Your little baby isn’t seeming so little anymore. Their body is growing rapidly, as well as their desire to discover the big world around them. Babies this age are at the brink of moving around on their own, and need a little more stimulation to keep them entertained now, and might need a few more toys to catch their newly piqued interest in the world around them.

Helping with development

Not only is your little one growing, but they are getting stronger day by day. To encourage this, the right toys should be used to stimulate development and motor skills, capturing their attention and encouraging them to practice some new skills such as:

  • Working on building hand-eye coordination
  • Practicing placing objects inside something else, and removing them again
  • Stacking items and knowing to knock them over
  • Learning cause and effect by pressing a button and waiting for a result

Toys for 6-9-month-old’s should be brain-stimulating, but still safe enough for your little one to play with. There should be no small bits or loose parts that could be taken off and placed in the mouth. The toys should have different features that allow your baby to maneuver items around to practice hand-eye coordination, encourage sitting babies to stand, and to just be overall fun to use!

Color is all the rage at this age, and bright pops of different colors will captivate your baby’s attention.

Looking for the best toy for your 6-9-month-old? Here are some of the best out there!

Is your baby less than 6 months old? Try these toys for newborn babies.

Keeping It Simple

The First Years Stack Up Cup Toys

Keeping it simple is sometimes for the best, and these stack up cups prove exactly that! How often do you buy something for your little one, only to find that they prefer something much simpler than an overcomplicated toy?

These brightly colored cups fit into each other or stack up to build a tower. The 8 cups can be used for playtime, and even in the bath. Babies love nothing more than fitting things together, and these cups will be entertaining for ages on end. Hiding things in the cups, filling them up with water and pouring it out, or finding the right sequence to fit them all together, for such a simple toy, there are so many possibilities.

Each cup features a large number on the underside, which can be used later on for counting and number recognition. The cups are BPA free and free from lead and phthalates.

Safe and easy to play with, these cups will be an absolute hit with your baby.

Click here to look into the latest pricing.

Stuck at home? Try these educational activities for children.

The All-In-One Toy

Vtech Busy Learners Activity Cube

For the busy bees, this is the perfect toy. It has everything a toy needs to keep active hands and minds entertained, all while promoting gross motor skill development.

Featuring 5 different sides of play, there is discovery and exploration to keep babies intrigued. There are 4 light-up buttons which introduce animal names, animal sounds, and animal shapes. 14 interactive features help to develop fine motor skills, encouraging babies to sit up and play.

The cube has a motion sensor which activates fun sounds, with a musical noise made when the activity cube is moved to attract attention and encourage sitting and crawling.

With 25 playful songs, the activity cube will capture your little one’s interest. The block toy is made from BPA-free plastic and has different activities, buttons, and pictures on each side of the cube. It will also shut-off if not being played with.

Check out product price here.

It is the ideal activity toy to play with on the go, with many different features for your baby to discover with each playtime.

Toys are wonderful, but don’t forget about the power of pretend play!

The Musical Choice

Fisher-Price Classic Xylophone

Music is ingrained in all of us, and developing a love for music early on is one of the greatest gifts you could give your child, and which baby doesn’t like making as much noise as possible?

Brightly colored, this toy xylophone will be a favorite with your baby. A yellow mallet is used to knock out musical tones on the metal xylophone bars and is attached to the pull-xylophone so it never gets lost.

With a pull string and easy-roll wheels, your baby will love pulling their musical instrument along as they crawl through the house.

Other than developing a love for all things musical, the xylophone helps tot develop fine motor skills and improve hand-eye coordination when tapping the musical keys. Cause and effect is also promoted with the toy, with a musical note being made each time a key is tapped.

Bright and full of musical fun, this is a great toy for a developing baby.

Check out this product on Amazon.

Sensory Delight

Sassy Stack of Circles Stacking Ring

Babies between the age of 6-9 months love stacking and unstacking things, making this a great choice to keep your baby busy.

A straight red post can hold the different sized rings included in the pack, and stacking these rings on the post help to improve hand-eye coordination. The chunky-sized rings are easy for small hands to grasp and maneuver, strengthening the fine motor skills.

Every ring included in the pack has a different weight, texture, and color, allowing your baby to explore different senses during play. A clear ring with colorful beads adds a rattling sound to the toy for extra fun.

The different rings are numbered for counting, which can be used later on when your little one learns to recognize numbers.

Your baby can come up with different combinations using the rings, toppling them over only to be restacked again!

Click here for more product information.

Pop, Drop and Roll

Playskool Explore ‘N Grow Busy Ball Popper

Dropping and watching balls roll is truly entertaining for a baby, and this toy takes it a step up with many different fun features.

The five differently-colored balls can be popped, dropped and rolled down the ramp and through the clear tunnel. A cute faced button can be pushed down to pop the balls up again.

