As a mom of two girls and a child psychologist, I see personally and professionally how play helps with development, social skills, emotion regulation, parenting skills, and behavior problems. People often ask me, what the best toys for babies are. Or, what I have in my own kids’ playroom. This is why I started a social media series. There, I share fresh ideas for every month of early childhood. Sometimes a common theme emerges around the toys, but in reality – most fit under multiple categories.
Here is the full list of what I think are the best toys for babies 0-12 months old and why:
Infantino Sensory Balls, Blocks, & Buddies
Promote sensory exploration and help develop gross and fine motor skills
Infantino's set checked off a lot of boxes for us. They're durable and colorful. They're great as an intro for naming, counting, and sorting. And most importantly, they promote sensory exploration and help develop gross and fine motor skills.
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Little Tikes Activity Garden Baby Playset
Develop fine motor skills
This was one of our favorites with our older daughter too. She still takes her stuffed animals to the "playground" sometimes. 🤣 It's totally worth the money. There's a shape sorter, ball drop, crawling slide, tap piano, and shutters and a door that open and close. It's great for gross and fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, teaching containment, and playing peek-a-boo.
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Skip Hop Explore & More Egg Shaker Trio
A fun musical toy
Anything that rattles or jingles is still a big hit. She is finally able to comfortably hold these and shake for longer periods of time. Rattles help with attention span, fine motor and grip skills.
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Munchkin Caterpillar Spillers Stacking and Straining Cups Bath Toy
Our favorite baby stacking cups
Cups promote lots of skills including tower-building, nesting, containment, and pouring. Our toddler has also continued to use these in a variety of pretend-play scenarios. Most recently, she used them as "ice-cream cones" that held some of the "ice-cream", crush-proof balls from our favorite trampoline and ball pit.
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My First Touch and Feel Picture Cards: Animals
Great touch and feel series of cards
In the same vein of Usborne's books, they help babies become familiar with different textures and introduces new vocabulary.
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That’s Not My Puppy
Great touch and feel series of books
Usbourne has some great touch and feel books in their "That's Not My _______" series. They help babies become familiar with different textures and introduces new vocabulary.
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SwaddleDesigns Baby Lovie, Small Security Blanket
A fun peek-a-boo blanket
Ours is from our Lovevery subscription, but SwaddleDesigns makes great lovey and muslin blankets that work just as well. It's a fun game for object permanence and social development. When she covers herself and pulls off the blanket, it also helps with her gross motor development.
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As my little one grows, I will update this list so bookmark the page for great toy ideas every month!