Why Do Babies Love Remote Controls?
Why Do Babies Love Remote Controls?
Why Do Babies Love Remote Controls?
For the last two years, my remote control has been placed on a high shelf, away from my child’s prying eyes and mouth. I don’t know what it was like to have a buttoned box, but my twin boys were totally obsessed with it. It’s a simple instrument: a sleek, long rectangle with a multitude of buttons that light up and make magic happen on the screen. But other than its usefulness, I can’t understand what makes it so special.
Why do babies love remote things, even more than their own toys?
The internet is packed with children’s videos that are totally blown away by the power of remote control. It’s adorable to watch. At first, it’s just a simple rote learning pleasure to click the buttons over and over again, maybe they’ll light up, maybe they’ll vibrate, but it’s a fun way for babies to take their time. When children grow a little older and understand cause and effect, issues like changing channels and increasing volume become significant to them.
Honestly, if they enjoy Motu Patlu at regular volume, imagine how much more fun they’re going to have to play in muddy puddles when the volume blows them into the sofa.
It turns out that there is a perfectly logical scientific theory as to why children enjoy remote control.
My twin boys loved to break the remote and run it under his toes, and his mouth was worth it.
And they were so sneaky to find it.
If I didn’t watch them closely, one minute, TV would show me the three houses that the organizer of the closet and the professional scissor painter. All these years later, and I still don’t know if they chose a home, a garden, or a middle- entry farm. It’s really frustrating. It wasn’t until I bought them their own remote control toy that they stopped stealing the actual one.
Now that they are 4, they are back to stealing the real one, and the shows are a lot more annoying.
Researchers at Topics in Early Childhood Special Education noted that the type of pretend play that stimulates your child’s fascination with things like your keys or remoteness is crucial to the development of their play skills.
They wrote, “…whereas dress-up clothes, vehicles, and dolls are associated with socio-dramatic play. Realistic toys are more likely to make it easier to pretend to play in young children than abstract toys; however, with an-age, less organized, more abstract toys that promote pretense activities.”
So, why do children love remote control?
Because you love it, they see you use it, and it will eventually become a vehicle for their imagination.
It’s a portal to a world they’re just learning how to navigate, and the remote is becoming support for this kind of education. Plus, there are all those delicious buttons. But be careful, remote locations are choking hazards, and there is a real danger of swallowing batteries. Luckily, there’s a wealth of good, fake, remote toys on the market that are safe and won’t change your channel at a crucial time.
When Do Babies Really Start Playing With Toys?
Mia Rosenbe, a psychotherapist and owner of Upside Therapy, tells that babies are likely to begin showing interest in toys in the first few months of their lives. “As infants develop, they’ll begin to recognize that they’re in control of some of the reactions they’re having to things around them. They’ll begin to smile, giggle, and even begin to notice that they’ve got hands and feet, and that they’re in control of their hands opening and closing,” she says. About 3 to 4 months later, Rosenberg says babies realize that their hands can also grab and pick up objects. At this point, they’re starting to reach out for things (hopefully their toys) and they’re going to want items that get their attention. (And ultimately shove it in their mouths.) Around this age, babies are particularly captivated by rattles that make noise, brightly colored toys, or textured books. Still, it takes a few more months before the children actually start to really like and remember the things they’re playing with.
According to Rosenberg, they ‘re not going to start playing favorites with toys until they’re around 5 to 7 months old when they start developing attachments and entering the stage of object permanence — a concept of understanding that if a toy is out of sight, that doesn’t mean it’s gone forever.
“At this stage of development, we often begin to see children becoming attached to specific toys. It is not unusual for a toy to become their ally and to travel with them wherever they go. This is often seen in a lover, a stuffed animal, or a blanket,” Rosenberg says.
If you start to notice that your little one spends a ton of time playing with their toys, that’s a good thing! Toys are not just something for babies to play with: they help develop fine and gross motor skills. “As children learn how to interact with toys, they will begin to develop motor skills as well as healthy emotional, physical, social and mental development. These skills range from problem-solving skills — with puzzles or stacking toys — to social skills,” says Rosenberg. Children should play with their toys every single day to fully learn how to interact with the world around them.
Finding the perfect toys for your little one depends on your age. Rosenberg says that if you’re a baby 0 to 3 months old, you should focus on super simple toys that make noise or play music so that they can start tracking sounds.From 4 to 6 months, look for bright, safe, soft toys that will be interesting for them to look at and easy for them to grab and hold on. From 6 to 9 months, you’re going to want toys that make sounds and textures, but they’re also supposed to be safe because babies are likely to stick them in their mouths. Baby-safe mirrors are ideal at this age as well. And from 9 to 12 months, give children interactive toys like building blocks so they can start to understand that playtime is social and fun.
