Best Toys For 9-Month-Olds 2023

Traditional shape sorters can be frustrating for 9-month-olds. This one is a bit easier for their little hands to manage, and it helps develop their pincer grasp and fine motor skills. Plus, kids this age tend to adore container play. It goes in, it comes out, it goes in, it comes out! Pack this toy along on your next outing to keep them engaged.

The Follow-Me Bee has been a major hit with all three of my kids. To encourage crawling, “give babies lots of opportunities to practice. Get down and play on the floor and place toys (or yourself) a little out of reach to encourage movement toward a fun object,” Dr. St. Germain says. This toy does the work for you as it meanders around the floor.

Recommended by Dr. Regan, these soft pull-back cars from Melissa & Doug are fun for babies. They’re so easy to operate, even a baby can do it (literally). There are four vehicles in the set, and the wheels come off if you just want them to play with the soft car. 

You really can never have enough ball toys for babies. With this one, you can practice words like “down,” “in” and “low” as you and your baby watch the balls spin down this tower. This toy can also help physical development, too. Your baby will work on squatting as they bend down to pick up balls and hand-eye coordination as they place the balls at the top of the toy. The 17-inch toy comes with four balls and is rated for ages 9 months and up.

Toys that grow with your child like this 4-in-1 tricycle help you make the most of your money. At 9 months old, you can buckle your baby in and push them. As they grow, they’ll learn how to pedal and ride the tricycle themselves. As a parent, I really appreciate the parent tray that allows you to bring snacks and drinks on your walks around the neighborhood.

This finger puppet board book series easily engages little ones in story time. They’ll giggle to see the animal—an elephant in this case—appear and disappear while you read it to them. Young children might also reach for and grasp the puppet, engaging additional senses and skills.

This colorful wooden stacker from Manhattan Toy challenges little ones to get the magnets facing the right way in order to be successful. It teaches them a bit of cause and effect and might even strengthen their reasoning skills and hand-eye coordination—even if they’re spending a bit of time mouthing the pieces, too.

It’s never too early for a play couch. At 9 months, I like to use them to start to teach my kids how to safely get down steps and elevated surfaces (backward and belly down). My babies have also enjoyed crawling through forts and tunnels we create with our play couch. This couch will likely last you until your kids outgrow it, so it’s another one that you can feel good about spending your money on.

There’s nothing cooler than your own car, especially when you’re only 9-months-old. Pretend they’re cruising around town in this car that includes a shape sorter, a steering wheel on an interactive dashboard, a ball ramp and more. At this age, many babies begin to imitate adults, so use this toy as an opportunity to wave bye as they get in the car or pretend to buckle their seatbelt. 

Around 9 months of age, babies are working on their pincer grasp, which is important for many areas of development, including self-feeding. This toy can help them improve the finger strength they need to master the pincer grasp. Plus, it’s fun and satisfying to pop the button and to bat the toy down then watch it pop back up again. 

As 9-month-olds begin to grasp object permanence, they’ll enjoy watching this ball disappear and then reappear through the door. Playing with this toy can help babies learn that when things or people go away, they come back. 

Beautifully illustrated, this book makes reading fun and engaging for babies. Don’t be afraid to just listen to the sounds and point out pictures. At this age, babies might not be ready to listen to the whole story. As they grow a bit bigger, they’ll eagerly try to push the buttons to play the various sounds and music, too.

Most 9-month-olds aren’t learning about traditional educational topics just yet. Instead, they’re exploring their world and learning things like object permanence and cause and effect. “Pop-up toys are great for working on cognitive and fine motor skills as baby practices twisting, turning and pushing buttons,” says Marielle Marquez, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Thrive Little. The buttons and knobs are irresistible to little ones, too.

Baby dolls are one of my favorite gifts to give babies and toddlers. They’re great for teaching life skills like brushing hair or getting dressed. Most babies tend to be drawn to playing with them as well. While they might just snuggle or even chew on them at first, eventually they’ll likely tote their favorites all over the house.

