Which baby toy for which age (months 0-12)

Which baby toy for which age (months 0-12)

Introduction

Toys come in a huge variety of types and manufacturers.
Due to the enormous choice, shopping for the right toys can easily become an overwhelming (and expensive) undertaking for parents.
This guide will help you find age-appropriate toys that will bring joy to your child’s life.

The age at which children develop different skills is different for every child.
This guide therefore presents the age ranges within which a typical child develops certain skills.

To help you understand why a particular toy makes sense at a particular age, each of the following age-specific subsections contains information about child development in the relevant age range, on the basis of which we make recommendations for toys and play ideas.
In doing so, we are guided by the traditional play patterns of children and the recommendations of experts ^{1), 2)} who classify a toy or a toy category as suitable for children of a certain age.

Selection of age groups

The choice of age groups is based on fine motor, gross motor, social and cognitive development and the development of play behavior and play interests in early childhood^.3) The narrower age divisions in the first year reflect the more rapid developmental changes that occur in the first years of life.
The transitions between the age groups in the first two years are strongly linked to significant motor developments^.4)

Why is choosing the right toy so important?

Babies and toddlers always seem to give the impression that they want to play with everything they can find in their environment – using all their motor and mental skills.

Particularly important in this context:

• The play interests that are supported and encouraged in early childhood can influence your baby’s learning ability and conscious learning interests later in life.
• The information processing skills developed during activities involving people and objects form a framework for further development.
• What your child learns is “fun” and can form the basis of their intrinsic motivation now and later.
• If play is your child’s natural way of learning, then appropriate play materials play an important role in developing their interests, motivation and social and information processing skills.

This guide is designed to help you choose play materials that are safe, appropriate and support play and development when raising and caring for your child.
Included are suggestions for play materials for four different age groups in early childhood:

• Newborns and babies (birth to 6 months)
• Older babies (7 to 12 months)

Play materials for children in each of the age groups are summarized under four aspects:

• Social and imaginative play materials
• Materials for exploring and mastering play
• Music, art and movement material
• Materials for gross motor play

These aspects reflect broad categories of play activities that are often distinguished and considered important in early childhood education and psychological research.
However, it is important to remember that play materials often support more than one type of play, and children may be involved in activities that support different areas of development simultaneously.
For example, play with sand and water often involves both exploration of materials and imagination or social play with others.
Many play materials suitable for young children support development in a range of areas.

Which baby toy for which age – examples

Which toys for a newborn baby (0-1 months)?

Developmental stage and behavior of a newborn baby (0-1 months)

Listen

Your newborn baby is already able to hear at birth – and even before that in the womb.
It also reacts to sounds and your voice.
However, neurological maturation and sensory experiences are required for its hearing functions to fully develop.

Due to its immaturity and lack of experience, your newborn baby has a great sensitivity to environmental sounds.
It will move its head in the direction the sound is coming from and will be attracted to objects that emit sounds that are familiar to it as part of a routine.

See

Your newborn is extremely short-sighted.
Their eye focus is at best 20 centimeters, and their visual acuity is 2.5% to 5% of that in adulthood.
Although it is only able to see clearly up to about 20 centimeters and due to its limited vision, it will fixate on things that are about 20 to 30 centimeters away from its eyes.

High-contrast patterns and bright colors fascinate your newborn baby because they are the easiest to see.
It is also attracted to human faces.

It has also already learned to appreciate sounds and soft music.
Objects that move slowly and make a gentle sound are much more interesting to them than those that are rigid and quiet.

Your baby is fascinated by the faces he sees around him, and he will spend a long time closely examining the face of anyone who holds him.

Motor skills

Between the ages of 0 and 3 months, your newborn baby does not yet have the motor skills to play with toys.
Your baby sees them merely as objects of entertainment and as objects to be explored rather than played with.
However, they are already attracted to multisensory elements (objects that appeal to several senses) and are able to recognize their parents.

