Rattles and grasping balls stimulate your baby’s visual system with their bright, contrasting colors, which are especially engaging for the retina.

Rattles also stimulate hearing. The soft sounds they produce (crinkling, squeaking, jingling…) attract your baby’s attention and help coordinate sight and sound. This is called the audio-visual loop, which is particularly important in early development.

These toys also engage the tactile system through their varied textures, helping your baby’s hand adapt to different objects and learn about their qualities (soft/hard, smooth/rough…).

The rattle allows your baby to develop fine motor skills and voluntary grasp and release. They will grab it, look at it, bring it to their mouth, and then pass it to the other hand. This builds many essential coordinations, such as hand-eye coordination and bilateral coordination.

There’s no need to surround your baby with tons of toys—you risk overstimulating their senses and losing their attention. Two or three are plenty. It’s better to rotate them regularly based on your child’s skills and interests.

So what can you do with them? Here are a few ideas:

For very young babies, hold the rattle about 30 cm above their face and slowly move it from side to side so they can follow it with their eyes and coordinate head and eye movement.

You can also make the rattle sound near one ear and wait for your baby to turn toward the sound. Don’t hesitate to praise them!

To encourage exploration of the right and left sides, place a rattle just above your baby’s head, slightly diagonal. Your baby will follow it with their eyes and may twist their torso—maybe even roll onto their tummy.

Before your baby knows how to crawl, there’s no point placing the rattle out of reach. But to encourage reaching and stretching, place the rattle at the edge of their grasping range—approximately at arm’s length. This way, your baby will stretch their arm and side to try and grab it.

It’s often overlooked, but you can also play with your baby’s feet—especially when they start lifting them by curling their pelvis. They’ll enjoy kicking the rattle with their feet, which promotes hand-foot coordination.