Innovation in toy design proceeds with giant steps; it is no coincidence that we use this expression because in this new article we present the Explore & More Follow-Bee Crawl Toy, a toy to help children in crawling.

During the initial months of life baby develops in a surprising way, and the growth also passes through the crawl, the first stage of locomotion. Moving independently allows the child to explore the surrounding environment and consequently develops aspects such as perception, knowledge and sociality. Growth in coordination and balance is crucial for motor development, which generally starts from the first 5 – 6 months of life.

Skip Hop company has developed a product for this stage, a toy to help children in crawling. Follow-Bee is composed by a bee on a cloud. The two elements are linked but independent and work either individually or together based on the different stage of growth. In the pre-crawling phase the child will be able to play with the bee that is designed to swing on itself and return to the vertical position without falling; in that of the beginner crawler the cloud makes simple circular movements, so as not to move away from the child; in the last phase, that of advanced crawlers, the bee and the cloud move in random paths, using the integrated sensors of the toy, to train the child and encourage it in chase.

Follow-Bee is particularly interesting to analyze how toy designers have found a very simple and effective way to grow the toy with the baby. It is an extremely educational product because it naturally and playfully recreates the aspects of discovery and exploration, motor skills and sensory development. The bee character is also very strong and aesthetically intriguing for the baby, especially when combined with lights and sounds integrated into the cloud.

These elements led the jury of the ‘Kind + Jugend 2017 Innovation Award’ to award Follow-Bee with the first prize in the “World of toys” category with full marks for Innovation, Security, Design, Ease of Use and Quality in Manufacturing.