Our Recommended Toys for 9-Month-Old Infants, Approved by Families
Calling all 9-month-olds for playtime! Your little one is rounding the corner towards their first birthday and is quickly embracing all the milestones that will eventually lead to toddlerhood. But for now, play is still the name of the game when it comes to learning. This month, baby may use those crawling skills to pull themself to a stand, or maybe they’ll even start cruising a bit! “At 9 months, they have more of a deliberate grasp,” says Jennie Monness, co-founder of Charmspring and early childhood educator. Parents and caregivers “are able to provide them with more materials and play objects that they can independently pick up on their own, as opposed to when they are younger, and you have to put [toys] within eye view.” The best toys for 9-month-olds encourage them to develop the skills they need as they grow.
As a mom of two boys (4-year-old and 17-month-old), I know a thing or two about baby toys, and have personal experience with tons of choices—together with the team at the Bump, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite toys for 9-month-olds, perfect for this age’s development and milestones.
- In 2024, we surveyed parents within The Bump community, asking about their favorite toys for 9-month-olds.
- We interviewed multiple experts on childhood development, and asked for guidance on selecting developmentally appropriate toys for 9-month-old babies.
- To understand how these toys have worked for various little ones, we conducted exhaustive market research, scouring external forums and message boards and reading user reviews to find out what parents nationwide looked for in the best toys for 9-month-olds.
Editorial integrity is at the heart of everything we publish. Read about how The Bump develops and reviews all articles, including product reviews.
Push toy for gross motor skills
- Great for helping baby learn to walk
- Back wheels adjust pace for beginner walkers
- Mixed reviews on tipping
The VTech Stroll & Discover Activity Walker encourages your little one to stand, walk and explore while providing key support for balance and coordination. My boys had an older version of a VTech walker handed down from their big cousins, and it was a game changer. It occupied them at around the 9 to 13 month age, and it helped them build confidence with early walking.
Rachel*, a Bump survey respondent, praises this toy for its length of playtime; she raves that it “keeps [my son] entertained for up to an hour!” Additional outstanding features include a broad base and easy-to-grip handle for stability, while the engaging lights, sounds and interactive buttons keep baby motivated to stay on the move!
Age range: 9+ months | Batteries required: Y
Our community says:
He likes standing and pushing buttons, and learning to walk. – Rachel*, mom of one and The Bump survey respondent
[My son] likes how colorful it is and that he can pull up on it. – Sara, mom of one and The Bump survey respondent
Classic stacking toy for fine motor skills
- Great value for the money
- Educational and keeps baby engaged
- Mixed reviews on quality
It's hard to imagine any toy box without the Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack—a timeless toy essential for helping little ones develop fine motor skills from an early age. The Rock-a-Stack is a fantastic, inexpensive tool for building fine motor skills in 9-month-olds, and my boys (four and seventeen months) still enjoy this simple toy. Its colorful rings are easy for little hands to grab, stack, and manipulate, helping babies strengthen their pincer grasp and hand-eye coordination.
The soft, rounded edges and sturdy post make it safe for babies still exploring by putting things in their mouths. Morgan, a mom of one, says her son “loves to clap them together and carry them around. He likes taking them off the stacker and putting them back on.” In addition to developing motor skills, the Rock-a-Stack offers sensory stimulation with its vibrant colors and rocking base, adding an extra layer of fun as babies push it to wobble and explore cause-and-effect play.
Age range: 6+ months | Batteries required: N
Our community says:
It gives my child comfort. – Morgan, mom of one and The Bump survey respondent
Push and pull cars for hand-eye coordination
- Fosters independent play
- Soft and plush for safe play
- Removable cloth covering for easy washing
- Comes packed in plastic, no carrying case
I love the idea of friction-powered pull-back cars (think Matchbox, but age-appropriate!) for 9-month-olds. The only problem is that this type of toy is typically made of plastic or metal with tiny wheels, which pose a choking hazard for this age group. Melissa & Doug Pull-Back Vehicles solve that problem with plush, soft vehicles that provide a safe experience and zoom forward with a simple push or pull-back action. These four vehicles (a car, fire truck, police car and school bus) are designed to enhance your 9-month-old’s hand-eye coordination. Mom of one Kaycee says, “The cars keep him entertained because he can race them himself, and they're soft, so [they] won't cause injury.” I only wish I had these cute little vehicles for my boys at this age!
