11 Best Developmental Toys for Babies 2023 (2024)

What parents love about this interactive VTech toyOpens a new window is how it adapts to your baby's many stages. The play panel on the walker's front comes off and you can put it on the floor for your baby to bash and explore. As your baby gets more comfortable sitting and reaching, the panel goes back on the frame for upright play. When your baby starts to cruise and take those first wobbly steps, the Sit-to-Stand becomes a push toy to pilot all over the house. The toy panel's a winner, too, with a faux phone, colorful bead spinners, and chunky, easy to press piano keys.

Heads up

There are two resistance settings for the wheels so ensure you’re on the right setting for your child’s abilities.

Parents say

"I love our VTech walker! It has back wheels that lock for babies just starting out, which gives me peace of mind. The sound isn't annoying at all but it has an 'off' button if you need it."

Specs

• 16.5 x 14.2 x 18.1 inches
• 5 pounds
• Recommended for 9 months - 3 years
• 3 AAA batteries required, included

There’s nothing more exciting to your 3-month-old than their own hands and feet; they spend hours being surprised by these fun things that keep popping into view, and foot finders and wrist rattles up the fun ante. The high-contrast colors and patterns are perfect for a 3-month-old's somewhat fuzzy vision, and giving your baby something to focus on helps them develop hand, foot, and eye coordination.

Heads up

These are washable, but hand-washing is recommended.

Specs

• 7.44 x 5.08 x 1.61 inches
• 1.76 ounces
• Recommended for newborn babies and up
• Includes 4wrist rattles, 4foot rattle socks

Doctors can recommend tummy time for babies, but that doesn't do a thing to make babies like it. Banish tummy time fussiness with this soft and squishy water mat, which has a soft inflated frame that's comfy for your baby to lean on, and a water-filled interior with floating sea creatures that babies love to pat and push. Extra tummy time is great for developing your infant's rolling and crawling muscles, and reaching for the mat's toys helps promote hand-eye coordination.

Heads up

You do have to empty the water and change it occasionally.

Specs

• 20 x 26 inches
• Recommended for babies 3 months and up
  

By 5 months old, babies should be fairly comfy on their bellies, learning how to roll from side to side, push up, and then rock back and forth in preparation for taking off crawling. If your baby needs gentle encouragement to spend time on the floor working those muscles, this floor activity mirror keeps things fresh and interesting. Babies love looking at themselves, and they can have a nice, clear view with this toy. The included cards can be clipped to the top of the mirror (or anything, really: your stroller, a toy bar) to allow your baby to goggle at the cool high-contrast patterns, sharpening vision and pattern recognition.

Heads up

The mirror is a baby-safe mirror and can therefore look a bit distorted.

Parents say

"This activity mirror is the only way my twins would tolerate tummy time. They love looking at themselves!"

Specs

• 10.6 x 7.5 x 4.7 inches
• 5.3 ounces
• Recommended for newborn babies and up
• Includes activity mirror and four double-sided cards

Every side is a new adventure with this soft fabric-covered activity cube. On each side is an animal that plays music when their noses are pressed;there’s also a textured ring, knotted tags, crinkly flower petals, and a toddler-tough plastic mirror to explore. Since 6-month-olds are crazy about watching themselves in a mirror and on the way to sitting up well, this toy encourages sensory play and practicing the raking grasp that will eventually allow your baby to pick up all kinds of objects big and small.

Heads up

The speaker is located in the middle of the block, under a layer of padding so the sound can be a bit muffled.

Specs

• 8.5 x 8 x 7.5 inches
• 2.88 ounces
• Recommended for 6 months - 2 years
• 2 AA batteries required

By 7 months old, your baby will be able to spot a toy on the floor and reach out to grab it, a skill that requires visual acuity, hand-eye coordination, and balance. Give her some practice with these brightly colored and uniquely textured balls that are perfectly sized for tiny hands. Each has a differently textured surface: bumpy, ridged, full of little craters; babies love to run their hands over them, exploring; and then give them a taste and a chew (the balls are made from food-safe plastic).

Heads up

Each ball has a small hole that allows it to return to shape quickly when squished; when cleaning, keep your finger over the hole to prevent water from getting inside.

