Baby Wooden Bead Maze - Medium - Pink & Blue

Two tracks, 14 beads: what your child does with it

Picture a one-year-old on the playmat, one hand flat on a bead. A push, and it glides to the first bend, then stops. To get it any further the hand has to change direction, and that small problem is the whole game.

The pink track and the blue track do not ask the same thing: one is easier to follow, the other takes more twists of the wrist. Between them they hold 14 beads in different sizes and colours, so another one is always waiting to be sent round. The beads stay on their tracks, which means nothing rolls under the sofa and nothing ends up in a pocket.

From 1 year: easy track first, harder track later

This baby wooden bead maze is for children aged 1 and over. At twelve months, most of the play is batting beads along the simpler track with the whole hand and watching them slide back.

A few months on, the finger and thumb take over. Your child picks one bead, steers it over the top and brings it down the other side without letting go. Towards two, the harder track becomes the favourite, several beads get moved in a row, and you can start naming them: "the big yellow one, now the small one".

One thing we tell every parent: show it once, slowly, without talking, then hand it over. A single bead moved from one end to the other is a better demonstration than a running commentary.

A wooden bead toy for hands, eyes, colours and shapes

• Fine motor skills: gripping a bead and keeping hold of it through a curve is early practice for holding a spoon, then a crayon. It belongs with our other fine motor skills toys.
• Hand-eye coordination: the eyes have to stay on the bead while the hand follows the track.
• Colours and shapes: with beads that differ in size and colour, your child soon starts to pick out "the same" and "not the same", long before knowing the words.

Medium size: 18.5 x 11 x 16 cm and 310 g

"Medium" here means genuinely compact: 18.5 x 11 x 16 cm, about the footprint of a paperback. It sits on a highchair tray, a coffee table or a corner of the rug, and at 310 g it goes into the changing bag for a weekend at the grandparents'.

That light weight has one consequence. In the first weeks a keen one-year-old may lift the whole toy instead of moving the beads, so rest a hand on the base until the idea has clicked.

Plain pink and blue, themed mazes or a counting frame?

Our Safari, Dinosaur and Polar Ice bead mazes are built around a theme. This model keeps to two colours and two tracks, with nothing to distract from the movement itself, and it is the one to choose when you want something small and simple for a first go.

Parents often group it with abacus type toys, but the two do different jobs. A counting frame has straight rows for adding up; here your child slides and steers, and is not counting yet. You can see both kinds in our baby abacus range. Once sliding is mastered, usually around two, threading beads on a lace is the natural next step.

A first birthday present, covered for two years

Small box, easy to wrap, usable the minute it is opened: it is a safe choice when you have been invited to a first birthday and do not know what the family already owns. For more ideas in the same age group, see our toys for 0 to 24 months. Like every item in the shop, it carries a 2-year guarantee.

Your questions about this baby wooden bead maze

What age is a baby wooden bead maze for?

This one is suitable from 1 year. It stays interesting until about two, as your child moves from the easier track to the harder one.

What does it teach a one-year-old?

Grip, wrist control and hand-eye coordination first, then telling colours and sizes apart.

Is it a Montessori toy?

It was not designed by Maria Montessori, but it fits the approach well: natural wood, one clear task, and a child who can see for themselves whether the bead has arrived. That is why it sits among our Montessori educational toys.

How big is the medium size?

18.5 cm x 11 cm x 16 cm, for a weight of 310 g.

Specifications

• Age: 1+
• Tracks: 2 (pink and blue), of different difficulty
• Beads: 14, in different sizes and colours
• Dimensions: 18.5 x 11 x 16 cm
• Weight: 310 g
• Material: wood
• Reference: REFG59963
• EAN: 4013594599634
• Guarantee: 2 years