Baby’s love to play! If you have a 9-12 month old baby you probably already know they’re full of curiosity, eager to learn, and always on the go! Here are some of the best toys for 9-12 month old babies to help them learn and explore.
Your 9-12 month old baby is on the move and probably into everything!
They’re also probably board with many of the toys that engaged them up until now and ready for new toys to help them continue building their skills.
I try to rotate toys and change our environment to keep my baby interested.
We switch things up a lot going between fine motor, gross motor, and social activities throughout the day.
The Best 9-12 Month Old Baby Toys
Gross Motor Toys and Activities for 9-12 month year old babies
- Sit without support
- Crawl
- Walk while holding something for support (a hand or toy)
- Imitate you as you roll a ball
- Pull to stand and cruise around furniture
- Walk with 2 hands held
- Stand for a few seconds
My babies both loved pulling up, surfing the furniture, climbing and crawling at this stage.
I try to create a safe space for them to work on their new skills with out always wanting to tell them to be careful. Trust me it’s hard to fight those helicopter mama urges!
Play Couch
My nine month old LOVES our play couch. Bonus this is something that you can start using now and keep on using for years! If you’re wondering if it’s worth it I totally wish I’d bought ours sooner!
There are so many builds to allow you baby to learn how to safely navigate getting up and down level changes.
Babies need opportunities to grown muscles and coordination. When you provide your baby with opportunities to meet their developmental needs they’ll generally be calmer and more content.
Tunnels
You can buy a tunnel like this one, or make your own out of a cardboard box, chairs and a sheet, or a play couch if you have one. Go to the other end and encourage your baby to crawl through.
Pikler Triangle
Pikler triangles let your baby to test and challenge themselves in a safe and supervised way. You can leave the triangle or climbing arch out in the play area for them to begin exploring on their own. I recommend making sure it’s on a soft surface.
Your baby can start using the pikler triangle as early as 6 months to pull up and stand up then begin climbing as they continue to explore, build skills and confidence.
Ball Pit
Ball pits are great for growing both gross and fine motor skills. They improve balance, hand-eye coordination, and throwing and catching skills — plus they’re fun!
You can purchase an inexpensive on like this, a soft one that matches your playroom, or even dump some balls in a play yard or pack and play.
If you’re going to get a ball pit make sure you get some balls too! I totally ordered ours without them the first time.
Fine motor skills for 9-12 month old babies
- Able to release an object
- Gives you a toy when asked
- Bangs two toys together
- Turns a few pages of a book at a time
- Begins to put objects into a container
- Points to objects
- Stacks two blocks
Blocks
Blocks are an amazing open ended toy. These soft blocks are a great first block for baby. They are easy to grip and practice stacking.
You can talk about their colors, the animals on them and count them to build vocabulary.
These wooden blocks are an amazing toy that your baby can start using now and will love for years to come!
This set it my favorite because it’s set up to serve the purpose of multiple toys! It’s blocks, beading toys, a pull toy, a shape sorter, peg dolls, and has the possibility for endless open ended imaginative play through the toddler years. You can give your baby a few blocks now and continue to expand their options as they grow their skills.
Books
Turning the pages of a book is great for fine motor skills. Just one of son many benefits of reading with your baby from day one.
These soft books are a great option for babies at this stage.
I also recommend giving your baby open access to board books that they can read with you or explore on their own.
Wooden Activity Cube
Both of my kids loved this toy. It includes so many pieces for babies to practice manipulating objects in a safe way. My kids also loved using it as a sturdy option for practicing pulling up and standing.
*This post contains affiliate link. All opinions are my own.
What were your favorite toys for 9-12 month old babies? Let us know in the comments so we can check them out!
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