Your newborn has a sucking and breastfeeding reflex, but is not yet able to sit up on its own and has not yet mastered independent sitting.
It makes abrupt, uncontrolled and limited movements.
It touches, grasps, holds, squeezes and shakes everything in its hand without being aware of the strength of its arm.

Understand

Your baby learns through its senses and reflexes by absorbing and processing reactions to stimuli and repetitive movements.

Infographic: Baby,0 months

Developmental stage and behavior of a newborn baby (0 months old)

Recommendations for parents of a newborn baby (0-1 months)

Listen

Your newborn has already learned to appreciate sounds and soft music.
Objects that move slowly and make a gentle sound are much more interesting to them than those that are rigid and quiet.

See

When looking for toys for your newborn, you should pay particular attention to looks and sounds.
Newborns appreciate toys that stand out with high-contrast patterns, move and make soft noises.

Due to his preference for human faces, your newborn will be delighted with any toy that has a face on it.

Books with faces or toys that encourage cuddling and convey closeness also go down well with newborns.
Mobiles with high-contrast patterns and books with pictures of baby faces are perfect at this stage.

Motor skills

Although newborns can reach for objects at the age of one month, they are not able to grasp objects until they are about 4 months old.
In the meantime, you should give your newborn an object to hold directly in their hand.

It is generally advisable to put newborn babies to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
However, when your baby is awake, you should take the opportunity to lay them on their tummy.
Babies need this position to strengthen their neck muscles.
Toys that encourage the tummy time are therefore ideal for newborns.

In the first month of life, your newborn baby learns to lift their head and move it from side to side.
Toys that encourage him to look up, down, forward, right and left are therefore beneficial.
You can achieve this, for example, with toys for looking, listening, hitting and stroking.
In this way, your baby can also practise the interaction of arms, hands and fingers.

Which toys for a 1-month-old baby?

Developmental stage and behavior of a 1-month-old baby

Listen

Due to its immaturity and lack of experience, your baby is very sensitive to environmental noises.

Your baby will move its head in the direction the sound is coming from and will be attracted to objects that emit sounds that are familiar to it as part of a routine.

See

Your baby is still very short-sighted.
At one month old, he or she will be able to see objects at a distance of 30 cm.

Your baby’s vision continues to improve rapidly.
It is attracted to bright colors such as yellow and red, although it cannot yet clearly distinguish between them.

High-contrast patterns and bright colors fascinate your baby because they are the easiest to see.
They are attracted to human faces – and can recognize their own at around 1 month old! Your baby will therefore be delighted with any toy that reflects his own face or has another face on it.

Motor skills

Between the ages of 0 and 3 months, your baby does not yet have the motor skills to play with toys.
Your baby sees them merely as objects of entertainment and as objects to be explored rather than played with.

Your baby has a sucking and breastfeeding reflex, but is not yet able to sit up on its own and has not yet mastered independent sitting.
It makes abrupt, uncontrolled and limited movements.
It touches, grasps, holds, squeezes and shakes everything in its hand without being aware of the strength of its arm.

Understand

Your baby is not yet capable of engaging with books.
This is not surprising, as at this age they do not yet have the necessary physical, cognitive and visual skills.

Your baby learns through its senses and reflexes by absorbing and processing responses to stimuli and repetitive movements.
However, they are already attracted to multisensory elements (objects that appeal to several senses) and can recognize their parents.

Infographic: Baby,1 month old

Developmental stage and behavior of a 1-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 1-month-old baby

Listen

At this age, your baby becomes increasingly aware of sounds and pays attention when someone is singing their favorite lullaby.
Many babies like the sounds of soft bells, a ticking clock or animal noises.
Toys that take advantage of your baby’s new attention to sounds are ideal – and the more varied the sounds, the better.
You will soon realize that your baby has certain preferences when it comes to sounds and likes some more than others.

See

Newborns are attracted to human faces – and your newborn can already recognize its own face at around 1 month old.
They will therefore be delighted with any toy that either reflects their own face or represents another face.

