The Best Baby Toys, from Birth to 12 Months

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Play is truly a baby's work. Staring at a waving rattle is how they practice tracking with their eyes, reaching for a toy is how they get motivated to crawl and grasp, and getting attached to their favorite toys is an early way babies learn to regulate emotions.
If that all sounds intense for a person who can't even talk yet — it is! But also, pretty much anything is a toy to a baby. 'Babies are just starting to process the world through touch, sound, and movement, so anything soft, safe, and sensory-rich is wonderful,' says Haley DeSousa, M.Ed., head of curriculum and instruction at Haven childcare centers, which use a play-based, Montessori approach. (She's also a first-time expectant mom, so she understands how overwhelming the baby aisles can be!) 'I tell people to keep it pretty simple. Wave a scarf during tummy time, hand them a soft kitchen spatula to explore. You'll purchase toys, too, but it's helpful to know that you probably have many rich play materials right at home.'
Always note age grading, but especially with kids this young. A toy marked for 6 months and up will likely be frustrating or useless for a 3-month-old. A 4-month-old has vastly different skills and interests than a 10-month-old, and manufacturers try to signal age-appropriateness to parents so kids are presented with developmentally appropriate toys.
Avoid toys that 'perform' for your little one, and look for toys that are meant to engage them and that allow them to drive the play.
You'll want a fairly robust number of toys and household distractions around. Babies can seem to have a really short attention span, because after 5 or 10 minutes they might get overwhelmed. It will be a few years before you can expect your child to play with something for a half-hour. But the good news is that sitting in their bouncer or high chair and watching you, a sibling, the dog, or even a waving tree can be just as much fun for your baby as playing with a toy.
Amazon
$6
Oballs are ideal for young babies who are learning to grab objects. This ball is very easy to grasp, which helps your baby be successful and avoid frustration. Once they grab it, they can shake it around to rattle it and even start work on releasing objects by throwing it (look for that skill closer to their first birthday).
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Maisonette
$17
Infants see objects with high-contrast most clearly — it's why they stare at people's hairlines, or at men with beards, or at trees out the window. These beautiful black-and-white cards will catch their eye, too, and hold their attention. Set them on the ground at tummy time, or prop one where your baby can see it while they're in the bouncer seat. When your baby can grasp onto them, the cards are made to withstand manhandling, chewing, and exploring with sticky hands.
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Nordstrom
$35
The high-contrast black and white of this simple grasp ball makes it positively baby bait — they'll reach for it and work on learning to grasp it early on. It's made of organic cotton and has a ring attached so you can add it to their stroller or play gym.
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Amazon
$40 (was $115)
While there are plenty of great play gyms for a baby (see our reviews of three other play gyms we love), this new one from longtime brand Melissa and Doug combines best features for a very affordable price. The arches are sturdy wood, the mat reverses (black and white for infants, a colorful ocean for older babies) and the plush toys are high-quality. The whole thing folds down easily to stash away.
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Amazon
$18
Tens of thousands of five-star online reviews don't lie — this is a great toy for a young baby. It looks wild, but all those loops give a somewhat-uncoordinated little one plenty of places to grab on and hold. It's lightweight, and sometimes one of the first toys an infant can manage to bring up to their mouth — a major victory!
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Walmart
$17
Have a lovey around for your baby to get attached to. Self-soothing is a developmental milestone, so rather than fear they'll get dependent on clutching a blankie or plush friend, accept it as a way they'll calm themselves. Learn from our parenting experience: Help them get attached to something like Carter's Elephant blankie that is inexpensive and easy to replace, because the day will come when Ellie (or whatever your baby loves) will get misplaced and you'll need another, or a backup.
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Walmart
$15
Babies spend a hilarious amount of time enchanted by their own hands and feet. Make it even more fun with these socks and wristlets that turn their limbs into waving, rattling toys. Lay your baby on their back on a safe spot and they can entertain themselves looking at the high-contrast designs. All can be machine-washed.