Parents say

"Straight up, we love these. They feel so neat and the kids love them!"

Specs

• 9.89 x 7.96 x 4.34 inches
• 1.21 pounds
• BPA- and phthalate-free
• Recommended for 6 months and up
• Includes 6 balls
  

Babies at 8 months are working hard at learning to walk, and this multi-stage toyOpens a new window helps encourage them to get moving. Stage 1 is for kiddos who aren’t mobile yet: the bee rattles and wobbles, and has movable beads and rubberized details for teething. Stage 2 is intended for babies learning to crawl. The cloud moves in a circle, plays music, and has colorful lights to encourage your baby to follow it with her eyes and body. And finally, stage 3 is for more advanced crawlers: The bee takes off in random patterns so that your baby will chase it and develop the coordination she needs to get up and walk.

Heads up

This toy works best on hardwood or tile floors.

Specs

• 5.5 x 5.5 x 4 inches
• 1.16 pounds
• Recommended for babies 5 months and up
• 3 AA batteries required, not included

This table Opens a new windowhas it all: music, lights, interesting sounds, textures, flaps she can open to find a new friend, and more. Before your baby's able to pull up to a standing position, the table's top can be used on the floor while your baby sits to play. Then when she's able to stand up, the top fits back on its legs and encourages your baby to spend time upright and cruising. The table has over 70 songs activated by buttons, and it introduces numbers, letters, shapes, colors,and more.

Heads up

The table is surprisingly lightweight, weighing only apound, so it's not handy for pulling up on.

Parents say

"We have the LeapFrog activity table and all my kids love it. We got it 2 years ago and it has held up really well. I've changed batteries several times and we've always had it out. When the babies weren't standing yet I took the legs off and they just played with it during tummy time. It's a big hit at our house."

Specs

• 5.3 x 21 x 15.5 inches
• 1 pound
• Recommended for 6 months - 3 years
• 3 AAA batteries required, included

With five sides packed with fun activities, the VTech Sort and Discover Activity CubeOpens a new window is a great big colorful thrill for babies who are keen to practice working with their hands. The book pages, spinner, and slides help to develop hand-eye coordination and the design of the cube encourages your baby to sit up, stand, and move around to see everything. Bright and engaging colors and lights improve her visual acuity, and working piano keys help her understand cause and effect, colors, and numbers.

Heads up

Two AA batteries are required, and with so many lights and sounds included, you could potentially go through batteries faster than anticipated.

Parents say

"We love the VTech activity cube! Both my older kiddos and my younger ones play with it together, which is neat. There aren’t many toys that cross the age gap like this."

Specs

• 8.66 x 9.25 x 9.65 inches
• 2.1 pounds
• Recommended for 9 months - 3 years
• 2 AA batteries required, not included
  

By now your baby understands that when grownups play peek-a-boo, they don't really disappear when they duck behind their hands. But babies are still delighted by toys with gentle surprises, like this toy that hides happy animal friends beneath hinged doors. In front of each animal is a different clasp: a switch, a lever, a button, and so on. Babies practice operating each one, and are rewarded in turn with the creature that suddenly springs into view. Not only is it great for fine motor skills, babies learn hand-eye coordination and cause-and-effect.

Heads up

Some parents find that babies, particularly on the younger end of the recommended age range, get frustrated by levers and buttons that require too much force to open.

Specs

• 3.5 x 13.5 x 7.95 inches
• 1.9 pounds
• Recommended for 12months and up
  

A pedal bike is well beyond them still, but your newly mobile toddler wants to move in as many ways as possible. Balance bikes, which let kids push off to scoot or roll around, are an ideal first step on the path to pedal bikes, helping them develop strength, balance, and nerve while they learn how to steer and adjust their speed. Their motor skills will get a boost, and your baby will take great delight in controlling her own movement. This balance bike has a low center of gravity for stability, and it rolls ever so smoothly.

Heads up

Any bike purchase should also include a helmet.

Specs

• 19.3 x 7.5 x 13.8 inches
• 3.97 pounds
• 6-inch wheels
• Recommended for 12 months - 2 years