This soft book is ideal for interactive storytime with your 9-month-old because your curious baby can’t rip the pages or otherwise destroy the book. Books such as this help introduce baby to reading while also stimulating their tactile and auditory sensory systems, according to Marquez. Interactive features include a peek-a-boo flap, a light and a button that plays the song.

I like using Banana Panda cards when my kids are babies, because they are thick and durable and seem to help children to learn their first words. This set includes sounds that are typically easy for babies and young toddlers to replicate, such as “moo moo” and “woof woof.” The printed words on the cards also help parents think of things to say during playtime while babies enjoy the pictures.

Babies and toddlers are drawn to these squeaky eggs. They’re fun to play with, and they provide opportunities to learn about shapes, colors and simple words. Expose your baby to practical language like “in,” “out,” “open” and “close” as you play with these toys.

The wooden Mini Flip is part push walker and part ride-on toy for kids just finding their walking legs, so ages 9 months up to about 3 years old. They can even rock on it. It transforms from rocking to riding with an easy, non-tool, flip adjustment to the base. It’s just right for kids testing out their balance and a bit of movement. It also has two height adjustments.

Dr. Victoria Regan, a pediatrician at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, recommends pull toys, and this is a colorful one with some fun traits. The frog’s mouth opens and closes when you pull him along. My twins are mesmerized by pull toys, and I like to use these toys to encourage them to crawl.

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This toy comes with a bead maze, clutching toy and board book. My twins were very into bead mazes when they were 9 months. In addition to being mesmerizing to babies, moving the beads along the maze also helps develop the pincer grasp they need for self-feeding.

At nine months, almost everything goes right into the mouth for many babies. Not only are they working through teething, but they’re also using their mouths to begin to explore the world around them. This silicone and wood teether provides your baby with multiple ways to soothe their sore gums. It’s made of organic maple beads, silicone, organic beeswax and organic coconut oil, so you can feel good about your baby putting it in their mouth.

This wooden shape sorting puzzle lets babies know immediately when they’re successful by popping up a matching shape with a painted-on face. You’ll probably have to put the shapes in yourself at first but before long, your little ones will sort the shapes themselves. Your baby will develop their fine motor skills as they pick up and place the blocks, and they might even stack their first block tower.

This ball popper plays music when the balls pop out, which is hilarious but also encourages babies to dance. “Ball drop toys like this are fun for working on baby putting things into a target (important for learning to clean up in the future!). This skill is called controlled release because they learn to open their hand on purpose with the right timing,” Marquez adds.

Is your 9-month-old already banging his or her hands on everything in sight? Foster that developmentally appropriate desire to hit and pound with this sweet wooden drum set. Kids can choose to hear pre-recorded melodies or to tap out their own tune. The friendly and colorful animal faces that adorn the drum act as happy music ambassadors.

Some music featured in baby toys is quite catchy, so much so that you wish you never bought the toy. The music in this one, however, features eight Mozart masterpieces, meaning you might enjoy listening to the songs just as much as your baby. It has five instrumental sounds on each side of the cube, too, and they’re easy to tap (er, bang) for little ones. It does require batteries, so that’s something to keep in mind.

I’m not sure exactly what it is about this shape sorter compared to others we have, but my twins were drawn to this like moths to a flame when they were babies. It plays sounds as they drop the shapes into the holes, and it doubles as a drum. Pediatric physical therapist Kaitlin Rickerd recommends problem solving toys such as shape sorters like this one for babies. While your 9-month-old might not be able to get the correct shapes in the holes independently just yet, they’ll enjoy the sounds, and you can model sorting until they pick the skill up themselves.

With a drum, piano and tambourine, this set introduces your baby to three different instruments that are easy for them to grasp and figure out. Because there are multiple instruments in the set, it invites siblings and caregivers to join in and create music together. The instruments allow baby to explore sounds themselves, or they can play pre-recorded songs.

