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Every child has an instinct to learn, as evidenced by his or her ability to act like a sponge to every idea and visual stimulus that crosses his or her path. Because of this, people who say that play has no value whatsoever are eating their words right now. Toys and play, even experts say, play vital parts in children's learning and discovery.

Kids' development and learning abilities vary. Some might already be walking at just nine months, while some children learn late and start at only about two years old. There is nothing unusual about this. There are children that are adept at a particular thing, while other kids are more proficient at another.

What is common to all children, nevertheless, is the fact that they are all naturally born curious about the world around them. Babies, in particular, are ultimate learning sponges because they start out with a clean slate. We should, therefore, never be annoyed at kids who always ask the question "why", as this is an indication of their interest to learn new things and wonder about their environment.

And because infants are the best teaching subjects, great pains have been undergone to develop educational toys that would enhance their sponge-like abilities. Learning starts at home. It is the responsibility of parents and the people that surround infants to make sure these formative years are maximized by exposing their children to toys and things that would encourage and feed their hunger for knowledge.

Toys are what children almost always interact with, and exposing them to a number of well-chosen educational toys will boost their individual growth.

As parents and adults who choose these toys, however, we must realize that educational toys are made according to a child's age and learning pace. Thus, we must only purchase and gift toys that are appropriate for the kid we are giving it to, otherwise, our purpose of teaching and instilling knowledge will be defeated.

Infants, in particular, because their sensory abilities are not as developed as toddlers yet, need toys that stimulate their hearing, touch and sight. Strong contrasting colors and soft colorful objects and toys are best for babies to help them with their hand-eye coordination. Therefore, just when we think that these soft balls do nothing for infants, we need to think again. Any toy that stimulates infants' senses is considered educational.