These are the best toys for babies to keep little ones’ interest and engagement during play while promoting important skills.
Important baby milestones include: rolling, learning to sit, crawling, standing, and walking. Free play on the floor is probably the most important developmental experience for babies with regard to the development of these motor skills.
And working in some fun toys is a great way to keep things exciting and fun! Here are some of our favorite gross motor toys, fine motor toys, and sensory toys for babies!
Click here to find links to all of the toys below in one handy guide!
Development-Boosting Toys for Babies
Gross Motor Toys for Babies
1 || Tummy Time Play Mat:
The soft, cushioned, quick-folding and portable Super Mat features bright squares with engaging animal characters and patterns. The mat is big enough for sharing, whether it’s you and your baby or a play date with a group of little ones. The mat is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, is machine washable, and is the perfect place for lots of tummy time practice!
2 || Textured Ball Set
Your baby is fascinated with her hands at this age and these balls are the perfect accessory for her exploration. BPA-Free, colorful and easy to grab, this set of 6 textured balls will stimulate her sensory system as she plays!
3 || Press and Crawl Turtle
This cute little turtle is irresistible with its rewarding sounds and music as well as its ability to move! Your baby will love pressing the button and learning cause and effect as the turtles head pops out to encourage a little chase. Crawling has never been so fun!
4 || Climber and Play Mat:
Wedge mats are great for encouraging gross motor skills, core strengthening and more. This sweet butterfly is covered in soft, 14 oz. vinyl that’s comfortable to play on and easy to clean. Your child will love climbing up and rolling down over and over again!
5 || Play Tent and Tunnel:
This Adventure Set play tent is an adorable gift for all kids. The spring-pop tunnel tube joins the cubby tent & Teepee together to create a single play area. Each component can be used together or separately and it features fast and easy set up/breakdown with no tools for immediate play!
Fine Motor Toys for Babies
1 || Oball
This smooth, flexible ball has 28 finger holes making it incredibly easy for baby to grasp. Clear rattles with colorful beads make fun sounds as baby shakes it, chases it or drops it from her high chair for an awesome game of cause and effect.
2 || Tobbles
This toy might be the first STEM experience for baby! It provides sensory exploration, fine motor skills, coordination, and visual spatial acuity as baby stacks, topples, spins, balances, wobbles, tilts, wiggles, and rolls the colorful pieces.
3 || ABC Block Party Set
Baby will love to stack up and knock down the fun-looking, fun-sounding foam blocks and inserts for hours of playtime fun. This set features 8 fabric covered foam blocks with 6 interchangeable inserts to shake, rattle, and roll to keep your child entertained.
4 || Match and Roll Shape Sorter
This brightly colored wooden shape sorter is an exciting update on a classic toy! Toddlers can drop the dozen-plus vibrant wooden shapes through the color-matched holes, then roll the drum along, open the lid, and start all over again. An early-learning powerhouse that encourages color and shape recognition, manual dexterity, and more!
Sensory Toys for Babies
1 || Ferguson Crawl and Discover Play and Pat Activity Mat:
This Crawl and Discover Play Mat features a true variety of sensory activities for your baby’s all important tummy time play. Babies love to grasp, hold and experience the different textures on the mat, flaps and teething rings. They will clack the rings together and discover the hidden crinkle paper and will beam with their new ability to create sounds. The visually engaging baby-safe mirror and high-contrast images and graphics will have your baby’s curiosity piqued for hours on end.
2 || Infantino Sensory Discover and Play Ball
Shake up some fun! With sliding beads, a spinning mirror, rattling rainstick and fun squeaker sounds, this easy-to-grasp sensory ball playfully encourages visual and tactile discovery while developing fine motor coordination.
3 || Sassy Development Sensory Ball Set
Sensory Ball Set includes 3 balls: 1 plush, 1 hard plastic with rattle and 1 soft textured plastic. These all have high-contrast patterns to help promote development of baby’s vision, and have graspable areas for baby to shake toy and be introduced rhythms. Not only will baby play with these, they will eventually bounce, squeeze, throw and even catch them as baby learns!
4 || Fisher Price Sensory Stages 2 in 1 Swing & Bouncer
Every baby develops at their own pace, and this bouncer lets you choose the stage that’s best for your baby! There are a variety of developmentally appropriate colors, toys, music and sounds on each side of the toy bar. As baby grows, turn the toy bar around to keep older babies entertained with a colorful toy bar full of animal friends and upbeat tunes and sounds.
5 || Sophie the Giraffe
Sophie the Giraffe, full of discoveries and activities to awaken baby’s senses. Sight: The dark and contrasting spots all over Sophie the Giraffe’s body provide visual stimulation and make her easily recognizable to baby. She soon becomes a familiar and reassuring object. Hearing: Her squeaker keeps baby amused and stimulates his hearings. Taste: Sophie the Giraffe is very flexible and has lots of parts for baby to chew like ears, horns, legs. She is perfect for soothing baby’s sore gum when teething and is completely safe.
More Fun Activities for Babies
Developmental Activities for Infants
Ready to try out our best development-boosting activities for babies? These fun ideas will have your little one engaged in hands-on, movement-based play all day long!
When Do Babies Crawl?
Learn more about the crawling milestone and how this skill develops in babies – including fun ideas to support crawling at home!
When Do Babies Roll Over?
Want to learn more about the rolling milestone? This post talks about this fun new form of transportation for your little one!
When Do Babies Walk?
If you’re asking yourself “what age do babies walk“? You’re not alone! Many parents and caregivers wonder when this milestone will happen for their child. Learn more here!
