With a crib full of rattles, plush toys, and musical contraptions, the infant may be unable to focus on any one. This not only limits the child’s ability to make discriminations, it also affects his or her capacity for concentration and attention. When interested in a particular toy, an infant can spend quite a bit of time with it. The ability to stay focused is a very important skill that may be difficult to acquire if the child’s attention is scattered among a wide variety of playthings. To be sure, the cornucopia of gifts for infants is well intentioned. But from the infant’s perspective, it may create an environment of busy, noisy, bustling confusion.
