Inside: Looking for educational baby toys to stimulate your 6-9-month-old? See our top picks for brain-boosting toys best for a growing baby!
After seeing how popular my post on best baby toys for 3-6-month olds, I wanted to follow that one up with a baby toy guide for a more active and growing baby in the 6-9 month range.
Babies over 6 months old begin to embark on a more exciting developmental stage, with more active play. This is the period where you’ll find your baby is staying awake for longer stretches during the day, finally getting in more of a routine and becoming mobile!
And while normal development in babies can follow a wide range, the recommendations below are simply an average — so don’t be too concerned about where your baby actually falls, but instead, focus on setting baby up for success by simply introducing a variety of age-appropriate toys to support development.
Best Toys for Babies 6-9 Months
When I was first searching for developmental toys for my 6 months + baby, I knew I wanted to start with toys that could complement those skills baby was naturally approaching: motor, cause and effect and mobile development. The baby toys below take all of those major developmental stages into account.
Wooden Activity Cube
A wooden activity cube provides your growing 6-9-month-old baby with a plethora of opportunities to refine hand-eye coordination, fine-motor skills and even learn a bit about cause and effect! This particular trusted set made from sturdy, colorful materials lets your baby choose from 5 areas to practice those essential skills.
Stacking Cups
Yes, I know I mentioned stacking toys in my baby guide for 3-6-month-olds, but I mention it here again because it is a classic toy that is incredibly helpful to baby along various stages of development. You can go with a simple set for younger babies like this brand, or try this block set for stacking and sorting which baby can continue playing with past the 6-month mark.
Crawling Toys
Crawling will be a major milestone developing in the 6-9-month-old range. Normal progression can have a wide range of course — I remember my oldest started to crawl between 7 and 8 months while my youngest became mobile at 6 — so it really depends. Regardless, you should be prepared with a number of toys to encourage playful crawling.
This pop-up play tunnel is such a fun option to incorporate into baby’s routine, as well as any of these sensory toys baby can use as motivation to reach for:
Activity Stations
As your baby learns to support his/her little body, pretty soon a lot of time will be spent sitting and playing. Let baby explore play in this new position with an activity jumper or station. These allow baby to safely play in a contained space and master those hand and finger skills like reaching, pointing, grabbing.
We owned this specific brand for our babies and it absolutely got great usage — lots of physical activity and mental stimulation — but have also heard raving comments about this Baby Einstein one!
As baby builds those gross motor skills and muscles, he or she will begin to push up on furniture and even stand. I remember when my baby started furniture surfing at this age making babyproofing a big concern. Be prepared with an activity table or musical table that baby can play with — either seated or standing position work nicely here.
I loved the LeapFrog activity table because it promoted a variety of skills, introducing cause and effect with the on/off switch and book flipping, and also introducing classic baby songs with letters and numbers in both English and Spanish.
Activity stations were one of my VERY favorite baby toys for the 7-9-month-old range!
Lastly, I wanted to include this Fisher-Price walker toy because of how much two of my boys loved it — walkers may be a little controversial for actually teaching walking, but they can be super helpful in supporting baby during those first steps and as they practice sit to stand.
This one in particular functions more than a walker, as it includes ways to learn though musical creativity, motor skill development and role-play fun.
What’s your all-time favorite 6-9 month baby toy?
You may also like:
Best Toy Gifts for Babies 0-12 Months Old
How to Make An Indoor Baby Play Gym
Ana, a mom to three rambunctious little boys, has supported hundreds of thousands of women throughout their pregnancy and motherhood journey since 2012 as a blogger and maternal health advocate at MommysBundle.com.
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