Looking for something that will entertain your baby but that might also put them to sleep? Check out this lullaby squirrel that plays Cradle Song by Brahms. The song plays when your baby pulls the squirrel down, and they’ll delight in watching the squirrel inch its way back into the acorn. When my kids were babies, we often used soft musical toys like this one in the car to both entertain and soothe them.

Blocks are almost always guaranteed to be a hit, and they’re a toy with longevity. This particular set offers an interesting texture with the bristles, which also allow the blocks to interlock for building exploration. “Babies can learn to pick up these smaller (but not choking hazard small!) toys and then learn to pull them apart and eventually put them together. Toys that can grow with your child as they develop are always ideal,” Marquez said.

Rickerd recommends toys that move away from babies as they crawl toward them to support that developmental milestone. Marquez explained that balls also help babies work on bilateral coordination skills like moving both hands together. Most importantly, balls are fun.

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If you’ve never heard a baby squeal with glee on a swing, take this as a sign to buy a swing for the 9-month-old in your life. Swings activate the vestibular system, which is part of the sensory system that gives babies input about where their bodies are in space. It also helps develop their balance, which is important for motor development.

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This taste-safe paint made out of vegetables is designed for babies who just can’t keep their fingers out of their mouths. If your 9-month-old hasn’t created any works of art yet, the time is now. Let them explore these safe finger paints with the included paper.

This toy comes highly recommended by many parents I’ve spoken to—as well as my own children. As babies learn about object permanence, it’s fun for them to put the scarves in and out of the box. I also like to use the scarves to play peek-a-boo. It’s soft, too, making it more gentle for a little one to toss around. I’ve found it can keep their attention for a long time as you continually stuff the scarves back in the box.

Water play is engaging to many ages, and it’s such a rich sensory experience for babies. Additionally, many 9-month-olds love to be outside as they become more aware of their surroundings, according to Marquez. This splash mat makes it simple to get your baby outside to enjoy some fresh air and water play as it includes a little backrest to support them, as well as a bit of shade.

I owe many successful doctor visits and restaurant trips to Whirly Squigz. These toys attach to flat surfaces with a suction cup, and they’re mesmerizing to kids. They’re one of the best toys to keep in your diaper bag so you have something to pull out whenever your baby needs to sit and wait somewhere. My favorite part is that the suction cup ensures the toys are not dropped on the floor when we’re out and about.

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Toys that have longevity save money and resources for parents. For example, this clever submarine boat will delight babies who enjoy fidgeting with the propeller. As they get older, they can use it for imaginative play in the bath or out, making engine noises, spilling water from it and playing make-believe with it. This toy is dishwasher safe as well, making it easier to keep it clean and mold-free.

Often the simplest toys are the most engaging. Babies can stack these petite boats, float them or sink them in the bath. They’re just the right size for little hands to hold. I love the open container aspect, which allows for a better grip, as well as more play options, such as towing rubber ducky friends.

Dr. Regan recommends stacking toys for 9-month-olds, and my kids would agree that they’re incredibly entertaining. This set is a stacking toy that doubles as straining cups for the bath, and you can link them all together to create a caterpillar. Using cups like this in the bath can also help babies work on their early scooping and pouring skills without making a mess in your home.

These little 9-month-olds are on the precipice of toddlerhood, a time when toys suddenly go flying across the room and falls happen daily. It’s nice to have some soft toys that won’t hurt when they hit someone’s head or when your baby falls on them. This neoprene bath toy includes a crab that doubles as a storage container and four other sea creature toys. Just be sure to let them air dry when bath time is over so the toys don’t grow mold.

Floating with their heads just above the water, these bathtime wobblers are an entertaining bath toy. They’re the perfect size for little hands to hold. I love that there aren’t any holes in them, leaving no room for water to seep in and grow mold. Toss them in the tub and watch them bob around, or show your baby what happens when you pull them to the bottom of the bath and then let them go.