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Haba
$18
The handle of your car seat or the bumper on a stroller practically cry out for something interesting for your baby to look at — this spiral toy fits the bill. Your baby can watch the shapes wave and sway, and eventually reach up to grab them. It's a much-appreciated distraction on a drive or long outing.
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Amazon
$14 (was $16)
Simple, classic baby toys get a clever spin with this set of three infant toys. The taco crinkles and has tomato-shaped teethers, the avocado rattles and has a roller ball, and the lemon and lime clack together with a satisfying sound.
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Amazon
$40
This set of plush sensory toys — the textured veggies can be pulled out and set into a field of 'dirt,' the seed packets crinkle — can also be sat upright so the reverse side, a play mirror, attracts your infant during tummy time. It stays interesting the entire first year — first for gazing, then for grasping, then for 'gardening.'
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Fat Brain Toys
$11
See the phenomenon in action: Just as kids get excited about the box a toy comes in, babies get thrilled by the tags on toys. This brand capitalizes on that by having tags all over their toys! Babies can rub the silky loops, pull the elephant's tail, grasp the ear for a crinkling sound — and the whole thing can go in the washing machine if you've got a drooler.
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Walmart
$4
This might be the best bang for your toy buck ever. Babies love how the 'keys' knock together, and each of the three are actually a teether that's meant to be chewed on to provide some relief from teething pain. Cool it in the fridge and it can provide some numbing relief, too. It's easy to hook onto your diaper bag and have with you on outings.
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Lovevery
$92
If you've not already discovered these age-and-stage-based toy kits, now is a good time. The toys are spot-on for what your young baby is interested in and capable of handling, and the parent guide will walk you, the grown-up, through ways to engage your baby and promote development. If you love it, know that there are kits available for every three-month period through age 4.
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Maisonette
$50
Such a pretty sensory toy! This coral-reef-themed activity ball gives your baby many textures to explore, and includes both a teether and a small baby-safe mirror. It's lightweight and relatively small, about 8 inches by 7 inches, and has a loop for attaching it to a play gym or elsewhere. You'll want to hand-wash this one if it gets over-loved.
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Lalo
$95
There's nothing that will make you more self-conscious about the floors in your home than your infant being ready for rolling and crawling, and putting their hands in their mouth in between workout sessions. A cute floor mat will look good and give your little one a soft, easy-to-clean spot for playtime.
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Amazon
$142
Your baby might be ready for an upright activity center like this one at 4 or 5 months, but 6 months is more of a sure bet, when they have good neck control and their feet can reach the bounce mat with the keyboard. There are toys everywhere your baby turns on this! Later, remove the seat and turn this into a play table for other toys. It can stay useful for years.
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Walmart
$21
Halfway through the first year your baby will already be showing a sense of humor and a love of all things silly. This highly rated toy can be tipped over but pops back up, which leads to a total gigglefest for babies. It plays songs and sounds and lights up, too. Set it just out of reach to give your baby some incentive to crawl over and play with it.
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Fat Brain Toys
$13
As your baby starts to use a high chair for meals, we suggest a stick-on toy to keep them entertained and sitting longer. PipSquigz Loops adhere to the tray and provide tactile, rattling fun. They're food-grade silicone and safe for chewing, too.
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Walmart
$35
At 6 months your baby is at the 'fill and spill' stage, where taking objects out of something and then putting them back in is endlessly entertaining. This toy, a pretend fishbowl with little sea creatures, makes the exercise even better with lights, sounds, and songs if you choose to turn on the electronics (the batteries are included).
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Amazon
$5
Your baby's teeth continue to come in during the second half of the first year. This teether is easy for your baby to hold, and the massaging bristles can clean their gums too.
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Target
$28
Between 9 and 12 months your baby will become fascinated by the idea of object permanence — the concept that when something is hidden, it still exists. It's what makes peek-a-boo fun for them, and what will crack them up about this set of a wooden box and yellow ball. They drop the ball inside (practicing hand-eye coordination) then fish it out through the little door — over and over again.
