Veronika has played with foam blocks in the past; she loves their texture and shape, and I love that I don’t have to worry about injuries with such a soft toy. But a 7-month-old baby can play with wooden blocks, too; you just need to use a little more caution and care.

Because of their sharp edges, I don’t recommend letting your baby have unsupervised play with wooden blocks at this age. Instead, pick a time for this activity and make sure you are sitting right next to baby the whole time.

Veronika received a beautiful set of painted blocks as a gift at birth, and this was the first time I presented them to her.

First she simply enjoyed reaching for them in the box.

Next, I set them out for her. The blocks immediately felt good in her hands.

And make excellent teethers.

Then came the real fun: knocking down towers!

As with soft block towers, Veronika can’t resist knocking them over as soon as she sees them. The difference is that I kept the height lower and made sure they were angled away from her so no sharp edges came tumbling her way.

She loves it every time they go boom – and even started a motion that I think might count as her first clap! Block towers are such a simple but effective way to teach a baby about cause-and-effect, and it was a delight to watch her play.

When we were done, I packed the wooden blocks away until next time.