Category Archives: Sophie the Giraffe is Good for Infant Development

Sophie the Giraffe, the infant teething toy that has delighted generations of infants and their parents, is also good for infant learning and development.  Additionally, built in to Sophie Giraffe are a variety of means of encouraging childhood learning,  as well as stimulating the development all five of an infant's senses.  

Vulli, the French company that manufactures and distributes Sophie the Giraffe, claims that the teether stimulates a newborn infant's senses in a variety of ways, including:  "attention-catching spots … providing visual stimulation," the squeaker keeps baby amused and stimulates his (or her!) hearing," and the "soft texture and numerous chewable parts … make her perfect for soothing baby's sore gums."    

More specifically, the teething giraffe enhances and stimulates good infant development in the following ways:

Teething:  Clearly, the Giraffe Teether is well-equipped to assist an infant with the painful teething process.  Mothers immediately recognized the that Sophie the Giraffe was a "must" for teething infants, because chewing on the teething giraffe helped to relieve the pain from teething, and helped infants to stop crying.  To be sure, this has provided a great relief to infants AND their caring and concerned parents all over the world.   

Sight:  At three months of age, an infant's eyesight is limited, although it is certainly capable of discerning the difference between highly contrasting colors.  Most of Sophie's body is off-white in color, with nicely contrasting medium to dark brown, carmel-colored giraffe spots.  The brown giraffe spots serve to catch an infant's attention, and provide something "interesting" to look at, and to begin learning to focus on.  Being able to at least distinguish the difference in the contrasting off-white and yellow and brown colors of Sophie contributes to an infant's sense of reassurance and familiarity with this teether.  Additionally, reaching for, grabbing and chewing on Sophie Giraffe helps to begin the development of an infant's eye-hand (and eye-mouth!) coordination. 

Auditory:  Built in to Sophie's Giraffe tummy is a small, noise-making squeaker.  Pressing Sophie's tummy or head results in a funny, squeaking noise, typically delighting infants, and stimulating their sense of hearing.  This also helps to begin developing a baby's learning of a "cause and effect" relationship.  The "cause," is the pressing or squeezing the head or tummy of the Giraffe teething toy, and the "result," is the auditory squeak, which often amuses and delights the baby.

Tactile:  Well-known in child development is the fact that human babies need to touch and be touched in many different ways for healthy neurological development.  One of the primary means of touching and being touch, at least for infants, is through either their hands, or their mouths.  The objects that an infant can touch, grab and hold onto, and certainly those that they can put into their mouths are some of the first means of an infant's communication with the "outside" world.

The Sophie the Giraffe teething toy is an ideal size and weight and shape for an infant's small hands to reach for and grab.  Sophie stands seven inches tall, four inches wide, one inch deep, and weighs 1.6 ounces.  The natural rubber that Sophie is made from has a very suede-soft feel, like the infant's mother's skin.  This helps to stimulate a physiological and emotional response that can be very soothing to a baby, also promoting health growth and well-being.  

The Teething Giraffe has parts on its body that are "thicker," like the giraffe's body, and are "thinner," like the giraffe's soft, long neck and soft, long legs.  The entire teething toy is soft, slender, and very flexible.

Olfactory:  Made from a single piece of molded, 100% natural rubber from the hevea tree, Sophie Giraffe has a pleasant, unique sense of smell, which stimulates a baby's sense of smell.  This also makes the teether easy for a baby to identify and easy to locate amongst his or her other toys.  

Gustatory:  Sophie is completely safe for an infant to suck and chew on, with soft, "chewable" parts, including ears, horns, and legs, helping to soothe a teething baby's sore and irritated gums.  The teething giraffe is painted with a special formula of "food paint," completely safe for a baby to chew on.  The food paint paint resists rubbing or wearing or "flaking" off, however, is not made to endure rough scrubbing, abrasive cleaners, chemical cleaners, or hot temperatures.  Sophie the Giraffe is best cleaned with a soft, damp cloth.  

The teething giraffe contains no phthalates or BPA.