Musical Cuddle Bug

£24.99

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Developmental Benefits

Cause & Effect

Language Development

Musical Creativity

Sensory Development

Tactile Stimulation

Developmental Benefits

Musical Cuddle Bug

Rewards baby as they learn that their actions have reactions
Babies are exploring and experimenting with the world almost from the day they are born. Cause and effect is a scientific concept that babies learn very early in their lives. A delightful example of this is when babies begin to explore gravity by dropping toys whilst sitting in their highchair. The toy drops downwards and makes a noise as it hits the floor. Parents will tend to pick the toy up and return it to the infant. This enables the baby to continue with their experiment and learn more about cause and effect; babies learn a great deal through repetition and it is good to facilitate opportunities where babies can begin to understand that, for instance, a toy will always fall to the ground. This type of learning through cause and effect continues throughout childhood. Encouraging children to be curious about the world facilitates learning through experience. Toys that reliably make a noise when pressed, pulled or touched teach babies that their actions have an effect on the world. VTech bath toys with their pouring and squirting features encourage cause and effect awareness.
Children demonstrate that they have understood the concept of cause and effect when they talk about the consequence of actions. Before children use spoken language researchers discover what young infants understand about the world by presenting them with unexpected events. For example, babies are beginning to understand that toys reliably fall to the ground and that if a toy train goes into a tunnel it will come out the other end. If babies are presented with an unexpected event where, for example, a moving toy train disappears behind a screen but does not come out the other end they will stare for a long time at the screen. VTech toys offer babies and children the opportunity to learn more about cause and effect by pressing buttons and listening to the sounds, moving toys around and playing educational computer games.

Introduces the alphabet, letter sounds and vocabulary.
Babies start to babble at an early age and this can be seen as the first signs of language. They are predisposed to pick up the sounds of the language that they hear around them. Adults can facilitate babies’ language development by playing with them, focussing on particular toys, reading books and naming everyday objects. The more babies are exposed to language the faster they will begin to pick up it up. There are social skills involved in language acquisition such as realising that it is necessary to wait until the other person has finished speaking. Babies begin to learn about conversational turn-taking from an early age; if a baby is babbling the adult waits for a pause and then talks to the baby. Babies learn to take turns even before they are using words. Social interaction is important for language development and turn-taking games are a fun and educational way for babies and young children to learn.
Young children also need to practice their language skills. Toys that name alphabet letters and everyday words satisfy young children’s need for repetition and rehearsal when practicing words and sounds. For instance, young children can press a button repetitively to hear the same sound or word again. Babies and children learn a lot through repetition and pick up words rapidly in this way. Once children begin to read their vocabulary expands enormously.

Enhances musical skills with music and sound activities.
Babies are sensitive to sound patterns early in life and respond emotionally to voices. Even before they are born infants detect and monitor sound to a certain extent. During the second half of their first year babies are particularly sensitive to differences in beat and rhythm. Music is a complex form of auditory stimulation that is linked to human movement. Infants are drawn to music and are very good at being able to discern different musical structures. In a recent survey we found that parents often choose a particular traditional nursery, for example twinkle, twinkle little star, because of the gestures linked to the song. Babies love music and nursery rhymes that have plenty of repetition and gestures.
Children also love to experiment with music. Toys that allow children to create their own tunes facilitate learning. Children can learn about a wide variety of sounds and tempo. They can also learn about the sounds of different musical instruments through pressing keys on a musical toy. Children who grow up in the Western world tend to be exposed to the typical even-beat pattern of Western music. There is a link between learning, singing and rhythm that is related to the type of culture that children grow up in. Musical creativity can be nurtured through the infant’s and child’s exposure to music, musical toys and instruments.

A variety of textures, visuals and sounds stimulate sensory development.
Sensory development is intimately related to motor development. Babies are born into a world that stimulates their senses and to which they react. These reactions are bodily movements which create learning experiences. Sensory development in babies can be facilitated through toys that provide opportunities for them to experience sounds, visuals and textures. Young infants need to be presented with an adequate but not too great amount of sensory stimulation.
From an early age babies use touch to investigate their world; as they learn to reach they begin to run their tongue and lips over toys and then look at them. Tactile stimulation is also combined with other sensory information. Babies can perceive input from different sensory systems in a unified way; for instance, vision and touch are closely coordinated when using a shape sorter. Babies who handle shapes and also fit them through a hole are learning to solve problems through touch and sight. Infants also learn about the links between sights, sounds and feel of toys when these are demonstrated by adults. They begin to associate the sight and sound of a rhythmically shaken rattle or the nursery rhyme played by a particular toy. During the first year of life infants’ visual development is rapid and they begin to identify objects through shape, colour and texture. They also develop the ability to visually track objects. Toys give babies and young children many opportunities to enhance their sensory development.

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.

Soft and cuddly fabric bug with many colours and patterns.
8 soft buttons on the feet teach Do-Re-Mis, colours and shapes.
Colour changing star button plays fun phrases, sounds and music.
Day mode plays fun and lively melodies, whilst night mode plays soothing classical melodies
Includes 15 melodies and 3 sing-along songs.

Best for ages:

6 to 36 Months

Highlights

Soft colourful fabric bug with many patterns. Leg buttons teach Do-Re-Mis, colours and shapes. Colour changing tummy button plays fun responses. Includes; Day and night mode.

Description

Cuddle up with this adorable Musical Cuddle Bug by VTech®! Featuring a variety of soft fabrics and colourful patterns! Press the 8 legs of the Musical Cuddle Bug to learn Do-Re-Mis, colours and shapes! Pressing the colour changing tummy star button plays even more fun responses, including sing-along songs, melodies and more! During the melodies, press the leg buttons to play the melody note by note! Choose between 2 different modes, Day mode and Night mode. Day mode plays fun and exciting melodies for day time play, whilst Night mode plays soothing and calming classical melodies for relaxation.

Product Number: 80-528603
2 x AAA Batteries Required