Nurture and Spawn Ingenuity and Creativity from a Young Age. These are the Best STEM Toys for Babies with a Yearning for STEM Oriented Concepts and Ideas.

An acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, STEM Toys essentially aim at enhancing a child’s creativity and problem-solving skills while having fun. STEM toys help improve on developing skills of a child and help them become adults who can adjust to changing circumstances and handle different challenges. Such plays allow the kids the freedom to experiment, discover and try out different ways of interaction, practice the trial and error techniques and bounce back from problem areas with viable solutions. As the kids learn, they end up developing the neural pathways that will compose their adult brains. The skills the STEM toys aim to enhance in the children are ultimately the abilities that will help them succeed in all genres of academic and professional activities.

A parent always enjoys seeing his/her child grow and learn and for that toys can be an engaging component. Thoughtfully chosen, STEM toys can promote skills that are essential for a child’s development viz-a-viz, their thinking, literacy and language, early math, socio-emotional growth and problem solving skills. Further, interactive toys can also help boost a child’s cognitive skills for overall success in school. In that respect, it’s only fair to wonder what type of toys are ideal for a child’s development.

When choosing a toy it is best to go for one that matches the child’s interests and abilities as also the child’s age. For instance, if the kid likes playing with dinosaurs, then toys that focus on pre-historic concepts would be ideal, or if the child likes to build things then alphabet blocks are encouraged. Flexible toys like building blocks, arts & crafts are a good buy, as they can be used repeatedly and differently each time. Toys that act as catalysts for imagination and encourage pretend play, or ones that promote social skills and collaborative engagement are a good option as well. Find board games that are age appropriate and involve language and math.

Science or Experimental Toys which encourage a child to learn new scientific concepts and develop new ideas while enjoying playing should have the proficiency to help the child transition from being a passive user to an active technology user. These toys should help the child think creatively and come out with innovative ideas for problem resolution. Then there are toys consisting of construction sets or puzzles that can help develop a child’s cognitive thinking and promote logical thinking. With other skills like better decision making and analytical reasoning, these STEM toys help present the concepts of geometry and engineering. There are robot kits that teach kids about coding techniques and help them write programs that will aid in controlling the STEM toys' functions for any task or movement.

The Geosmart Smartmax Magnetic Discovery allows kids to explore the world of magnetism safely. The incredibly large structures are designed particularly for handling by young kids so they can learn about the effects of magnetic attractions and repulsion. The magnetic pull is strong enough to pull 60 times their weight and come in a set of 23 pieces with an instructions booklet to build models, with extension sets available separately for an additional price.

The Geosmart Smartmax Magnetic Discovery set is a STEM-based toy that not only stimulates hand-eye coordination but also encourages spatial insight and creativity. It is also compatible with other SmartMax parts and is a renowned award-winning set. The Geosmart Smartmax Magnetic Discovery is available on Hamleys and is priced at Rs. 1,749.

With STEM skills known to be essential for the early development of toddlers, STEM toys promote critical thinking and problem-solving skills in young tots. The Kidtastic Dinosaur Toys enables hours of creative playtime for the kids and includes a set of 106 pieces that come fully assembled that can be deconstructed and put back together again. The Kidtastic Dinosaur Toy set encourages social development and teamwork for the little ones and comes with a Triceratop, an Alamosaurus and a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The Kidtastic Dinosaur Toy Set encourages patience and stimulates early engineering skills in the young kids. Priced at Rs.5,259 on Desert Cart, the Kidtastic Dinosaur Toy Set also includes screwdrivers and a bonus coloring book.

Playkidz Super Durable Pound-A-Ball set can keep your little ones busy by promoting their fine motor skills and help foster their mental, emotional, physical and social development. Built for hours and hours of fun and learning, the Playkidz Super Durable Pound-A-Ball set aims at pounding the balls till they drop in the block and slide out. the set includes 4 balls of blue, green, yellow and red colors, and a squeaky hammer. Designed for easy gripping, the Playkidz Super Durable Pound-A-Ball set is ideal for toddlers and is scientifically driven, which will encourage the kids to find out the science and workings behind the concept. The Playkidz Super Durable Pound-A-Ball set is available on Amazon and is priced at Rs.6,088.