Motor skills

Your baby’s hands are now mostly open and it can already hold things with them.
Once it has grabbed hold of something, it sometimes doesn’t want to let go.
So make sure that the things they reach for are safe, without sharp edges or detachable parts.

Your baby is fascinated by toys with novel textures: velvety, rough or ribbed.
It’s also quite possible that they like toys with elements or flaps that move.
And if they also make enticing noises, their curiosity will be even greater.

Habits

Some babies start to develop a sleep routine as early as 6 weeks of age, sleeping continuously for 4 to 6 hours at night.
For other babies, this behavior does not occur until much later – sometimes only at 6 months or even later.
Experts recommend encouraging such a sleep routine.
To do this, put your baby to bed awake but already sleepy so that they learn to fall asleep on their own.
A bedtime routine, which often includes a bath, a bedtime story, cuddling, breastfeeding and a song, can be helpful.

Which toys for a 2-month-old baby?

Developmental stage and behavior of a 2-month-old baby

Listen

Due to its immaturity and lack of experience, your baby is very sensitive to environmental noises.

Your baby will move their head in the direction the sound is coming from and will be attracted to objects that emit sounds that are familiar to them as part of a routine.
From around 2 months of age, your baby will calm down when he hears familiar voices.

Your baby can localize sounds and react to them.
It can also make sounds that go hand in hand with its sensations in connection with bathing and eating.

See

Your baby’s short-sightedness will gradually improve.
By the end of the second month, it will be able to focus on objects a few meters away.
While his visual acuity was still 2.5% to 5% at birth, it has now already increased to 20%.

Your 2-month-old baby’s vision and tastes are now much more mature than those of a newborn, and the early preference for bright or high-contrast black and white objects is now beginning to give way to a love of more detailed and complex colors, shapes and designs.
Your baby will still be attracted to bright colors such as yellow and red, but at 2 months, the primary color receptors are already so well developed that your baby can distinguish between contrasts and the primary colors blue, red and yellow.

High-contrast patterns and bright colors fascinate your baby because they are the easiest to see.
Your newborn is also attracted to human faces – and can already recognize its own face.

Motor skills

At the age of 3 months, your baby is able to reflexively reach for objects and hold them.
It recognizes, explores and feels objects with its hands and mouth.

Until the age of around 3 months, your baby does not yet have the motor skills to play with toys.
They continue to see them as entertainment objects and as objects to be explored rather than played with.

Your baby has a sucking and breastfeeding reflex, but is not yet able to sit up on its own and has not yet mastered independent sitting.
It makes abrupt, uncontrolled and limited movements.
It touches, grasps, holds, squeezes and shakes everything in its hand without being aware of the strength of its arm.

Understand

You may also have noticed that your baby now likes to put objects in their mouth and drool all over everything.
This is not necessarily an indication that they are already teething – most babies only get their first teeth between 4 and 7 months.
Nevertheless, during this oral phase, your baby will want to explore pretty much every toy with their mouth in the coming weeks.

Your baby continues to learn through its senses and reflexes by picking up and processing reactions to stimuli and repetitive movements.

Infographic: Baby, 2 months old

Developmental stage and behavior of a 2-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 2-month-old baby

See

Your baby’s preference for faces – including their own – means that they will be delighted with any toy that either reflects their own face or represents another face.

As your baby’s eyesight continues to improve, he will want to interact with a variety of different objects: soft toys, cuddly toys, plastic and wooden grasping rings and fabric pendants will help him to do this.
These should therefore be washable or at least easy to clean.

Habits

If your baby has not yet developed a bedtime routine, now is a good time to start.
A calming and predictable routine will help your child fall asleep.
Such a routine can include a bath, for example.
Rocking, singing, bedtime stories or goodnight wishes, which can be directed at people or objects, are other ways to help your baby drift off to sleep and stay asleep.

