The 23 Best Toys for 9-Month Olds of 2021

Take playtime up a notch

By
Christine Luff
Christine Many Luff is a personal trainer, fitness nutrition specialist, and Road Runners Club of America Certified Coach.
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Christine Luff
Updated on December 09, 2020
Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.

Our Top Picks

The First Years Stack Up Cups at Amazon

"9-month-olds will likely grab and roll them, and as they get a little older, they'll learn how to stack and sort them."

VTech Stroll and Discover Activity Walker at Walmart

"The walker can aid them with their first steps and in their down time, they can stay entertained with the detachable play panel."

The Fisher-Price Linkimals Smooth Moves Sloth at Amazon

"Get your kiddo moving in unison with this plush sloth, which is programmed to dance, clap, and play music."

Infantino Press & Stay Sensory Blocks at Amazon

"Before they move onto to LEGOs, your little one can get used to the basics of building with these interlocking blocks."

Bright Starts Oball Classic Ball at Amazon

"Featuring 32 finger holes, Bright Starts' toy ball is perfect for little hands to grip, throw, and catch."

Hohner Accordions Kids Musical Toys at Amazon

"Baby will get a head start in recognizing certain sounds and developing their gross motor skills with this 4-in-1 musical set."

VTech Pull and Sing Puppy at Amazon

"Tots can look after their very own pup with this interactive toy, featuring sounds, songs, numbers, and colors."

Melissa & Doug Take-Along Shape Sorter at Amazon

"Easily transported indoors or outdoors, this two-sided shape sorter trains your child in identifying colors and shapes."

Boon Stacking Boats Bathing Toys at Amazon

"Make bath time more exciting with these stackable boats, designed with drain holes and decks for scooping water."

Sassy Stacks of Circles at Amazon

"Minimize your kiddo's playing frustration with these easy-to-grip rings that can be stacked onto the accompanying post."

As their attention spans grow and they become more mobile, 9-month-old babies are eager to explore the world around them. Play helps babies thrive, and toys that encourage movement, language skills, and social-emotional intelligence are crucial for their development.

Here’s our roundup of toys for 9-month-olds that will entertain, stimulate, and help them learn skills.

Our Top Picks

The First Years Stack Up Cups

The First Years Stack Up Cups

Courtesy of Amazon

These simple-yet-fun nesting cups are always a hit with babies, who use them to stack, fit together, or turn over and hide things underneath. Colorful and bright, they have numbers on their base so your baby can practice counting and number recognition skills as they get older. Recommended for 6-month-olds and up.

VTech Stroll and Discover Activity Walker

Vtech Stroll and Discover Activity Walker

 Courtesy of VTech

This sit-to-stand activity walker is packed with lights, sounds, spinners, and sorters to keep them entertained and curious. Once your baby is more mobile, the attachable activity center snaps onto a sturdy base to prop them up as they start walking. As your tot grows, you can switch the walker between two age-appropriate speeds. Recommended for ages 9 months and up.

The Fisher-Price Linkimals Smooth Moves Sloth

Fisher-Price Linkimals Smooth Moves Sloth

 Courtesy of Amazon

This super cute, interactive sloth gets little ones learning and moving with its songs and dance moves. Babies ages 9 months old and up can press the buttons on the sloth’s feet to hear about letters, colors, and numbers, as he sings, claps, bobs his head and lights up. With over 85 tunes and sounds, there are endless features for your kiddo to discover.

Infantino Press & Stay Sensory Blocks

While your little one may not be quite ready for building towers with wooden blocks, this colorful set is totally age-appropriate. Recommend for babies ages 6 months old and older, the blocks have interlocking nubs so they stay where they’re put, which makes stacking and building much easier and more fun. They are small enough for your babe to practice their fine motor skills without being too tiny.

Bright Starts Oball Classic Ball

The award-winning flexible design of the Oball classic makes it easy for babies of any age to grip, catch, and play. Lightweight and soft, it has 32 large, easy-to-grasp holes and is made of a flexible plastic that’s a cinch to wipe clean. The chewable material makes toothless gnawing easy.

Hohner Accordions Kids Musical Toys

These simple musical toys are the perfect way for babies to start experimenting with different sounds. While they bang and shake the colorful instruments, your baby will also develop their gross motor skills and learn about cause and effect. Recommended for babies 3 months old and up, the set includes a mini tube shaker, baby maraca, baby rattle, and cage bell, as well as a sturdy vinyl bag for storage.

VTech Pull and Sing Puppy

Babies have a blast pulling and pushing this dog toy as they watch and listen to it play music and light up. Perfect for 9-month-olds, this highly interactive and visually stimulating toy helps them learn about cause and effect and develop their motor and hand-eye coordination skills. From teaching them their numbers and colors to the parts of their body, this toy will be a learning favorite as they grow.

Melissa & Doug Take-Along Shape Sorter

Melissa and Doug Shape Sorter

 Courtesy of Melissa and Doug

This padded on-the-go activity center is so much more than a basic shape sorter. Babies can lift the crinkly flaps, match the shapes, and drop the textured blocks through the sorter. As they develop their skills, they’ll enjoy identifying the objects and zipping and unzipping the bag. Recommended for babies ages 9 months old and up, the set also has an easy-to-grasp handle to carry it from place to place.

