Baby Toys for Each Stage: 6-12 Months

As your baby grows older, it will require more challenging toys that help it receive the physical and mental stimulation it needs to grow into an active and healthy toddler.

This guide will help you determine which type of toys to offer your baby at each stage.

• The 6th Month

6-month-old babies are more capable at controlling their body, and will be able to sit up with a little support. They will also start looking for toys that they have dropped, and will learn to take part in activities that require greater focus and eye-hand coordination.

Toys that are suitable for babies this age include:

Action/reaction toysStacking toysToys that encourage crawlingBaby booksTextured balls

• The 7th Month

Your baby might be able to support its own weight when standing up while holding onto furniture. It might also be able to pull itself up and cruise from one piece of furniture to the next, and will be able to crawl or creep forward when placed on its stomach. Your baby will also be more adept at recognizing voices and tunes, grasping objects by cupping its entire hand around the item, and using eye-hand coordination to get a hold of various objects at different distances.

Toys that are suitable for babies this age include:

Shape sortersBaby booksContainers with items in them that can be emptied out and placed back in againStacking and building toysBat-at floor toys.

• The 8th Month

Babies around this age should be able to crawl forward or backward, recall events that occurred in the recent past, articulate sounds, and develop small-motor skills like the pincer grasp. They also tend to be more inquisitive, wanting to investigate different things.

Toys that are suitable for babies this age include:

Musical toysSorting and building toysSimple pop-up toysToys with dials, levers and buttons.

• The 9th Month

Don’t be surprised if your little one can pull itself up into standing position using furniture and adjusting its posture as it moves or cruises. Your baby might also be able to reach out to seize a distant object while sitting without toppling over, and might be able to catch a suspended object or rolled ball. Eye-hand coordination should be better at this point and will allow for more accurate hand movement, enabling your baby to pass a toy from one hand to the other.

Toys that are suitable for babies this age include:

Stacking, sorting and building toysBoard books with different texturesRole-play toysShape sortersToys with dials and buttonsLanguage development toysToys that encourage physical development like standing and cruising.

• The10th Month

Some babies will be able to walk with parental help, perceive depth, search for dropped items, anticipate reactions to their own actions, remember when a surprise occurs in a song, explore with their hands, play peek-a-boo games, imitate others, and show preference for sounds and objects.

Toys that are suitable for babies this age include:

Toys that encourage physical development like standing and cruisingLink-together toysRole-play toysToys that encourage early learningLarge balls with ridges or holes to facilitate graspingSport-themed toys that encourage physical development.

• The 11th Month

By now most babies will be able to cruise along furniture easily, babble more readily in imitation of speaking, pull themselves into sitting position with confidence, understand that smaller objects can fit in larger ones, and respond to one or two commands.

Toys that are suitable for babies this age include:

Sport-themed toys that encourage physical developmentLink-together toysSoft animals with varying texturesContainers with items in them that can be emptied out and placed back in againOutdoor toysSwingsRole-play toysToys that encourage eye-hand coordination.

• The 12th Month

You might notice your little one imitating actions such as speaking on the phone. Your baby will also be better at anticipating your actions, extending its arms when you want to dress it, for example. 1-year-old babies can usually understand most of what is being said, display affection through hugs and smiles, and can move one toy to another toy that is out of sight.

Toys that are suitable for babies this age include:

Role-play toysPush and pull toysMusical toysRide-on toysToys that enhance physical development and coordination

Source: www.finebabyworld.com