Priced at Rs. 2,384 on Ubuy, the LiKee Wooden Pattern Blocks Jigsaw Puzzle includes a set of 36 wooden pieces and 60 patterns cards which includes vehicles, animal and more and requires the kids to build what’s on the cards or make their own designs. Ideal for developing spatial awareness, encourage hand-eye coordination, colour & shape identification and problem-solving skills, the LiKee Wooden Pattern Blocks Jigsaw Puzzle makes learning and playing fun for your little genius! The 60 pattern cards in the set can be used as flashcards with sight words and can be used either randomly or in order to progress in the game. The LiKee Wooden Pattern Blocks Jigsaw Puzzle is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Jasonwell Aqua Magic Doodle Mat is a large mat measuring 39.5 x 31.5” with the perfectly sized letter printed on the side and ample space on the mat for the kids to doodle. Ideal for toddlers and pre-schoolers, the Aqua Magic Doodle Mat requires a magic pen to be filled with water and then used to draw on the magic mat. After 3-10 minutes, the drawing disappears and kids can doodle over it repeatedly. Priced at Rs.4,209, on Desert Cart Jasonwell Aqua Magic Doodle Mat is non-toxic and non-polluting. It doesn’t require any paints nor does it create any mess, since it’s got water-proof material supporting it. Created for easy storage, it can be folded to a compact size. Jasonwell Aqua Magic Doodle Mat comes with 4 suction cups, 5 magic pens, 1 design booklet, 6 stamps, 6 drawing templates, 6 drawing molds and a storage box.

Say hello to Learning Friends and the adorable trio – who come together to introduce the world of vocabulary to the kids. Touch the words and pictures on each page and explore fun facts, sounds, music and words, allowing the kids to express themselves clearly and understand what they read or hear. The Learning Friends 100 Words Book teaches the toddlers words in familiar categories to feature word relationships.

Available on Amazon and priced at Rs.3,448, the 100 Animals Book is brightly coloured with over 100 age-appropriate words and includes 3 different play modes, with sound effects associated with each word/fun facts, the light-up star button with music and flip the switch to learn new words including colours, objects and animals. You can even switch to the Spanish Language in the same set!

A 64-piece magnetic tiles set with no restrictions, the Magna-Tiles set is an adaptive toy set with 13 types of assorted patterns and geometrical shapes in bright colours. Designed to inspire creative talent, brain development, enhance shape & colour recognition skills, spatial thinking, logical and thinking skills and build on the child’s motor skills, Magna Tiles is perfect for toddlers and pre-schoolers, priced at Rs.4,999, it can be purchased from The Nestery. Made of BPA-free ABS plastic and magnets, Magna Tiles set includes 4 big squares, 26 squares, 16 equilateral triangles, 2 wheels, 6 isosceles triangles, 4 small isosceles triangles, 2 full hollow squares and 2 windows.

A colourful building blocks discs set, the Brain Flakes 500 Piece Interlocking Plastic Disc Set is made of non-toxic and premium quality ABS plastic material that guarantees child safety. Designed with unique grooves that ensure the child’s masterpiece holds firm, the Brain Flakes 500 Piece Interlocking Plastic Disc Set encourages creative talent, hand-eye coordination and essential motor skills. Priced at Rs.370, the Brain Flakes 500 Piece Interlocking Plastic Disc Set is ASTM certified and aims to encourage hand and eye coordination, reading and writing, attention span build-up, curiosity building and analysis & critical thinking skills in the kids. It is available on Flipkart.

GeoSafari-Jr-Kidnoculars is built for encouraging early exploration talent in the young ones to build an understanding of the world. Featuring 2x magnification, and placement goggles, the GeoSafari-Jr-Kidnoculars will introduce nature to the kids like never before! With enlarged focus-free eyepieces that are 3 times the size of an ordinary binocular, the GeoSafari-Jr-Kidnoculars have a perfect fit goggle with a placement guide that enables the kids to see up close. Priced at Rs.3,361, on Amazon GeoSafari-Jr-Kidnoculars promotes outdoor discovery and investigation and serves as a fun introductory science tool and comes with a breakaway neck strap for adventure on the move.

A wooden vehicle stacker, Melissa & Doug Stack & Count Wooden Parking Garage set comes with 10 toy cars, a slide counter and a wooden frame. With a cleverly designed drop-down counter, it helps encourage early math skills in the kids. Melissa & Doug Stack & Count Wooden Parking Garage set’s compact design is built with robust wooden construction and serves as a great gift for toddlers and preschoolers with its hands-on and screen-free play! Available on Paisa Wapas and priced at Rs.1,207, Melissa & Doug Stack & Count Wooden Parking Garage Set requires 10 cars to be stacked in its parking tower and kept a track of with the sliding counter. The set will inspire all kinds of learning abilities like counting, colour identification, sorting and vocab building.

According to various studies conducted till now, for a good STEM toy, there are two essential requisites. The first defining feature is that the toy should promote one or more aspects of science, technology, engineering or math by including investigation through exploration, experimentation and observation and the second essential being the ‘fun quotient’. The toy should be engaging, interesting, entertaining while serving as a learning tool as well. Here are some key features of an ideal STEM Toy: