6 - 12 Months

Toys for 6 month old babies have a busy half-year to keep up with, from the first weeks of sitting up to the first birthday. This range brings soft balls to clutch, wooden rattles and teethers, and a few first puzzles of cause and effect.

Six months: toys to grab, shake and chew

Around six months, everything passes from one hand to the other and then into the mouth. Fabric clutch balls full of holes are easy for small fingers to catch, and the chime bell ball or the pastel wooden maracas answer every shake with a sound. Wooden teething rings and the rattles and teethers for infants give gums something firm to chew, while a wooden dummy clip saves a lot of picking up.

When choosing toys for infants 6 months old who are not crawling yet, think about what they can reach from where they sit: a light ball that rolls a short way makes them lean and twist to fetch it, good practice for the first crawl.

Toys for 9 month old babies on the move

Between eight and ten months, babies start crawling, pulling up and dropping things on purpose. The object permanence box with drawer and ball fits this stage well: the ball vanishes through the hole, then comes back when the drawer slides open. The roly-poly tumbler rocks back upright after every push, and the rainmaker rainstick pours its beads slowly from one end to the other each time it is turned over.

A wooden activity cube or the pull-and-flex centipede gives busy hands something to slide, turn and stretch, and the crinkle-and-squeak fabric book becomes a first shared read on your lap.

Soft, wooden or teething: which to pick first

Start with what your baby does most right now. If everything goes in the mouth, pick a teether or a rattle that doubles as one. If your little one sits steadily and loves dropping things, the permanence box, one of the simplest Montessori games for this age, will come out every day. Soft fabric toys suit the cot and the car seat, while wooden rattles and shakers are better for floor play.