The 44 Best Toys For 9-Month-Olds That They’ll Play With Over And Over

Traditional shape sorters can be frustrating for 9-month-olds in my experience. 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! 

“My older son loved this toy as a 9-month-old," says Margaret Badore, the Forbes Vetted baby and kids gear editor. "At that age, he had the most fun when I would set up the shapes in the bands and he could push them in, and then as he got older he really liked taking the shapes out himself. It’s also good for talking about shapes and colors.” 

The Follow-Me Bee has been a major hit with all three of my kids. St. Germain says 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.” This toy does the work for you as it meanders around the floor.

Recommended by Dr. Victoria Regan, a pediatrician at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, these soft pull-back cars from Melissa & Doug are fun for 9-month-olds. 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. 

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

You really can never have enough ball toys for babies. With this one, you can practice words like “down,” “in” and “up” as you and your baby watch the balls spin down this tower. This toy can also help physical development, too. Your baby can work on reaching and scooting as they pick up balls, and hand-eye coordination as they place the balls at the top of the toy (although it may take them some time to master that skill). The 17-inch toy comes with four balls and is rated for ages 9 months and up.

Marielle Marquez, pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Thrive Little, recommends this push walker because it can be a fun way for babies to build their walking skills. “Therapists discourage use of traditional walkers babies sit inside of because they don’t encourage typical walking motor patterns” she says. “Push walkers, however, encourage the baby to walk in a normal pattern, just with support.” If they’re not yet ready to take supported steps, kids can sit while they play with the toys on the front of the walker. 

Nine-month-olds spend a lot of time on the floor, which is why it’s nice that this play gym is very portable. Move it around the house or pack it up to bring along while traveling or visiting someone else’s home so they always have a clean area to play on. The design features lots of bright and bold colors and shapes, which is appealing to babies’ developing vision. “My 8-month-old babies really like the crinkly parts and the mirror,” says Badore, who recommends this gym. 

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.

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.

Lovevery is Forbes Vetted’s pick for the best subscription box for babies, and I love that it’s so thoughtfully created and full of quality toys. The box for 9-month-olds includes jingle keys, a book about feelings, a play scarf and more. It also comes with tips on how to play with your baby, so you can really make the most out of the items in the box. If you choose the subscription, you’ll continue to get curated boxes to match your baby’s developmental needs. “My baby loved each and every item in the Lovevery boxes, and they were so high-quality we kept them for a long time before passing them on to the next baby in near perfect condition,” says Esther Carlstone, a parenting editor and mom of three. 

I liked using Banana Panda cards when my kids were 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 talk about 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.

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.

The wooden Mini Flip is part push walker and part ride-on toy for kids just finding their walking legs, so from 9 months up to about 3 years old. It transforms from rocking to riding with an easy, non-tool flip adjustment to the base. It’s just right for kids testing out standing up and getting their balance, but keep in mind that it may be a little advanced for some 9-month-olds. It has two height adjustments, to grow along with your child.

A ball run is a fun way for babies to explore cause and effect. In my experience, 9-month-olds rarely tire of plopping a ball in the top of a toy and watching it make its way down. This wooden toy has additional interactive elements like a bell and a teeterboard to pop the ball up when it reaches the bottom of the run. 

Regan 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 liked using these toys to encourage them to crawl.

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 can sort the shapes themselves. Babies develop their fine motor skills as they pick up and place the blocks, and they might even stack their first block tower. My 2-year-old toddlers are big fans of this toy, so it has plenty of longevity, t0o. 

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 plenty of time mouthing the pieces, too.

These Hape blocks are my absolute favorite blocks for babies. They’re wooden, but they have silicone covers around the edges, which helps prevent injuries that can happen with the hard edges of most blocks. At ages 2.5 and 6, my kids still play with these blocks, so it’s a quality toy investment, too. 

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. This is key for helping babies and toddlers overcome separation anxiety. All three of my kids were mesmerized by object permanence boxes around this age.

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 once the tune is stuck in your head. 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 for little ones to tap (er, bang). It does require three AA 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 can 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 your baby to explore sounds themselves, or they can play pre-recorded songs.

Looking for something that can 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.

It’s well-known that babies enjoy a good game of peek-a-boo. They can play over and over again with this jack-in-the-box inspired by the popular book Guess How Much I Love You? Toys like this can help books come to life for kids. This can also help support language development as babies see the picture of the rabbit in the book and play with the three-dimensional rabbit in the toy.

My mother-in-law got this for my twins when they were around 9 months old, and it has proven to be one of the best and most useful gifts they’ve ever gotten. The topper provides them with a nice ledge to play during the bath, and it protects my bathroom from becoming soaked. This one product has reduced bath time battles and made the tub more fun for everyone involved. 

Blocks are almost always guaranteed to be a hit, and they’re a toy with longevity. This particular set has 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,” says Marquez. “Toys that can grow with your child as they develop are always ideal.”

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.

I love a simple toy that stands the test of time—I’ve had these buckets for nearly a decade and they’re still going strong. The ultimate bath toy, kids use them to scoop and pour, building their motor skills and learning about cause and effect. 

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 baby 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 is versatile because it can clip to a stroller, making it travel-friendly, and it’s an ideal tummy time toy, too. Nine-month-olds who are working on grabbing and crawling have a blast exploring the feel of the various textures and tabs. “This toy consistently gets a huge grin from my baby when I hand it to him,” says Badore. 

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 the box and pull them out again. 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.

Toys that have longevity save money and resources for parents. For example, this clever submarine boat delights 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.

Cuddle + Kind dolls are hand knit and oh so cuddly. With the purchase of a doll, the company also donates 10 meals to hungry children, so you can feel good about your purchase. Elliott the fawn is filled with polyfill. For now, it’s a cuddly stuffie, and it the years to come it can become the starting point for imaginative play.

This ball pit comes with 50 balls and is just the right size for a baby. It’s also helpful to contain your baby a bit as they probably won’t be able to step over the wall of the ball pit just yet. When they’re done playing, collapse it into the included storage bag so it doesn’t take up too much space. 

If the 9-month-old in your life is on to the Ms. Rachel craze, they’ll be excited to cuddle with this lovey version of the YouTube sensation sporting her signature pink headband. It’s cozy and comforting, and they’ll probably enjoy playing with it while they listen along with Ms. Rachel. 

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. Big kids and even tweens use play couches, so it’s another one that you can feel good about spending your money on. It’s available in up to 11 colors, depending on where you shop.

This new board book quickly became a favorite in my family, and it’s ideal for babies and young toddlers. The pages are full of fun verbs you can act out with your baby, such as hoppy, slithery and of course wiggly. It also features a lot of repetition, which helps language development. At the end, there is a fun twist involving a mirror where babies can see who is wiggliest of all.

Bluey, a cartoon about a dog family that turns everyday situations into funny and heartwarming moments, is a huge hit among kids today. Pick up either a Bluey or Bingo plush for them to play with and cuddle. Gund is known for making super soft plush toys. Who knows—it just might become their favorite stuffy that they cherish throughout their childhood. 

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.

As they’re crawling and learning to walk, it’s always nice to have a soft spot to land. This reversible mat gives them some cushioning, which is particularly helpful for hard floors. As they get older, they can play pretend with the road and scenes printed on the mat.