Age range: 9+ months | Batteries required: N
Our community says:
He can control the car's movements himself, they can hit each other and him because they're soft. – Kaycee, mom of one and The Bump survey respondent
Animal toy for sensory exploration
- Soft and plush
- Multiple sensory components
- Fabric made 95% post-consumer recycled plastics
- Some parents wish it had battery features
The adorable Fisher-Price Planet Friends Spotting Fun Snow Leopard offers rich sensory exploration and supports sustainability for the planet. This super cute stuffed animal has sensory-rich features, including crinkle boots, high-contrast colors and soft, satiny fabrics—carefully designed to captivate your 9-month-old’s senses and support their early sensory exploration. Our product tester Catelyn raves about the toy's engaging tactile features, highlighting how it stimulates your baby's senses in a fun and interactive way. “This toy effectively engaged all of my child's senses except smell, offering a rich and multi-faceted sensory experience,” the mom of two says. And what’s more, this Snow Leopard is composed mainly of post-consumer recycled plastics and comes in FSC-certified packaging, which promotes responsible sourcing and sustainable forestry practices.
Age range: 3+ months | Batteries required: N
Our community says:
From tactile sensations to visual stimuli and auditory feedback, it provided a comprehensive exploration of sensory input. – Catelyn, mom of two
Tactile animal learning toy
- Suctions to a flat surface
- Frustration-free packaging
- Easy to clean
- Mixed opinions on suction cup strength
VTech Turn & Learn Ferris Wheel will engage baby, encouraging them to grab and play while stimulating their tactile senses. Turn the wheel develops fine motor skills, while learning pressing the animal buttons teaches cause and effect—when your little one presses on a given animal, they’re introduced to its name, color and a fun little song. Yesenia, a mom of two, says that her son “likes that it spins, lights up and sings songs. He can reach and spin it himself.” She also loves how it entertains her little one with familiar songs. As your baby turns the wheel, presses the buttons, and listens to animal sounds, they’re not just having fun—they’re learning too!
Age range: 6+ months | Batteries required: Y
Our community says:
He can learn spinning and pushing buttons, songs, and animal sounds. – Yesenia, mom of two and The Bump survey respondent
Toy remote for imaginative play
- Priced well
- Recites the alphabet
- Fosters independent play
- Some reviews felt features were too limited
The Fisher-Price Laugh ‘n Learn Remote is designed to resemble a real TV remote, making it a perfect tool for sparking pretend play. As babies press the buttons and explore the sounds and phrases, they begin to mimic adult behaviors, nurturing their creativity and social skills. Role-playing everyday tasks—like changing channels or turning up the volume—helps your 9-month-old make sense of the world around them.
Designed with little hands in mind, the remote is easy for the baby to grip and explore, encouraging independent play while enhancing motor skills. Jacyee, a mom of two, says that her little one “likes to carry it around and use it as a remote but also holds it up like it’s a phone too.” I can relate! My boys have this remote toy and use it as both a remote and a phone. I love that they stretch their imaginations with this toy. Just the other day, I saw my 17-month-old having a “conversation” with the Laugh ‘n Learn Remote pressed to his ear as he gestured with his hands. Too cute!
Age range: 6+ months | Batteries required: Y
Our community says:
I like that it is small so we can take it places easily, and the songs are catchy but not annoying. – Jaycee, mom of two and The Bump survey respondent
Wooden rolling drum for inspiring curiosity
- High-quality wooden Montessori toy
- Nontoxic paints and finishes
- Promotes scooting and crawling
- Mixed opinions on heaviness/ hardness
For both of my little boys, around 8 to 9 months was the magical age when they started crawling. What really sparked this milestone was their growing curiosity, fueled by their desire to reach their favorite people—and toys. Expert Lisa Lohiser, EdD, Manager of Early Childhood Development Research at the Fisher-Price Play Lab, recommends rolling toys for 9-month-olds to help encourage crawling, especially if your baby hasn't started yet, and brightly colored balls inside the Tiger Montessori Infant Rolling Drum capture your little one’s attention visually while the rolling motion encourages them to get moving. The sound of the balls clinking against the wooden slats piques their interest, sparking their sense of wonder and exploration. Its best feature is how it ignites that curiosity, encouraging your little one to explore and engage with the world around them.