A transitional object such as a blanket or soft toy will help with settling in while you put your baby to bed.
However, for safety reasons (SIDS), remember to remove all soft objects, toys, blankets and other loose bedding from your child’s sleeping area until they are six months old.

Which toys for a 3-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 3-month-old babies

Listen

At the age of 3 to 4 months, your baby can localize sounds and react to them.
It can also make sounds that are associated with its sensations in connection with bathing and eating.

See

At three months, your baby is already able to see objects in focus at a distance of several meters.
By the end of the third month, their visual acuity improves to almost 20% of what it will be in adulthood.

Motor skills

At the age of 3 months, your baby is able to reflexively reach for objects and hold them.
It recognizes, explores and feels objects with its hands and mouth.

Your baby’s movements will become increasingly coordinated.
They can open and close their fingers, wave their arms and clap their hands.
They can reach for toys that interest them and bring them close to their body so that they can look at them more closely.

He is also learning how to handle toys: He reaches for it, bumps it, puts it in his mouth and explores it with his increasingly dexterous hands.

Your baby already has limited gross and fine motor coordination and continues to make involuntary movements with its limbs.
The fine motor coordination of the hands is still developing.

It is already capable of primitive grasping (grasping objects with the palm of the hand).

Mobility

At this age, most babies can already sit up, roll on their own axis, crawl towards interesting targets or even fall down.

They learn to move their hands and feet, catch and babble.
Some babies start crawling at this age.

Understand

The learning processes still take place via the senses by processing reactions to stimuli and repetitive movements – especially those from the mouth and through reflexes.

Your baby is fascinated by any toy that challenges the use of their current skills and encourages the development of new ones.

Habits

Your baby is attracted to multisensory elements and shows an increasing interest in its environment.
It is already in the oral phase and its little teeth are slowly becoming visible.

Infographic: Baby, 3 months old

Developmental stage and behavior of a 3-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 3-month-old baby

Motor skills

Your baby is now able to kick at things in a more controlled way and has a need to aim at things.
Therefore, they will enjoy play equipment that has dangling hanging toys or plays music to keep them interested while they try out these new skills.

With a play mat, you kill two birds with one stone: firstly, baby is encouraged to practise moving his arms upwards and rolling from front to back (or vice versa).
All of these skills introduce him to crawling.

Mobility

Due to his increased mobility, your baby may come into contact with things that he cannot yet handle safely.
So make sure that there are only objects within his reach that he can grab, drop and grab again softly: Rattles, balls, soft toys and toys with interesting nooks and crannies.
Assume that he will continue to put everything in his mouth that he can get his little hands on, even if he is not yet teething.

From now on, hold on to your baby when changing diapers.
Although babies should still remain lying down at this age, they will be able to roll around successfully for the first time in the coming weeks.

Understand

Toys that promote several skills at the same time become increasingly important for your baby’s development from this age.

Which toys for a 4-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 4-month-old babies

Listen

At the age of 4 months, your baby will begin to engage in sound games that emphasize the repetition of the same syllable, such as “mama”, “daddy”.

Your baby likes toys that make noises when they play, such as shaking cups or toys that ring, or toys that make clicking or animal noises.

It takes great pleasure in songs and sounds.
It is more sensitive to sounds and reacts to changes in voice pitch and noises.

At this age, your baby starts to develop language games with you and other adults, where words are spoken in a repetitive way.

See

Your baby’s vision is also improving.
The time when it could only perceive contrasts is over.
They can now also distinguish between similar colors such as red and orange.
However, toys with bright and varied colors will keep their attention for even longer.

Motor skills

Your baby’s physical development is progressing rapidly.
When lying on its back, it lifts its head and shoulders as soon as you pick it up.
When lying on its tummy, it stretches out its arms and legs and arches its back.
This straightens their spine.
They will soon be able to sit unsupported.
This will give them their hands free to explore their surroundings.

