Updated November, 2023
At a little over 6 months your little one is becoming so much more aware and capable than they have been for the first few months of their lives. So now that they are developing their own little personalities, what sorts of toys and activities can you offer to help them engage, learn, and grow more? These are my top suggestions for toys for babies 6-12 months.
Books
I warned you that books were going to be on every list from me. Your child is old enough to start really engaging with the pictures in books and exploring the stories. Keep your books short and simple, and you still want board books for your child to manipulate on their own.
I’m sure sensory cube isn’t the official name for this toy, but your child loves exploring things with their senses. Anything you can give them that will challenge multiple senses will be fun for them. If it also has little puzzles to figure out, all the better.
If you haven’t gotten an activity mat yet, this is a great time to look into them. These mats come with a lot of different toys for your child to explore. It is also a great place to have tummy time and practice moving around. Some even have mirrors on them, which many children love. Read all about my activity mat suggestions here.
You can start moving away from the very easy, grippy balls to more round ones. Soft sensory ones are still fun as well, so something that is less about rolling and more about exploring is really great.
I will never tell you to encourage your child to walk before they are ready. Crawling is too important to skip through to walking. A lot of walking toys are a lot of fun though, even if your child isn’t walking or interested in it yet. We got a walking train for Monster and they loved it just to play with the blocks, the different sounds, and to see it roll. Now that Monster is walking well, they also like to ride on it, extending the life of this toy well into 18 months.
Bath time is becoming more and more fun. As your child begins sitting up confidently and gaining solid core strength, you can move them into a bigger bath tub and really let them have the time to play. I highly encourage water toys in the bathtub. Anything from foam letters that they can chew on all the way to cups they can practice filling and pouring. And of course, buy a nice size container of bubbles for added fun.
Around 8 months most children are starting to show more and more interest in eating solid foods. This may transfer to following you around the kitchen, constantly under foot. A great option to include them in the meal process is to provide them their own set of pretend food. A play kitchen is likely a little advanced for them still, but the food will be fun for them to explore.
Children learn through music and song. So providing them with some instruments that they can play on their own is great. I highly recommend at least one drum, as well as some shaker eggs. I do want to warn you away from electronic instruments. While I tend to just dislike electronics for my children, I have also had really bad luck with them. We’ve had probably 2 or 3 electronic drums and every single one of them has broken within a year. That is not the long term investment I’m typically looking for in our materials.
I’m not sure it is possible to have too many blocks. Blocks provide so much opportunity for open ended play that I’m not sure there will ever be a reason to get rid of blocks. At this age I recommend cushy blocks that your child can start stacking, or nestling blocks that they can sort into.
If your child loves the water, investing in a little backyard pool could be a summertime favorite. I find the soft, foldable ones to be easier to store. Also I have cats so the inflatable ones always get popped. These fold-able ones can have an issue with a wall collapsing if you don’t have enough water in it though, so there are pros and cons to both. If you do decide to purchase a pool, make sure your child is never around it while unattended.
Once your child is starting to pull up to standing, a nice sand and water table will be great for them. We kept water in ours for most of the summer and Monster never grew tired of it. The practice of filling and pouring is great for motor development. Sand is just as successful in this table as water, so you can move it inside for the winter for continued play.
By this time, there is a good chance your child has outgrown their baby swings. That doesn’t mean they don’t love the soothing motion anymore though. Getting a little porch swing for your little one could continue to provide that soothing motion. Or some children love the bouncy doorway swing so they can practice the powerful movement of jumping.
I was trying to decide what the best art material at this age might be. Despite markers being easier to use, the heavier pressure required to be successful with crayons helps your child make more intentional marks on paper. It also works their fine motor skills a little more as well. So while it may feel like they aren’t having a lot of success with crayons, I think it’s worth introducing at this stage. And of course, as long as you have some backup paint in the house, I’m sure you will be fine.
Sensory Exploration
This is a broad category and will likely look different for every family. I highly encourage buying average household ingredients in bulk so that you can do activities often and without fear of waste. These are things like flour, food coloring, corn starch, and baking soda. These every day ingredients are found in a lot of baby and toddler art or science experiments that you can do.
You can buy play dough or make it, depending on which is more enticing to you. Either way, playing with play dough can help your child develop fine motor skills. Just make sure it is safe for them to eat.
The activity center is similar to the sensory cube but on a larger scale. Something your child can sit with and explore. It’s also large enough that they can pull themselves up on it while they are still pretty small. Again, the variety offered in this cube extends its lifetime to two years, easily.
Don’t expect your child to master stacking rings at this phase. And don’t worry if they don’t stack largest to smallest. They will get there. For now, the practice of getting the ring over the rod is the important part. The electronic one that plays music really captured Monster’s attention when they were little, but once they were older they preferred the wooden one.
