Cause and effect is a necessary part of language development that comes before words. Checkout these favorite activity ideas and toys for babies and toddlers!
A critical part of development is a child realizing their actions have an effect on their environment. For example, they push a button and music plays or they shake a rattle and it makes noise. Understanding cause and effect is an important step in language development. A child’s desire to communicate comes from the knowledge that their actions, or words, cause a change. They need to understand this relationship before they are going to look at you and point to that toy they want or eventually construct a sentence to request it.
There are many cause and effect toys to purchase. In fact, many store websites have a “cause and effect” section. You certainly don’t need specific toys to teach this concept. There are endless ways to do so with simple, everyday objects you already have. Below I’ve listed some ideas with common items as well as my favorite toys to work on cause and effect.
Cause and effect activity ideas with common objects:
• Hit an item off the table and watch it fall to the floor or build a tower and knock it over!
• Turn the light on and off with the light switch or flashlight.
• Turn the water faucet on and off.
• Shake a rattle or bell.
• Bang a wooden spoon on a kitchen pot/pan.
• Have a big reaction or mimic the child’s faces, noises, and movements.
• Play with a sensory bin – Fill a container with rice, water, beans, crumpled paper, leaves, feathers (or any other item you have). Listen to the sounds and feel the textures as you play with it. Fill a cup with the item and watch as it falls out. Splash in the water and see how it moves.
• Pull a toy or blanket as you walk. Watch how it follows behind you.
• Open and close a door or cabinet with the handle.
Cause and effect toy favorites:
PLAYSKOOL BALL POPPER – Hit the orange button for music to play while balls pop out the top and roll back down.
BALL POP – Squeeze the toy and the ball shoots out! Always a favorite and comes in many designs.
BUBBLES – Always a favorite among a wide age range and cost-effective!
WIND-UP TOYS – Wind-up and watch the toy perform a different action.
ELEFUN BALL POPPER – Watch the balls pop out of the elephant’s trunk. Swivel the trunk to have the balls fly in different directions.
SWITCHES – Use to record a word, phrase, or noise. When hit, the recorded message will play.
WHACKY BALL POUND AND ROLL – Whack the ball through the hole and watch it roll down and exit the bottom.
POPPIN PALS – Press the button for the corresponding animal to pop-up.
FISHER-PRICE PIGGY BANK – Dropping the coins in, opening the door, and pushing the pig’s nose all trigger different sounds and music!
FAST FLIP RACETRACK – Release the car at the top and watch it race down.
FISHBOWL – Lights and sounds activated by moving the fish in and out of the bowl.
POPPITY POP MUSICAL DINO – Place the balls in the dinosaurs and watch as they pop and roll out of its mouth while music plays.
GEAR BOARD – Organize the gears on the board and turn the handle to watch all the gears move.
What are some of your favorite cause and effect toys and ideas?
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