Your baby will begin to use its limbs more to move, roll onto its side and push itself forwards and backwards.
It is now able to stand on the floor to play and sit down and crawl on its own.

His movements no longer seem so awkward and are more natural but still involuntary.

Your baby can already grasp things firmly.
They can stretch out their palms to reach objects and are able to transfer objects from one hand to the other.

Understand

At this age, your baby can already play with a toy on their own for a few minutes using their hands and feet.
He will repeat the same action until he is sure of the result.
And then he will change things a little to see if something different happens – learning by doing!

Infographic: Baby, 4 months old

Developmental status and behavior of a 4-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 4-month-old baby

Listen

Your baby has a preference for sounds.
Give him a rattle and watch how he enjoys the sound when he shakes it.

See

Toys with bright and varied colors keep his attention even longer.

Motor skills

From now on, it’s better to hold your baby firmly when changing their diaper so that they don’t roll around or crawl away.

Mobility

Scatter bright and interesting toys near him and watch how he tries to reach them.

Which toys for a 5-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 5-month-old babies

Listen

At the age of 5 months, your baby’s hearing has already developed to such an extent that it reacts more sensitively to sounds and changes in vocal pitch and noises.

See

Your baby’s understanding of colors continues to deepen: he or she is now able to make subtle distinctions between hues.

Motor skills

Your baby is already using their improved visual and motor skills to play with other people.

Your baby may now be able to move from the back to a sitting position, or remain upright without tipping over when you move them to a sitting position.
They may still need your support to master this skill.

Movements such as holding, gripping, pushing, shaking, pulling and throwing objects on the floor are becoming increasingly better.

Understand

Your baby is now able to interact with toys and objects.

Your baby’s ability to interact with you and its environment grows from day to day.
It plays little games because it begins to understand that actions have consequences.
For example, they will drop toys just to see someone pick them up or to see them fall.
In a few weeks, he will be giggling, laughing or even crying.

The closer your baby gets to being able to talk, the more he will enjoy certain sounds: Tapping, shaking and biting toys are part of his experiments.

Your baby begins to become aware of the existence and permanence of objects (objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight).
It imitates simple movements and gestures.

Infographic: Baby, 5 months old

Developmental stage and behavior of a 5-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 5-month-old baby

See

Reading books about colors or playing with colorful toys will help your baby develop an understanding of color differences.

Motor skills

Toys that encourage your baby to develop their stomach, neck and shoulder muscles are beneficial to this development.

From now on, it’s better to hold your baby firmly when changing their diaper so that they don’t roll around or crawl away.

Understand

Toys that make pleasing sounds when they engage with them (for example, by pressing a button, shaking the toy, or rolling it around) are a good choice at six months as your baby begins to explore cause and effect – for example, moving a lever and hearing a bell ring.

Which toys for a 6-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 6-month-old babies

Listen

Your baby is more sensitive to sounds and reacts to changes in voice pitch and noises.

See

At the age of 6 months, your baby’s visual acuity and color receptors are almost at the developmental level of an adult.
They are attracted to red and yellow colors and printed patterns.

Motor skills

Your baby is now adept at grasping and manipulating objects and loves to explore things with their fingers.

At the age of 6 months, your baby can fully grasp and hold objects.
It is able to turn thicker pages, albeit somewhat clumsily.

At this age, your baby is learning to control its clumsy body.
It is now able to get into an upright sitting position on its own and stay there without tipping over.

Mobility

Your baby can now crawl longer distances.

In a short time, it has learned to roll over, sit, crawl and pounce on things it desires.

Understand

Your baby begins to understand more and more that its actions can have an effect on its environment.
It is therefore fascinated by toys that react to being stroked or bumped.

Infographic: Baby, 6 months old

Developmental status and behavior of a 6-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 6-month-old baby

Motor skills

Toys that help your baby to find his balance and explore his new skills are particularly suitable for this phase.

Toys with interesting surfaces (smooth, ribbed, silky and rough) and small toys that he can shake, drop and pick up are suitable for this age group.

