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Toys for 3- to 6-month-olds


As he enters this stage, a baby discovers how much fun his own hands can be now that they're no longer clenched in a fist. He can suck his fingers, and use them to grasp a toy that has been placed in his hands. He has begun to reach for toys. He soon learns to pass a toy back and forth between his hands and rotate his wrist to inspect it from all sides, usually before popping it into his mouth.


Make sure that all toys are safe for chewing — check labels! And never attach a toy to a crib or playpen with elastic, which could end up strangling or entrapping your baby. By 6 months your baby can probably sit up, giving him a new perspective on life and making him the center of his own clanging, colorful, ever-changing world.


Activity center: This is basically a rack that comes with dangling toys and / or from which you can hang toys of your own choosing. It's only for a baby who is still horizontal, but it can make life more interesting while he is. Your baby can bat at the toys, pull them, spin them, and rattle them. He'll probably begin to lose interest in his activity center once he reaches 5 months or so and can push up on his hands and knees.


Lightweight rattles: Babies love making noise. Give him a rattle and watch him shake it up. Put on music with a strong beat so he can accompany it — babies this age generally love music and are just learning to appreciate rhythm. Some rattles are clear, letting your baby in on what's making all that cool noise.


Activity bars: These are bars hung with dangling, squeaky, tuggable plastic toys that fit across an infant seat, car seat, or stroller. This means that on long car trips or stroller rides, your baby can divert himself by exploring all the interesting noisy, grippable objects in front of him.


Soft stuffed animals: This is the age at which many children begin forming an attachment to a plush animal. Key criteria include soft and cuddly. You don't want anything with wire ears or tail that could poke through the fabric and hurt your child. You do want dolls and animals with stitched-on features. Soft toys with plastic eyes and mouth are potential choking hazards. Also off-limits are features such as bells, buttons, ribbons, and yarn that your baby can yank off and stuff into his mouth.


Squeaky rubber toys: Anything a baby can grip and squeak is usually popular with this age group. These toys are perfect for the tub. Expect to hear these squeaks — and your baby's happy squeals — often.


Board books: Reading to a child at any age will pay off. And board books can withstand mouthing, drooling, and most other forms of baby love. Listening to your voice helps your baby develop an ear for the cadence of language. And varying the pitch of your voice using accents, singing, and vocalizing will make reading together much more interesting to your child.


Colorful teething rings: There's nothing like gnawing on a soft plastic ring when your gums are sore. Some of these contain fluid that freezes softly when you store them in the freezer to provide cold relief when your baby needs it.


Activity quilts and playmats: These quilts can smooth a journey with your baby, whether you're going across the street or across the country. Spread one on the floor and your baby has a clean, familiar surface to play on wherever you go. Hooks sewn along the side mean you can attach his favorite toys and bring them, too.


Toys for 6- to 9-month-olds Your baby's play is becoming much more vigorous. When she picks up a spoon now she bangs it against pots and pans, and she furiously rattles the bunch of keys she finds. She can now grab two toys at once and slam them together. But her movements are also becoming more precise; thanks to her growing dexterity, she can pick a raisin off the floor.


She is becoming aware that objects still exist even when she can no longer see or feel them. This means she'll miss a favorite stuffed animal if she can't see it, and try to search for it. It also means you can begin playing hide-and-seek games with objects. Hide her teddy bear while she's looking, and she'll find it right away — and be very proud she did.


This is the age at which most babies go mobile. From sitting, it's a short developmental step to scooting around on her stomach, to rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, and then to crawling. By the time she's 8 months old she may be pulling herself up to a standing position and climbing your stairs. The following toys can help her explore her quickly developing senses.


Busy board: Many babies adore these activity boards that can be attached to a crib rail. They come with parts that move and spin, giving your baby a place to practice coordinating her hands with sensory experiences. She's also getting the idea that you can make things happen to objects — so poking, twisting, squeezing, shaking, dropping, and opening things will fascinate her.


Soft dolls or stuffed animals: Babies this age often develop an attachment to a "lovey," or favorite toy or blanket. And pediatricians encourage this connection, saying a familiar object can ease transitions later on. Still, some dolls and stuffed animals make more suitable loveys than others. Avoid ones with ribbons, plastic eyes, yarn, or anything that can be pulled off and put into your child's mouth. And don't get dolls so big they're hard for your baby to pick up and explore.


Balls: Balls are fun for just about any age. Lightweight fabric balls suit this particular crowd well. Roll one back and forth between the two of you on the floor, or when she's older, toss it across the room so can can crawl after it.


Household items: Look no farther than your kitchen cabinet for some of your baby's favorite items. A plastic bowl, some measuring cups, and wooden spoons will entertain your baby for a long time. Open the cupboard while you're preparing a meal and your baby will pull out a few utensils of her own and whip up something alongside you.


Wood or soft blocks: Show your baby how to stack a few blocks, and then knock them down. Pile them into containers for her — and dump them out. She'll get the idea. Stacking blocks and filling and dumping games are wildly popular in this age group.


Moving toys: As your baby begins to crawl and move around, she'll be more interested in toys that do the same. Find some sturdy cars she can push around the rug. Or toys that pop up when your baby pushes just the right spot.


Books: This is the age at which reading becomes more interactive and fun for both of you. Cloth or board books work well now. After you read the book, you can pass it to her so she can take a turn flipping the pages and "reading" to you.


Toys for 9- to 12-month-olds


By the time babies are 9 or 10 months old, they're usually able make their way around the room in some fashion — creeping, crawling, or cruising (walking with the furniture's assistance). By 12 months, many babies have risen to their feet and can stand and even walk.


Your baby has started using objects as tools, pushing a ball with a stick or chasing the carrots around his plate with a spoon. He's also more interested in interactive games. Tickle him and let him tickle you back. Talk on the phone and then pass it off to him so he can babble, then hand it back to you for another round.


His problem-solving skills are improving and now he'll take the lid off a clear container to get the toy he sees inside rather than trying to reach through it. And he's beginning to understand words and recognize the names of familiar objects.


On all fours or on two feet, giddy with the freedom of movement and mobility, a baby at this age will want move, grab, and get to whatever used to be out of reach.


Push toys: Push toys give your toddler a chance to exercise his new walking skills. Choose a push toy, like a wagon, that is heavily weighted so your baby can lean into it, and take a lap or two around the living room. (Most babies this age are still too young for pull toys, which are better for slightly advanced walkers who can look behind them as they move forward.) Newfound mobility is a heady experience. But even after the novelty of walking wears off, your baby will enjoy pushing and pulling toys for months to come.


Shape sorters: Trying to figure out why the square block won't go through the round opening is a nice challenge for early problem-solvers. This is one of those toys that fascinate, and only occasionally frustrate, babies this age.


Balls: He's encountered them before, but balls get even more thrilling when you assume a standing position and can actually bounce them off the floor.


Toy telephone: Babies love to imitate their parents. Even if he can't say much yet, a baby will try to communicate by holding the receiver and pushing buttons. The more realistic the phone, the better.


Books: At this age, children are particularly intrigued by books with flaps that open, textures that can be rubbed, and bunnies that need patting. For more ideas, see our recommended books for babies.


Blocks: Blocks give him the chance to practice the art of stacking. He can probably stack three or four at this point, so the subsequent crash is gratifying.


Pail and shovel: These tools come in handy when your baby's all-time favorite activity is filling and dumping, filling and dumping. Take these along to the sandbox, or out to the park and your baby will stay contented and busy for some time.