Every fastening a small child has to defeat, gathered onto one soft cube.

Zips, buttons, laces and buckles sit across the faces, and a toddler can work at whichever one interests them for as long as they like. That freedom matters. Learning a buckle on the floor at their own pace is a completely different proposition from learning it on a coat while a parent stands by the door.

The skill underneath is bilateral coordination, two hands doing different things at the same time. It is one of the harder things a toddler learns, and it is the foundation for cutlery, scissors and eventually handwriting.

Louis looks fierce and is anything but: a soft-hearted wolf who mostly wants to go for a picnic.

Entirely soft fabric with no hard edges. Machine washable at 30 degrees on a gentle cycle. Lilliputiens is a Belgian brand, founded in 1995 and designed by a team largely made up of parents working alongside early-childhood specialists. Tested to EN71 and ASTM standards and screened for AZO dyes, cadmium and phthalates.

EVERY FASTENING ON ONE CUBE - Zips, buttons, laces and buckles across the faces. This is the practical groundwork for a child dressing themselves, in a form they will actually practise with.

PRACTICE WITHOUT THE MORNING PRESSURE - Mastering a buckle on the living room floor at their own pace is an entirely different experience from learning it on a coat with everyone waiting.

TWO HANDS DOING DIFFERENT THINGS - Threading a lace or closing a zip demands bilateral coordination, one of the genuinely difficult skills of the toddler years, and one that underpins writing later.

LOUIS MAKES IT A GAME - Louis looks fierce and is anything but: a soft-hearted wolf who mostly wants to go for a picnic. Children stick at a repetitive task considerably longer when there is a character attached to it.

SOFT AND WASHABLE - Entirely fabric with no hard edges, so it can be thrown, sat on and carried around. Machine washable at 30 degrees on a gentle cycle. Tested to EN71 and ASTM standards and screened for AZO dyes, cadmium and phthalates.

12 months and above

100% polyester fabric with zips, buttons, laces and buckles

LOUIS WOLF DEXTERITY CUBE