Understand

Toys that make noises or move back and forth will become your baby’s favorite toys.
Especially if they contain a mirror so they can watch their own face in it.
Or if it has interesting surface textures that they can touch and stroke with their hands.

Which toys for a 7-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 7-month-old babies

Your baby is now in the teething phase (for most babies, the first tooth appears between the fourth and sixth month).
This means that no matter what toy your baby gets hold of, it will most likely chew on it.

Motor skills

As your baby’s fine motor skills develop, they will continue to love toys that they can explore with their hands.

Understand

Towards the end of the seventh month, your baby begins to develop object permanence or person permanence – the cognitive ability to know that an object or person continues to exist even when it is outside the field of perception.
He will therefore enjoy any game where you hide a toy.

Babies at this age prefer predictability.
Even though your baby gets excited about the same game over and over again or reaches for the same object every day, they enjoy the playtime and the good experiences with you and would like to repeat them.

Infographic: Baby, 7 months old

Developmental status and behavior of a 7-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 7-month-old baby

Motor skills

Encourage the development of your baby’s fine motor skills by giving them toys with interesting textures or elements that rattle, turn, shake from side to side or move in other ways.

Understand

Promote the development of your baby’s object permanence: Place a toy under a box or blanket within your baby’s reach.
They look for the toy, look under the box or blanket and find the toy there.
Repeat this activity several times.

Don’t be surprised if your baby wants to play the same game with you again and again.
This is completely normal at this age and nothing to worry about.
His cognitive development is still progressing.

Which toys for an 8-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 8-month-old babies

Your baby may be anxious when you are away or in the presence of strangers. It will attach itself to objects such as blankets, cuddly toys, etc. that give it comfort and a feeling of security. It will begin imitative behaviour and will be able to recognize and imitate voices, songs and sounds. They can repeat songs and sounds after listening to a series of repetitions.

Comprehension & motor skills

Stacking and collecting games fascinate and challenge your baby at this age.
They enjoy anything that can be stacked, fitted together or collected.
Building blocks, shape sorters and creative toys with a multifunctional function, i.e. toys that can be taken apart and put back together again, are very popular.

Your baby explores objects by feeling them everywhere, shaking them, pushing them, throwing them or dropping them.
These cause-and-effect games fascinate and motivate your baby.

Understand

Your baby’s babbling will increasingly resemble the sounds of their mother tongue.
It will begin to imitate some of its familiar actions with the help of objects or toys, such as cradling a doll (this is the first phase of symbolization).

It also already understands the meaning of some gestures (kiss, goodbye and come here).

Your baby will begin to express itself through gestures (e.g. extending and contracting its hand when it wants something).
However, this is limited to his immediate field of vision.

He begins to verbalize his first words and link them to actions, again limited to knowledge from his immediate environment.

Intentional verbal and physical communication is therefore already taking place.
It is still attracted to elements that stimulate its senses.

It begins with imitation behaviour and is able to recognize and imitate voices, songs and sounds.
They can repeat songs and sounds after listening to a series of repetitions.

At this age, your baby wants to know how things work and how they can be manipulated.
This is why they are particularly interested in toys and objects with special functions, such as very simple telephones (in our childhood there were still simple play guns. However, this is no longer possible today). You can encourage your baby by helping him to hold a telephone to his ear so that he can have a conversation with you.
Or how to hold a brush and then comb their hair based on this.
Or how he picks up a cup to drink from it.
With practice, your baby will soon be able to play such simple augmented reality games without being asked and without help.

Infographic: Baby, 8 months old

Developmental status and behavior of an 8-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of an 8-month-old baby

Understand

You can encourage your baby by helping them to hold a phone to their ear and talk to you.
Or how he holds a brush and then combs his hair.
Or how he picks up a cup to drink from it.
With practice, your baby will soon be able to play such simple augmented reality games without being asked and without help.