The Explore ‘N Grow Busy Ball Popper features fun lively music, sound effects, and 5 very durable balls. Using the button to pop up the balls, or rolling the ball down the ramp offers your baby the opportunity to practice their fine and gross motor skills, and also encourages tracking of the balls.  Cause and effect also comes into play, when the button is pressed and the balls pop up.

8 groovy songs will keep your little one bobbing away while playing with the balls and ramp, keeping them entertained and interested for good, effective playtime.

Click here to know the latest pricing on Amazon.

The Piggy Bank Toy

Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Piggy Bank

Piggy banks are always so exciting to have as a kid – so why not start your baby off early with this incredibly fun piggy bank interactive toy.

With over 40 sing-along songs, phrases and melodies, this little piggy bank is full of entertainment and audio stimulation.

Using Smart Stages Technology, the learning content of the toy can be adjusted as your baby grows. There are two levels of play on offer, with different phrases and sounds that suit each age and developmental stage.

The piggy bank comes with 10 colorful coins that have a number on one side, and an animal o the other. These coins are comfortable and easy to grasp but are not small enough to pose a choking hazard. The coins are dropped down into the piggy bank, helping your baby improve hand-eye coordination, and can be easily removed using the front flap.

With different sounds, features, and stages, this is a toy that will be loved for years, growing with your child and their different developmental stages.

Check out this product on Amazon.

Activities for Babies Aged 6-9 Months

The below activities will help boost your baby’s development while giving them some much-needed fun time to explore and play.

Peek-a-boo

Peek-a-boo is such a simple, yet effective game to play with your baby. Hide a toy under a blanket or pillow, with just a little bit showing, and encourage your baby to look for it. Prompt them on if they need a little help, but let them find the toy on their own. This will help them understand object permanence and develop their fine motor skills.

Stacking

Using plastic cups to help your baby stack and knock down cups. This helps them develop fine motor skills, as well as grasp the concept of cause and effect. Help your baby stack up the cups or take turns doing so.

Reading

Your baby most definitely will not be able to read yet, but as a caregiver, reading to your baby is essential. Point out pictures, use different voices and encourage your baby to interact by laughing or acting surprised. Not only will your baby love one-on-one time, but it helps them develop language skills, and helps them to further develop listening skills as well. It also instills a love for reading at a young age, which is so important further down the line.

Clapping

Babies love clapping, and once they figure out how to do so, they will clap along to anything. Create a clapping game with your baby, and try to get them to clap the same amount of times as you. Make up cute songs and melodies to clap along to, and encourage them to follow along. This helps with imitation and can boost rhyming as well.

Finger Painting

Finger painting does not need to be as messy as most parents fear. Fill up a zippered bag with some different color finger paints, and seal. Spread the paint around the inside of the bag and place it in front of your baby. Show them that by using their hands or fingers, they can create marks on the outside of the bag. This can be done during tummy time or when your baby is in a high chair. This activity encourages sensory development, understanding cause and effect and helps to develop fine motor skills.

Containers

Take some of your baby’s favorite toys and place them in a container. Give the container to your baby and watch what they do. Your baby will topple the container over, or grab each item one by one and empty the container. Help them pack the items back again, and then watch them topple it all over again! This teaches object manipulation and helps develop orientation skills.

Being actively involved in playtime with your child will give them the extra confidence they need to explore their environment and fine-tune their new skills.

Things To Remember When Buying A Baby Toy

Your little baby might not seem as fragile as they were as newborns, but they still need to be protected during playtime. Do not buy any toys which have small parts or long ropes, as your baby is still too young to not understand the dangers of choking.

Colors, textures, and sounds will be your baby’s favorite features, so look for a toy that you know will keep them entertained for ages, without being too overstimulating.

A toy that encourages your baby to start using their imagination is also a major bonus. A toy that allows them to build what they want, and interact in different ways will encourage them to think for themselves, developing their own interests and likes.

Look to see if the toy can grow with your child, so it will not be rendered useless in a few months. Your baby will love having something familiar to play with, rather than moving on to new toys often.

Are you trying to find fun Xmas activities for kids? Look here at our Fun Holiday Craft Ideas article.

The Best Toys for 6-9-Month-Old Babies

Give your baby the opportunity to explore their senses and movements by providing them with toys that encourage them to do so. They are soon to be on the move and need as much entertainment as they can get, and there are some really great toys out there that will give them all the fun and development that they need!

When your little one is bigger, you can try other fun activities with them, like composting. Check out our composting for kids article to see how to teach them about this valuable activity.

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Rebecca Brown_One of the stuff4tots authors
Rebecca Brown

Rebecca Brown is a mom to two and writer on all things parenting. She has been focussed on content creation and article writing for the last four years, drawing on the inspiration she gets from her own experience as a mother, and the expansive research the job requires.

When not writing, you can find Rebecca outside with the kids, or hidden away enjoying a good cup of coffee!