Age range: 6+ months | Batteries required: N
Shape sorter for spatial awareness
- Carrying case to contain pieces
- Packable and portable
- Two activity sides for additional play options
- Mixed opinions on zipper functionality
Shape sorters are a great way to engage baby in play that helps develop spatial awareness. But not all shape sorters are created equal! Melissa & Doug’s K’s Kids Take-Along Shape Sorter comes with nine colorful, textured blocks that fit into matching holes in its’ carry bag. As baby tries to figure out where each shape goes, they learn how objects fit together and relate to each other. It’s a fun way for them to start visualizing how shapes fit into different spaces, boosting their understanding of space and positioning. We love how this Take-Along Shape Sorter has sensory crinkle flaps on the reverse side with pictures of matching shapes and objects beneath the flap. Melissa and Doug’s K’s Kids line is designed with early development in mind, and your 9-month-old will have plenty to keep them stimulated and entertained, even on the go!
Age range: 9+ months | Batteries required: N
Sensory box for cognitive development
- Sensory box is machine washable
- Encourages language development
- Pricey compared to similar options
Lakeshore Learning is a trusted toy brand known for its high-quality, research-driven products that support developmental milestones, and the Soft Feely Box is a soft, durable and colorful box that baby will be eager to dig their hands into! Your little one will find ten sensory objects inside, including a butterfly with crinkly wings, a corduroy lion, a squeaking shiny frog, a flower mirror and more. This toy encourages babies to explore a variety of textures, shapes and colors tucked inside, sparking curiosity and cognitive growth. Lakeshore Learning Soft Feely Box is an excellent tool to encourage your 9-month-old to connect tactile sensations and their expectations, boosting problem-solving skills. Searching inside the box also strengthens memory as they recall what’s hidden in it and how to reach it, reinforcing cognitive development and exploration. I wish I had this toy for my curious little boys when they were this age!
Age range: 0+ months | Batteries required: N
Musical book for active listening
- Pages easy for little hands to turn
- Visually and auditory stimulation
- Some reviewers complained that the volume was too low
Musical toys and books are among my boys’ favorites, so why not combine two concepts? With over 40 melodies, songs, and phrases, the VTech Musical Rhymes Book is a fun way to engage your little listener. The book features fun songs and sounds that play as baby interacts with the durable pages. Learning and music modes have a low volume to not overstimulate baby (or mom!). And while the musical rhymes book is bright and colorful with a star that lights up to the beat of the sounds, we especially love how this toy’s auditory stimulation helps capture baby’s attention and encourages active listening.
Age range: 6+ months | Batteries required: Y
Subscription kit to learn cause and effect
- Comes with a play guide with expert tips
- Carefully curated for 9-month-olds
- Some parents would rather purchase toys individually
The Lovevery Explorer Kit comes with eight toys sure to keep your 9-month-old engaged. This thoughtfully curated box entertains your little adventurer, helping them understand how their actions lead to specific outcomes, while introducing baby to balance and coordinating both sides of their body. It includes a stainless steel jingle keys that offers sensory engagement and tactile appeal, a scarf for peek-a-boo and gentle throwing play, a board book that illustrates emotions with expressive photos, a Montessori egg cup for coordination and more. Through hands-on play, your little one will explore how objects move and fall, develop body awareness and begin building essential motor skills for future milestones.
Age range: 9+ months | Batteries required: N
Musical table for focus
- Can be used for floor play or standing
- Teaches colors, shapes, and numbers
- Keeps baby engaged and occupied
- Bilingual play with a switch– English and Spanish
- Mixed reviews about sturdyness
The LeapFrog Groove and Go Music Player is a fantastic musical toy for 9-month-olds, perfect for developing focus. At this age, babies are beginning to concentrate on simple tasks and are learning to pull up and stand—this Musical toy can be used flat on the floor or add the legs for standing play. When baby presses the large, colorful buttons and turns the "book" page to trigger music and sounds, they learn to focus and interact, whether in learning mode or music mode, where they can hear classic songs like ABCs and Old MacDonald. This interactive toy entertains and helps strengthen your 9-months-old’s attention span as they focus on pressing, sliding, pulling, and spinning the different functions.
Age range: 9+ months | Batteries required: Y
Interactive pop-up toy
- Focuses on fine motor skills
- Keeps baby entertained for lengthy periods
- Introduces cause-and-effect
- Made of plastic, not wood, as described
Fisher-Price Hide & Peek Pop-Up toy is a perfect interactive toy for your 9-month-old. Baby can manipulate a mushroom, leaf, flower, and butterfly buttons and levers to open and peek at the cute little animals behind each colorful door, helping little hands build fine motor skills while sounds and pop-up characters introduce your baby to cause and effect, accompanied by sounds like bells dinging and squeaking. Baby might begin interacting with this toy by closing the animal doors and working their way up to manipulating the four fun interactive components. Hide & Peek Pop-up makes engaging your child with interactive play and reinforcing critical developmental concepts fun!