Which toys for a 9-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 9-month-old babies

Motor skills

At this age, some babies have already mastered the pincer grasp, i.e. the ability to pick up small objects between their thumb and index finger and manipulate them in this way.
These improved fine motor skills enable them to manipulate objects in their environment and pick and place them with greater precision.

Your baby loves any toy with parts that can be stacked or put together, or that encourages them to put objects in a container and take them out again.

Mobility

Your baby is getting closer and closer to walking by performing movements such as crawling on the stairs or navigating around the room on their legs while holding on to furniture.
Some “precocious” babies can even walk a few steps at this age.

Motor skills & comprehension

Once your baby has figured out how to use a toy, he will perform the same movements over and over again.
If you then try to take his toy away before he has finished playing with it, you may meet with fierce resistance as your increasingly confident baby gets better and better at expressing his needs and desires.

Your baby likes to pass objects to you and then take them back again.
If you roll a toy to him, he may roll it back to you.
At some point, your baby will even be able to keep the objects and stack or sort them instead of giving them back to you.

Your baby’s object permanence has now developed to such an extent that he is able to remember where certain objects are in the house, even if they are out of sight.
This goes so far that things that you store in drawers or boxes while your baby is watching may no longer be safe from him.

Your baby begins to associate objects with their purpose and has a full awareness of the existence and permanence of an object: it is aware of its existence even when it is out of sight.

Your baby will be able to turn the pages of a book with greater ease, understand simple cause-and-effect relationships and be increasingly self-aware.
They begin to develop an idea of heights and the associated risk of falling.

Infographic: Baby, 9 months old

Developmental status and behavior of a 9-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 9-month-old baby

Motor skills

Your baby likes toys with moving parts: All kinds of toys, knobs, buttons, levers and doors that open and close.
Toys that your baby likes will babble at them and even imitate the sounds they make.

Give your baby a large plastic bucket and some colorful blocks or other small items so they can practice and improve their new skills.

Mobility

You can encourage your baby’s newfound mobility with toys that provide support as he tries to walk: for example, rolling toys with a wide, stable base.

Understand

Your baby likes toys with moving parts, especially those that can be manipulated to cause a reaction: for example, a lever that makes a picture appear or a door to open or a button to turn.

Which toys for a 10-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 10-month-old babies

Motor skills

Your baby may now have developed the pincer grasp (holding an object between the thumb and index finger) to such an extent that they can already pick up small objects in this way.
The next step will be to use this new skill to pick up pieces of food.

They increasingly have muscle control and better developed fine motor coordination.
Their previously rather primitive grasp is becoming increasingly coordinated (holding, pincer grip) and they are able to play instruments with their fingers (usually the index finger).
They use their index finger to point at objects and people.

Although they are already able to hold two objects at the same time, they are not yet able to coordinate them.
Objects remain in their hands for longer and they reach and hit the objects more frequently.
They practise and improve their fine motor skills by grasping, pushing, pulling, pressing, clapping, stroking, nudging, shaking and scribbling.
He is able to scribble with crayons and markers, but is not yet able to draw or write effectively.

Your baby’s gross motor skills have now developed to such an extent that they can sit independently and crawl quite quickly.
Most babies at this age can even crawl up stairs.
Navigating through the room on their own legs with the help of furniture, which they can hold on to for support, is also getting better and better.

Mobility

Your baby develops better body balance and is interested in moving and placing objects.
His movements are becoming increasingly elegant.
It is interested in exploring its environment and can already sit and crawl without help.
He remains upright and takes his first steps with support.

Understand

At this age, your baby likes to throw things away or drop them to see what happens – and to watch you pick them up.

Some babies start parallel play at this age: your baby plays near other children but does not try to involve them.

Infographic: Baby, 10 months old

Developmental stage and behavior of a 10-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 10-month-old baby

If you’re already observing your baby in parallel play at this age, you could start thinking about playdates to encourage your child’s new social skills – even if they’re still too young to make friends.

