grasping, writing, and coordination.
The toy has a long fabric that can be winded down using the knob on the side of the box.
As your infant winds the fabric, they are strengthening their wrist and hand muscles and this enhances their dexterity using repetitive movements.
This toy is essential to improve their fine motor skill development, which is crucial for tasks like writing and self-care as they grow.
Studies indicate that fine motor skill activities in infancy can positively impact academic performance in later years.
Use code LATINXMONTESSORI to save 10% off your order.
Image: Montessori and me
Coin boxes are great cause and effect toys that teach hand-eye coordination and problem-solving as your infant drops coins into slots and retrieves them.
Another popular Montessori toy that you will find in the classroom or at most Montessori homes. This is very similar to an object permanence box and offers additional benefits.
The coin box toy teaches your infant hand-eye coordination and problem-solving. Unlike the object permanence box that uses a ball, the coin has to fit in a much narrower slot.
This requires a larger degree of precision and concentration to drop the coin into the box and is a great progression from the object permanence box.
For this toy, show your child how to drop a coin into the slot and retrieve it from the box. This activity helps them understand spatial relationships and practice their fine motor skills.
You can Include the coin box in your infant’s playtime routine to improve their cognitive development and spatial awareness.
Use code LATINXMONTESSORI to save 10% off your order.
Image: Hape
Push and pull toys support gross motor skills development and spatial understanding through pushing and pulling actions.
It was funny watching our daughter play with these toys for the first time.
She thought the toy was following her but then she learned that it was getting close to her because she was pulling on the string.
This was a great introduction to cause and effect. As she pulled on the string, she noticed that the toy would get closer and closer.
Your child will refine their fine motor skills and finger dexterity because the string is so thin and hard to grab with their hands, so your child will practice grabbing it with their fingers.
The string can also improve their pincer grasp which opens a whole new window to complete everyday tasks.
Image: Guidecraft
Peekaboo sound boxes promote sensory exploration and object permanence awareness with surprise sounds.
This is a great cause and effect toy for an older infant or young toddler.
This toy comes with 12 cubes and each cube has a small plastic handle that helps your child improve their fine motor skills and pincer grasp.
Your child can hear the cube’s unique sound and find its match. They will also understand that each box has a different material that produces unique sounds.
This fun and engaging game reinforces your child’s cognitive development and builds their abilities to solve problems and make predictions by understanding cause and effect.
Image: Maisonette
Rainmakers improve your infant’s auditory and visual stimulation and enhance sensory development and concentration.
Having used the Rainmaker, I can confidently say that it’s a delightful addition to your infant’s playtime routine.
This sensory-rich toy not only captivates with its soothing sound of falling beads but also offers a host of developmental benefits for your little one.
The Rainmaker provides auditory and visual stimulation that enhances your baby’s sensory development.
As your baby watches and listens to the cascading beads, they are engaged in a sensory exploration that fosters their auditory discrimination and visual tracking skills.
This toy also promotes concentration as your infant is naturally drawn to the gentle, rhythmic sound it produces.
Cause and effect toys are great for your child’s development because they help them understand how actions lead to outcomes.
These toys stimulate their brain and encourage them to explore, experiment, and learn.
As your child interacts with these toys, they improve their problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, and understanding of the world around them.
You can introduce cause-and-effect toys during the newborn stage. A simple toy like the wooden rattle teaches them that a sound is produced when they shake it.
Rattles or push-button toys are great for early introductions. As your child grows, you can gradually offer more complex cause-and-effect toys that match their development stage.
Yes, infants can become overstimulated if they have too many toys all at once. This is why I always stress the importance of “less is more.”
It’s best if you offer your infant a few toys at a time and rotate them periodically to keep things fresh and exciting.
This helps your baby focus and engage more deeply with their toys and prevents overwhelm.
An example of cause-and-effect play is using the ball tracker toy I mentioned above.
When your baby places a ball on the top ramp (the cause), the ball rolls down the tracks until it reaches the bottom (the effect).
Your baby learns that their action of letting the ball go causes it to roll down and not in any other direction. This teaches them the concept of cause and effect in a fun and engaging way.
When your baby pulls the toy (the cause), it moves closer to them (the effect). They learn that their action of pulling the toy makes it follow them.
This helps them understand the relationship between their actions and outcomes and enhances their motor skills and coordination in the process.
Cause and effect toys are crucial for babies because they lay the foundation for learning and problem-solving.
These toys help babies make sense of their world and teach them that there is always an outcome for all of their actions.
Depending on the toy they use, your child will reinforce their cognitive development, fine and gross motor skills, and improve exploration and curiosity.
All of these skills are essential for your child’s growth and future learning. So, these toys are not just fun; they’re vital for your baby’s development!
These are the best cause and effect toys for infants and newborns.
Our favorites are the ball tracker and ball push toy. You can save 10% off when you use my code LATINXMONTESSORI.
Check out my article on the best Montessori toys by age so your child can continue to strengthen their life skills.
Hello, I am Leslie. I am on a mission to help you support the growth and development of your child. With the right tools and proper guidance, you can navigate parenthood with confidence and assertion! My goal is to equip you with knowledge to help you construct a strong foundation for your child’s life.
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