Age range: 9+ months | Batteries required: N
Activity steering wheel for stimulus-response
- Great value for the money
- Multiple sounds and learning modes
- Some reviewers complain about glitchy music
My son was gifted a VTech Turn and Learn Driver toy when he was born, and it is such a cute, fun toy that has since been passed down to his little brother. Both boys love pretending to drive with this toy (even today, at 4 years old and 17 months old!) When your little one turns the steering wheel or presses a button, they’re instantly rewarded with fun sounds, phrases and lights. We love this immediate feedback, which helps baby to understand that their actions produce specific results, reinforcing key cause-and-effect learning. The toy’s bright colors, playful sounds and engaging lights provide a rich sensory experience that is sure to capture your 9-month-old’s attention. These auditory and visual cues help strengthen their understanding of the world around them, making it a fantastic toy and learning tool for developing stimulus-response connections. Not to mention, your 9-month-old will love steering the wheel for months to come!
Age range: 6+ months | Batteries required: Y
*Note: Some names have been changed due to privacy requests.
Generally, a good toy is always an educational toy, says Mark Coster, founder and editor-in-chief of STEM Geek, a website dedicated to STEM activities for kids of all ages. But what does education mean for 9-month-olds? The keyword here is sensory, Coster says. “A good toy will stimulate one or more senses. But at this age, it needs to pair sensory stimulation with basic problem-solving.” Nine-month-old babies are reaching some important milestones, like greater mobility and better fine motor skills. Their playtime should support and encourage these important developments. “At 9 months, babies are usually confident sitters and are on the move or very close to crawling,” says Lohiser. “This can include pulling to a stance and even cruising. Toys that make moving fun, like activity tables to pull up on and rolling toys that encourage baby to crawl after them, are great for this age,” Lohiser says.
And it isn’t just gross motor skills that are exploding at this age. Nine-month-old babies are experiencing a huge increase in fine motor skills as well, says Lohiser, so the best toys for 9-month-olds have lots of busy activities for development in that area—things like doors, buttons or spinners. Another great feature for this age group? “Toys that have action/reaction activities so baby can learn cause and effect,” Lohiser says.
While Monness identifies that crawling and movement are happening around this time, she specifies, “I don’t like to say exactly when for milestones because there’s such a range.” Keeping that in mind, here’s what you can typically expect from your little one at this age:
- Deliberate grasping for independent pick-up
- Baby is becoming mobile
- Increased hand-eye coordination
- Crawling
- Beginning to exert their autonomy
- Hand-selecting toys
“I like to say that they are little scientists at this age because you get the sense that they are figuring things out,” says Monness. “There’s a lot of banging, and I believe it’s them figuring out what makes noise and what doesn’t,” Monness notes that the types of toys you offer baby at this age are changing. “Instead of just plush materials or silicone or wood, you might find a toy with a safe metal component,” she explains. “Instead of a shaker with hidden noisemaking abilities, I like to provide something where the noisemaking is visible, a visible rattle, for example.”
And as always, when you’re shopping for baby toys, pay attention to the age ratings. These will not only help you pick out playthings that are developmentally appropriate (so baby doesn’t get too bored or too frustrated), but they also indicate what’s a safe toy for this age.
About the writer:
Christine Carpenter, a New York storyteller and devoted mother of two little boys, uses her craft to connect with and support other women in motherhood. With over a decade of experience in fashion accessories, Carpenter excels in product development and has a keen passion for innovative, life-enhancing products. Her expertise spans the entire product supply chain, from concept to delivery. Carpenter has contributed articles and personal essays to The Bump, Motherscope, The Kindred Voice, and Mantra Wellness.
Plus, more from The Bump:
Jennie Monness is an early childhood educator and the co-founder of Union Square Play, a global virtual parenting community and play space in New York City.
Mark Coster, PhD, is the founder and chief editor of STEM Geek, a website dedicated to STEM activities and toys for kids of all ages. He is an organic chemist with more than 20 years of experience in chemistry research and teaching. Also a father of three, he’s passionate about the power of STEM toys.
Lisa Lohiser, EdD, is a Fisher-Price Play Lab expert, where she provides insights into how kids learn and play and how to best support their development. She has a doctorate in education with a focus on learning and teaching in social contexts, as well as a Master’s degree in creativity and change leadership and a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education.
The Bump September 2024 Survey. Editors conducted a survey of over 400 parents from among The Bump community. We asked about their child’s favorite toy, what they and their child enjoyed about it and what skills it helped their child develop.
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