Which toys for an 11-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 11-month-old babies

Motor skills

Your baby’s pincer grip will continue to develop.
It can pick up more and more objects between the thumb and index finger and manipulate them in a variety of ways.

Now that your baby may have mastered the pincer grasp, their interests will turn more and more to physical activities: Pushing, throwing, knocking things over, and putting toys in and out of containers.

At this age, your baby will enjoy any toy that can be collected in a container and then taken out individually or thrown on the floor, as well as toys with moving parts or those that can be stacked into towers, which they can then knock over with a satisfying crash.

Mobility

Toys that roll, move or help them to walk with support can be of great interest to your baby as they practise the transition from crawling to walking.
Most babies make their first independent attempts at walking between the ages of 9 and 12 months.

Understand

Your baby may already enjoy looking at books and leafing through them, even if it’s not always in order.

Your baby’s verbal skills will improve and the transition to speech will be smooth: your baby’s babbling will increasingly turn into words and word types that your baby uses sensibly and with adult-like inflections.

It may already be able to follow simple instructions such as “Pick this up” or “Bring me the rattle”.

Infographic: Baby, 11 months old

Developmental status and behavior of an 11-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of an 11-month-old baby

Motor skills

Give your baby toys that can be collected in a container and then taken out individually or thrown on the floor.
Toys with moving parts or those that can be stacked into towers, which your baby can then knock over with a satisfying crash, are also popular at this stage.

Understand

Read stories to your baby, talk to him and give him toys that promote language development.

Encourage your baby’s interest in language and communication by listening carefully to the sounds your baby makes and responding to them, for example by naming objects that you both see together in books or encounter in real life.

Which toys for a 12-month-old baby?

Developmental status and behavior of 12-month-old babies

Motor skills

Most babies take their first steps between the ages of 9 and 12 months and are walking well by 14 or 15 months.
However, if your baby is still not walking, there’s no need to worry – some children take a little longer to start crawling.

Your baby’s gait will look awkward at first, with toes turned outwards.
As he gets used to the pace, he will love toys that allow him to push, walk supported or sit and roll.
Later he will find out that he can pull toys behind him instead of pushing them in front of him.

When “riding” together with ride-on vehicles, your baby is not yet able to alternate between moving their feet while pushing and pedaling.

His fine motor skills are also still limited, but his hand-eye coordination is improving.

Understand

Your baby starts to choose his own toys and then no longer leaves them lying around, but keeps them with him.

He begins to remember past events and likes to explore objects with his hands and mouth.

Your baby uses all of its senses to explore the world around it.

It already has a simplified symbolic way of thinking.

Communication

Your baby’s vocal skills will continue to improve and by now they may be able to say a few words that go beyond “mama” and “dada”.
They may even be babbling in short sentences (“baby talk”), with all the nuances of a language.

Infographic: Baby, 12 months old

Developmental status and behavior of a 12-month-old baby

Recommendations for parents of a 12-month-old baby

Understand

You can develop your baby’s skills by reading to them, talking to them and offering them toys that allow them to hear sounds, words or music.

Point to the names and colors of fruits and vegetables in the store and ask your child to point to familiar objects or name them while you read them to them.

Motor skills & comprehension

Count steps as you climb them with your baby.

Motor skills

Offer your baby toys that they can pull behind them instead of pushing them in front of them.

Bibliography

1. ISO/TR 8124-8:2016, Safety of toys – Part 8: Age determination guidelines.
2. DIN CEN ISO/TR 8124-8:2016-12, Safety of toys – Part 8: Guidelines for age classification (ISO/TR 8124-8:2016).
3. Good Toys for Young Children by Age and Stage, National Association for the Education of Young Children.
4. The right stuff for children birth to 8 : selecting play materials to support development; Martha Bronson; National Association for the Education of Young Children. .
5. Best toys for newborns, Joyce Slaton, BabyCenter, LLC.