Great Baby Gifts and Toys for Learning Development

Play is very important learning time for babies and kids, but it is essential as parents and teachers to keep that playtime functional. With these toys, most designed by parents and teachers, your baby or toddler will learn cognitive skills and stay ahead of their development curve. Instead of giving just another stuff animal at a baby shower or toddler's birthday, consider a toy designed for the highest learning and development potential.

Me and My Peeps Personalized Board Book

Give your baby a book about someone more important than a cartoon character: them! Me and My Peeps are heavy duty board books perfect for tiny hands with full-color photos of your baby and family.

"Little Baby Parts" uses black and white photos of your newborn tiny eyes, feet, fingers and more to teach your baby words as well as create a baby photo keepsake. "Max Can" (which will use your baby's name in the title) is designed for emergent readers with photos of what they do every day. Completely personalized to the activities your child actually does. "The Holter Family" (again, your family's name goes in the title) serves as a visual reference with photos of your family including grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncle and siblings. Books average about $30 each.

Nursery Rhyme Tease

Rhyming board books with matching kiddie T-shirts are great gifts for toddler birthdays. The company's combo of nursery rhyme reading and cute fashion has been featured in People Magazine's Celebrity Baby Blog, The E! Channel's Dr. 90210, and New York Magazine.

BuckleyBoo Developmental Toys

These adorable plush toys are more than just another stuffed animal. BuckleyDog, BuckleyCat and BuckleyBear have ribbons with bold designs to stimulate toddler's visual recognition and buckles the child learns to buckle and later unbuckle up until age three. The toy has additional puzzles so it continues to grow and teach the child as they develop dexterity, strength and coordination. $29.99 each at Buckleyboo.com.

Munchkin Mozart Magic Cube

Gives babies and toddlers their first taste of music and sound. The interactive cube toy is designed with instrument sounds including the harp, French horn, piano, flute, and violin to combine for eight of Mozart's classic works.

Jacques the Peacock by Lamaze

The Lamaze series has won several awards with its Infant Development System. Jacques the Peakcock is a perfect first-baby gift that will grow into toddlerhood. Bright colors, interesting textures your baby will love to explore, sounds to keep her entertained and shapes to grab will all stimulate your baby and he develops his senses. The high-contrast designs will stimulate early baby visual sense (they see in black and white at first) and still be interesting as baby develops color senses. Crinkly fabric, peek-a-boo mirrors, and fuzzy versus smooth textures all help your baby learn about the world.

Cloud b Constellation Twilight Turtle Nightlight

Developed by Cloud b, a company specializing in products to aide in sleep for children, the Twilight Turtle projects a starry sky, with eight of the major constellations, on your child's ceiling. The Big Dipper, the Big Bear, and other constellations can be identified for educational fun. Or read the Star Guide to learn about Twilight Turtle's use of the stars to find his way back to his father. The plush turtle lives in a hand-painted plastic shell for a cool decorative piece in any nursery. An artsy nightlight, a bedtime story and a science lesson - no wonder Baby Talk gave this the Editor's Choice blue ribbon.

Laugh and Learn Puppy

The Fisher Price favorite has been included on several "best toddler toys" lists including the Best Educational Toddler Toys on Besttoysguide.com. The plush puppy pal allows for two modes: learning play or music games. Between the ears and feet, the Laugh and Learn Puppy teaches the alphabets, numbers, body parts, and 10 songs and games. Lights and fun textures keep your toddler singing and learning for hours.