Forget all the educational and stimulating toys for babies its parental interaction that counts.
A study by a research group says babies do not benefit in the long term from just having stimulating toys to play with.
Toys and books had a major link to children's development at the time, but the Institute of Education found no significant future associations.
The most important factor, especially for mothers with little education, was playing with and talking to their children, said the London institute.
The report's lead author, Dr Leslie Gutman, writes toys and books in the home did have an impact on children's physical co-ordination and social development, it just doesn't have an effect 12 months later.
Dr Gutman added "Toys and books have their place and do help children develop but what is important is having the parents interact with the chid, parents reading to their children is much more important than having a hundred books."
Children whose mothers took them out developed better social skills and motor development, such as using a pencil or tying shoelaces.
In line with other research, the study found that mothers with higher education and family incomes reported more interactions with their children.
For the most part, though, the effect of income levels was small and diminished as babies got older.
"A good level of education is therefore not only important for the individual, but also for their family and may have effects across generations," said the report, compiled for the Department for Education and Skills.
A spokeswoman for the department said the government wanted to make sure all families got the help they needed but recognised that more needed to be done to help the disadvantaged.