The 9 Best Toys for 8-Month-Olds of 2020

Best Gross Motor: VTech® Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker

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Whether your baby is crawling, starting to stand, taking their first steps, or just checking out the scene, this must-have baby product does a lot for whatever stage your baby is in. If they are just sitting, they'll have fun pushing all of the buttons on this and listening to the fun sounds and music. You can even remove the light-up part and place it on the floor for floor time. Once your baby starts standing up, you can help them use this to take their first assisted steps.

No matter the level, your child will love this for years to come. Once they master walking, they'll love to zoom around the house with this, bumping into furniture, walls, and such! 

Parents agree this toy is a must, with many saying they wish they bought it even sooner. Some parents with 3-year-olds even remark their kids still love to push this around the house. 

Best Teether: Munchkin Twisty® Figure 8 Teether Toy

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Teething can be very uncomfortable for babies—as their tiny (cute!) teeth start cutting through the gums, babies may cry more and feel overall achy. When traveling, hand baby a Twisty Figure 8 teether, a Parent's Choice Gold Award winner that’s small enough to carry in a purse. This teether-slash-rattle, shaped like an "8" for easy gripping, has five gentle and stimulating textures that provide fast relief for your baby's sore gums.

BPA-free, this colorful teether is twistable and makes rattle sounds when shaken. It’s a great developmental toy that enhances baby’s motor, sensory, and cognitive skills. And, of course, helps baby feel better.

Reviewers called it a simple but effective product that is durable and holds up well after months of chewing, drooling, and twisting.

Best Cause and Effect: Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Kick 'n Play Piano

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Great for tummy time as well as sit-up play, this whimsical piano offers tons of musical fun for little ones as they reach new milestones. Soft ties on the side of this fabric piano allow parents to tie it to the inside of baby’s crib, where she can enjoy playful tunes and songs. Great for a cause and effect toy that encourages coordination, baby can kick the piano with her strong little legs to activate the music.

There are three musical settings on this piano: 10 plus minutes of continuous music for longer play, or, for shorter play, baby can bat at the keys to hear phrases and tunes. Like a real keyboard, each key can also play its own individual piano note. This is a great toy for introducing shapes, colors, and counting, and has eye-catching blinking lights. Three AA batteries are included.

Best Sorting: Fisher-Price Baby's First Blocks Playset

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It is never too soon to get your child familiar with common shapes. This classic toy from Fisher-Price will have them dumping out all of the blocks and trying to figure out how to get them back in through the holes. Believe it or not, your child will be fascinated with this game for years, so you will have this around for the long haul.

When they are little you can teach them about putting the toys back in the bin (no need for the top) and as they start to get more spatial awareness you can teach them about shapes, colors, and more. If your kid likes to stack, he might even have fun figuring out how to get these on top of one another. 

Best Travel: Bright Starts Lots of Links

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This toy may be inexpensive, but it’ll provide hours of entertainment for little ones. Eight-month-olds can gnaw on the plastic rings when they’re learning how to connect them together to make all sorts of fun chains. These colorful links will get years of use. They’re wonderful for hooking onto car seats and strollers, so Mom and Dad won’t have to constantly pick them up.

There are 24 links in all that come in a variety of different textured patterns. Carry them all in a reusable plastic bag so you can easily throw them into a diaper bag for some on-the-go fun. Made of soft, BPA-free plastic, these links can be twisted and connected together, making them great for hand-eye coordination and wrist/hand movement.

Best Bath: Munchkin Bath Toy, Little Boat

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If you haven't already discovered, bath toys can get gross and moldy. These cute boats don't have any holes or hard to reach crevices so its easy to clean them when the time comes. Just throw one or two in the bath for your 8-month-old and as your baby becomes a toddler, they will start to be able to link these together to create a boat train. When they are young they can stack them all or just watch them float amongst the bubbles. These boats also work well in a water table if you have one, too.

Parents love how simple and easy to clean these are, and many have said they enjoy playing with these as well!

Best Blocks: Baby Einstein Explore and Discover Soft Block Toys

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This four-piece collection of soft blocks are must-have products for the 8-month-old in your life—and on the road with you. Each soft block has a different activity and real-life imagery. The "shapes" block features multi-textured fabric, which is wonderful for tactile stimulation. This is a fun block for little hands to grip. The "colors" block depicts the names of colors displayed in English, Spanish, and French. The "numbers" block has a little mirror on it for self-discovery, and, finally, the "animals" block rattles and lists the names of animals in English, Spanish, and French.

These are great toys for stacking, tumbling, playing peek-a-boo, learning new words, and so much more, brought to you by Baby Einstein, an industry leader in development and educational play.

Best for Vocabulary: Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Smart Stages Sis

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This sensory teddy bear named "Sis" is not only huggable; she plays 75 plus songs, sounds, tunes, and phrases. Babies will love that something exciting happens whenever, wherever, you touch Sis. Her heart lights-up, and various sounds and quirky music emit from her hands, ear, and foot. She speaks 100 very basic words—which hopefully your almost-toddler will soak up—counts, recites the alphabet, states body parts, and more.

This toys helps develop baby’s sensory and fine motor skills—she always has something to teach. Sis is an educational toy kids will cherish for many months. Every single baby develops at his or her own pace, so it’s nice to know that Sis comes equipped with Smart Stages technology. This means that parents and caretakers can choose the teaching level—1, 2, or 3—that's best for their child. Sis weighs a smidgen more than 1 pound and runs on three AA batteries, which are included.

Best Book: Baby Einstein Explore and Discover Soft Book Toy

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It’s never too early to instill a love of reading and books in your child. This soft book from industry leader Baby Einstein has four fabric animal-themed pages—the middle pages make crinkle sounds when squeezed—which encourage and enhance tactile development. It’s also a nice book for gnawing on, since, at 8-months-old, there’s a very good chance baby is putting everything in her mouth.

Reviewers of this product like that the book’s pages are colorful and bright, which captures baby’s attention, and that the book comes with a link loop, making it easy to carry or attach to a car seat or stroller.