The difference is black and white: Sassy is leading the way again in infant development products. Everything “Sassy” – toys, feeding products, bath items and more – has a whole new look, feel and sound!

Our entire toy line has been redesigned to keep Sassy on the cutting edge of infant development, incorporating the latest findings in research and insights from developmental experts. Our new products have been created to enhance the development of the senses, which is critical to learning as we grow. The more developed the senses become during infancy, the richer and better the information received as one grows and learns. It all begins with the belief: “Developing the senses provides a pathway for learning.”

Child Development experts Lise Eliot, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the Chicago Medical School and Beth O’Connor, MAECD, professor at St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, collaborated with Sassy to produce infant products that are best suited to baby’s developing senses

You’ll notice lots of bold geometric patterns, symmetrical faces, high contrast patterns and bright colors. These are all sights that baby prefers. They help babies developing vision focus. This gives baby a sense of calm. There are many soft sounds. Some are reminiscent of the womb. Others provide classical and upbeat music for baby’s development. Many textures encourage baby to reach out and learn about the world through touch and mouthing.

Spin Shine Rattle (Birth & Up) Inspire Vision: This rattle catches the eye of even the youngest babies with high contrast, black and white geometric patterns and bold, orange and red accents. Those are the first colors baby can see. Like a mini barbell, the rattle has a thin handle with a ball on either end. One side features a black ball with white polka-dots. The other is a clear ball with a rotating disk showing three eye-catching images: a high contrast bull’s eye, a black and white ladybug with brightly colored spots and a mirror. These bold visuals encourage baby to track the rattle as eye muscles develop. Yellow, orange and red rings rattle around the handle, encouraging baby to touch and mouth them. This cultivates tactile sensitivity. Suggested retail price is $3.99.

Flutterby Teether (3 months & up) Inspire Communication: This cute smiling bug encourages development of communication with textural variety for mouthing. When refrigerated, the squishy, ridged, water-filled, upper wings provide cool comfort for teething babies. The bottom wings are bumpy and chewy for added teething enjoyment. Other teethable textures include a smooth, shiny face and body; a round, white handle with raised, black stripes; and thin, chewy antennae. The toy stimulates visual development, too. Beginning at birth, a high contrast, smiling, symmetrical face engages and calms baby. Slightly different shades of blue on the wings encourage visual development at 6 months and up. Flutterby Teether has a suggested retail price of $3.99.

Big & Small Chime Ball (6 Months & Up) Inspire Imagination: This set has two different balls for baby to grasp, roll and hold. One is a ball-within-a-ball that chimes with every move. The sturdy plastic outer ball has generous cutouts to make gripping easy for little hands. Rattling and rolling inside it is a smaller, inner ball with a bold polka-dot pattern on one side and mirror on the other. A larger, squishy, plush ball rounds out the pair. It has bold, solid colored stripes in a velvety fabric interspersed with cheery, polka-dot stripes in silky fabric. All are in high contrast, bright colors to stimulate baby’s vision. The ball has an inner layer of crinkle fabric to make crunchy sounds when baby grabs it. It chimes when rolled, thrown or shaken. Suggested retail price for the set is$9.99.

Pop n’ Push Car (6+ months) Inspire Exploration: Baby is in the driver’s seat when he pushes back on this little car and lets it go. Colorful beads “pop, pop, pop” inside the car’s clear top. The cheery little car has a bright green “chassis” and blue wheels with teal tire treads. Baby will want to crawl after this little speeding car with its smiling face. Suggested retail price is $5.99.

Carrier Mirror (Birth & Up) Inspire Vision: Babies love to look at human faces: This carrier mirror allows baby to gaze at the happiest face of all – his own! At first, very young infants peering into this mirror won’t understand that they are seeing themselves. In time, this learning will take place. The mirror also encourages parental interaction with baby – “Who is that?” “Look at your happy smile!” “Your eyes are so blue!” The mirror straps on to the carrier handles, placing the mirror at just the right height and angle for baby to see his reflection. Two spinning balls – one on each side of the mirror – feature reflective surfaces on one half and bold, geometric, black and white patterns on the other half. These high contrast patterns help baby focus and develop vision. A smiling caterpillar sits on top of the large mirror. Sporting bold, red and orange colors, he has a symmetrical, smiling face to engage and calm baby. Suggested retail price is $9.99.

Baby’s First Sounds (6 Months & Up) Inspires Communication: This set of books is filled with bright, bold images and made from sturdy, “wet-proof” material that stands up to eager hands, teething and readers who drool over the pages. The colors, geometric designs and symmetrical elements are perfect for calming baby and helping little ones focus. The words imitate baby’s first babbling sounds. Gripping titles include Ba-Ba which features words and images beginning with the “b” sound; Da-Da, a book of “d” words; and the series finale: Ma-Ma, a visual and literary tribute to the “m” sound. These sounds were chosen because they are the first sounds that babies are able to make, regardless of their native language. Reading these little books with baby encourages her to experiment with language and refine her skills. A soft, plush block features images from the books to reinforce the sights and sounds. Shake the block for a soft rattling sound. Suggested retail price for the three books and block is $9.99.

Look Book (3 Months & Up) Inspire Fascination: This little photo album holds seven large 6-inch by 4-inch photos and one smaller wallet size photo of the people baby loves most. To cultivate baby’s visual acuity, each photo is framed by a bold color and has a geometric pattern where photos are to be placed. Babies love to look at photos of real people and this little book provides the perfect album for little hands and hearts. A colorful tab at the bottom of each page helps baby learn to turn the book’s pages. A little black handle with white polka dots makes this a book baby won’t put down. Suggested retail price is $6.99.

Stim-Gym Playmat (Birth & Up) Inspire the Senses: Made of soft, padded fabric, this playmat features a bold, high contrast, smiling ladybug with a bright blue border. A black arch with dynamic, white polka-dots catches even the youngest baby’s gaze, allowing him to focus. Overhead on the arch, baby sees three brightly colored toys with geometric patterns and high contrast designs. A soft, curved cushion cradles young infants as they lie on their backs, providing a sense of security. As baby grows, the cushion doubles as a tummy time bolster. A self-standing, True Reflection™ mirror engages baby during tummy time, providing one of baby’s favorite sights – the human face. And, fabric loops hold toys for tummy time play. There are many tactile sensations to encourage baby’s sense of touch. And sounds, including music chimes and bells, to stimulate baby’s sense of hearing. Suggested retail price is $34.99

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This Holiday suggestion is part of MomDots Gift Guide. We received a product to assist us in verifying our recommendation.