Mixture of different textures provide stimulation for baby.
Babies learn about the world through their senses. The sense of touch is intimately linked with other senses such as sound and vision. Babies are provided with stimulation from more than one sensory system at the same time; this is termed intermodal perception. They learn about the sounds that different objects make when they bang or touch them. Toys that are have different textures and shapes facilitate infants’ learning. Babies put toys and other objects in their mouths from an early age. They also begin to reach for and grasp objects and then move toys from one hand to another. Toys that are made of different materials and are different shapes stimulate young infants to grasp, mouth and shake them. Babies then gain greater motor control and begin to pick up small objects with their thumb and index finger. They also begin to bang objects together. This combines tactile and auditory stimulation; they feel the vibration and also hear the sound.
Bath time play is an excellent opportunity for tactile stimulation. Bath toys that are small and lightweight so that young babies can grasp them are excellent stimulus materials. Babies and young children can learn from handling toys in the water; there are many opportunities for grasping, squeezing and squirting water from objects. Tactile stimulation and learning is also experienced when infants and young children feel the weight of a toy when they have filled it with water and then after they have poured the water away. These types of experiences help young children to learn about the shape, pattern, surface, texture and weight of objects through touching them.