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Amazon
$8 (was $9)
Didn't we all play with this rocking set of stacking rings? It takes a surprising number of fine motor skills for a baby to get each of the five rings onto the peg, which is why we suggest it for 9 months and up. The top ring has rattling beads inside.
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Lalo
$13
By this age, you're going to start to need bath toys to make bathtime more like playtime. Nesting, stacking cups are one of the simple toys that DeSousa recommends. Lalo's six-piece set has drainage holes on every piece for water play, and they also nest together to make a pretty, pleasing shape.
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Amazon
$29 (was $35)
At under a year old, your baby will likely just bang away on these keys, but that's all good fun. Later, they might be able to follow the color-coded music sheets to pick out simple tunes. You can set this wooden piano so that your child is making the music, or so that it plays familiar songs for them to move to (Beethoven's "Ode to Joy,' Mozart's "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"). It has volume control.
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Haba
$20
Soon your baby will graduate to stacking wooden blocks, but in the meantime they can learn to set these soft blocks on top of each other. Each of the five is printed with a different animal and there are textures, crinkly noises, and squeakers, too.
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Walmart
$85 (was $100)
You're going to want to encourage your baby's gross motor skills, too. This playhouse is huge for your baby but only 36 inches long for your playroom. They can crawl through the swinging door, pull up on the table, and walk around the house. They can also turn the light switch on or off, ring the doorbell, put pretend mail through a slot, or do any of dozens of other activities. The sounds and phrases the toy makes can be set to any of three stages, from simple sounds for a baby this age to lessons about numbers and colors for a toddler.
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We've come to call it her 'noticing notebook.' She also asked her team two questions every week: 'What would you do if you were me?' and 'What are you struggling with, and how can I help?' Leaders who are great noticers tend to do these three things: They have a process and practice for observing the details of people's work and lives. They note those details, which is a powerful way to retrain our attention. They share back what they observed. Noticing others creates understanding and understanding creates trust. 4. Affirmation can be more powerful than appreciation or recognition. When Jane's supervisor defined custodian, he provided her with indisputable evidence of her significance. That's what makes affirmation different and more powerful than appreciation or recognition. Appreciation is a form of gratitude for who someone is. Recognition is a form of gratitude for what someone does. Affirmation reveals how someone's uniqueness makes a unique difference. One way to affirm someone is to give more meaningful gratitude. Any time you say, 'Thank you' or 'Good job,' go one step further and show people the difference they make and exactly how they make it. First, name people's unique gifts. Everyone offers us four unique gifts every day: Strengths: what they love and they're good at Purpose: the impact they make Perspective: how they see the world Wisdom: what only they can teach us from living their life Second, show them vividly the unique impact they make. For example, a facilities manager I worked with at the National Park Service would take photos of park visitors using projects his team worked on. He had a process of emailing them every Friday and attaching the pictures. He simply wrote: Look what you did. Thank you. He gave them indisputable evidence of their significance. 5. When people feel replaceable, they will act replaceable. To feel that we matter, we must feel needed. In 1913, the French agricultural engineer Max Ringelmann had groups of students pull on a rope as hard as possible. The rope was attached to a device called a dynamometer to measure force. Then, he had the same students pull the rope as hard as they could as individuals. He added up the force readings. Who do you think exerted the most total force: groups or individuals? It was the individuals. Why? Because they knew they and their effort were indispensable. 'To feel that we matter, we must feel needed.' When people feel replaceable, they act replaceable. But when people feel irreplaceable, they tend to act irreplaceable. When I interviewed people and asked them when they most felt that they mattered, people frequently mentioned some version of these five words being said to them: 'If it wasn't for you …' Think of someone you rely on. Now think of the last time you've told them, 'If it wasn't for you …' If you say these words to them, you'll see and feel the power of mattering, and you'll be putting into practice a skill that sets great leaders apart from the rest: showing people how they matter.