Boon Stacking Boats Bathing Toys

These brightly-colored, stackable boats make bath time more fun for babies. They can float them in the tub or use them to scoop up water and let it drain out, as they watch the cool rain effect. Suitable for 9-month-olds and up, they’re free of BPA, phthalate, and PVC and are single-piece construction, so they won’t get moldy like other bath toys.

Sassy Stacks of Circles

Designed to help develop fine motor, grasping, and hand-eye coordination skills, this stacking toy features chunky rings of all different textures and weights. The straight post accepts different size rings, so stacking is frustration-free. And when they’re a bit older, the numbers on the side of each ring will help babies learn counting order. Recommended for ages 6 months old and up.

VTech Turn and Learn Driver

VTech turn and learn

 Courtesy of VTech

As your baby steers the wheel, this toy plays songs and the little dog moves back and forth. The fun design also includes a traffic light, a turn signal lever that triggers sounds and music, a horn, and a gear shifter. Little drivers can also press the five colorful buttons to learn about different animals and vehicles. Recommended for ages 6 months old and up.

Fisher-Price My First Fidget Cube

With six sides of colorful clickers, spinning rollers, toggle switches, and more, this activity block will keep little ones engaged as they practice developing their fine motor skills. This entertaining little toy will keep your tot occupied minus the endless noise. Recommended for babies aged 6 months and up, the cube is the perfect size for tiny hands to grasp and explore.

Hape Double Bubble Wooden Bead Maze

This two-track bead maze promotes fine motor skills, develops hand-eye coordination, and entertains little ones as they work the wooden beads from one end to the other. Durable and portable, it has four suction cups to keep the wooden base secure on smooth surfaces for extra stability. Recommended for ages 6 months old and older.

Sassy Pop ‘n’ Push Car

Babies love to pull back this easy-to-grasp car and watch it zoom forward as they let it go. The beads “pop” when the car moves, helping them learn about cause and effect. The colorful car also inspires exploration, as babies chase and retrieve it after it’s released. Recommended for 6-month-olds and up.

VTech Drop and Go Dump Truck

More than just a pull along toy, this colorful truck helps little ones learn about numbers, colors, and shapes. As they load the plastic rocks into the truck, it counts each one. They can also push buttons to play songs that teach colors, words, and tools. Recommended for 6-month-olds and up.

Playskool Poppin’ Pals Pop-up Activity Toy

Watch your baby’s face light up as they push, twist, or slide the levers for pop-up surprises. These animal friends can help your baby develop fine motor skills and learn cause and effect, while also teaching them colors and shapes. This mess-free toy is an all-in-one set so clean up is a breeze. Recommended for 9 months and up.

Hape Penguin Musical Wobbler

This adorable, wooden musical toy plays soothing, tinkling sounds as it waddles, spins, and rolls. As the sweet penguin wobbles, the interior bell creates a light sound that is perfect for little sensitive ears. Babies ages 6 months and up can bat at it and it always pops back up.

Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Stride-to-Ride Puppy

This adorable Stride-to-Ride Puppy grows with your baby, as it easily converts from a walker to a ride-on toy. Babies can sit and play with it by sorting the colorful blocks and “feeding” them to Puppy. When they’re ready to walk, the seat raises and becomes a handle. Whether they’re pushing, walking, riding, or scooting along, babies can watch the puppy’s head and ears wiggle and listen to fun songs and encouraging phrases as it moves. Recommended for ages 9 months and older.

LeapFrog Learn and Groove Musical Table

Little ones can press, slide, spin, and pull the colorful instruments on this activity table, as they work on developing motor skills. The learning mode introduces them to basic concepts like letters, numbers, shapes, and colors, in both Spanish and English. You can remove the legs for floor play, and then replace them when your baby is ready to stand. Recommended for ages 6 months old and older.

SwimWays Baby Spring Float Activity Center with Canopy

An ideal way to introduce your little one to the pool, this float has attached toys that they can play with as they get used to the water. Designed for comfort and safety, it features a wide base, child safety valves, dual air chambers, and a patented inner spring for greater stability.

The removable sun canopy offers a shady spot with UPF 50+ sun protection, and the mesh sides allow you to see your baby at every angle. It is important to note that babies should never be left unattended in the pool, even when using a floatation device. Recommended for 9-month-olds and up.

VTech Musical Rhymes Book

Babies will hear songs, sounds, and phrases as they slide, twist, and push buttons and levers in this interactive book. Recommended for ages 6 months and up, it helps little ones build motor skills. The musical tabs introduce them to instruments, colors, and age-appropriate vocabulary.

Green Toys Tugboat

Babies can float this colorful boat across the bathtub or use the wide spout to scoop and pour water. Like all Green Toys, it’s made in the USA from 100% recycled plastic milk containers and contains no BPA, PVC, phthalates, or external coatings. Recommended for ages 6 months and up.

VTech Baby Babble and Rattle Microphone

This interactive microphone amplifies your little one's voice, and the puppy button encourages them to sing along with playful melodies. When babies shake it or turn the ring, they hear different animals or fun sounds and phrases. Intended for babies ages 3 months to 3 years old, this fun-filled toy enhances listening and motor skills, while also promoting imaginative play.

Why Trust Verywell Family

Christine Luff is a freelance writer who covers fitness, health, parenting, and other topics. She’s also mom to a 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, who has always enjoyed a wide range of active and educational toys.

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