Shakira Planning New Album, World Tour

She talked to Efe following the presentation in Barcelona of First Steps, the collection of toys she designed in partnership with Fisher-Price.

One of the goals of her first foray into the world of toys is “to be able to continue generating profits to develop additional early childhood development initiatives in Latin America,” Shakira said.

Among her current projects, she said, the one she is most excited about it “to produce an album in Spanish.”

But the singer is in no rush.

“I will be able to get back to everything next year,” she said.

Shakira revealed in August that she and FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique were expecting their second child. Their son, Milan, was born in January 2013.

On her new role as a toy designer, Shakira, now 37, pointed out that through her Fundacion Pies Descalzos (Barefoot Foundation), she has been active in education since the age of 18.

Given that commitment, designing a line of toys for infants “makes all the sense in the world,” she said, noting that the designs were inspired by what she learned from playing with Milan.

Shakira said being a mother has helped her better understand how a child develops in terms of social, motor and cognitive skills, while teaching her that toys are among a child’s most important development tools.

Motherhood has also pushed her to better manage her time, she said.

“Before, I could be in the recording studio until 4:00 in the morning and today I no longer have this luxury, this privilege, because my family needs me,” Shakira said.

“I believe I have learned to be much more concrete ... to get to the point more quickly,” she said.

Her favorite items from First Steps are the lettered cubes, which remind her of the ones she had when she was young.

“I love to read to my child and I have been doing since a few days after his birth,” Shakira said, adding that she devotes a lot of time to educational interaction with young Milan.

Even so, she said, the most important thing for children “is to receive affection.”

“Touch them and hug them a lot, expressions of affection that are never excessive and which are vital in the psychosocial and emotional development of a child,” Shakira urged parents.