10 Best Toys for 9-Month Olds Reviewed in 2024

Educational Value

The saying goes that "readers are born on the laps of their parents". If you read to your baby often enough, eventually, they'll become strong readers themselves. Books are a gateway to an imaginative world that exists beyond the realm of everyday life and they're a wonderful thing to share with your child.

Safety

Just because your baby isn't old enough to read yet doesn't mean that they won't get joy out of books, and the Lamaze Peak-A-Boo Forest is a great choice for storytime. this book is made completely of soft fabric so it's texturally interesting as well as safe for babies, as they'll likely want to squeeze it and chew on it if they're teething.

Design

This book is full of cute illustrations and fun forest creatures that your baby will love looking at as you read to them. Hearing your voice will help to encourage their own speech and eventually, they'll be the ones reading each page back to you.

Entertainment Value

This book is just as visually stimulating as it is interesting to read. It will hold your child's attention and encourage their ability to focus, which is helpful much further down the line.

Age Range

The Lamaze Peek-A-Boo Forest Book is intended for children ages 6 Months and older. If you need something for a younger infant, try their Panda Pals or How Do I Feel book! Additionally, more titles open up once they reach the 12 month mark.

Educational Value

Studies prove that listening to music provides numerous physical and emotional benefits. This cube provides all of that plus it encourages fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. As children grow older, they can learn to distinguish the names and sounds of the instruments involved, as well.

Safety

The Munchkin Mozart Cube is both BPA-free and phthalate-free. It’s made of plastic so it’s a little heavy if thrown but it’s pretty hard for baby to pick up and hurl given its size and weight.

Design

This little cube has quite a lot going for it! There’s a volume toggle so you don’t have to hear the instruments blaring from the other room if a little peace and quiet might do you good. The cube also allows you to add or subtract the instruments in the orchestration by pressing the labeled buttons so you can hear the compositions plenty of different ways.

Entertainment Value

Kids love flashing lights and sounds at this age. This cube provides the best of both worlds, plus some pretty sophisticated play so that this cube won’t immediately lose its relevance with kids as they grow up and develop new skills.

Age Range

This sweet, interactive toy for 10 Month Olds is enjoyed more broadly by children between the ages of 6 months to 3 years.

Educational Value

It's great for language development and to encourage your child's motor skills, as each side of this cube encourages them to play with yet another feature.

Safety

VTech prides themselves on creating toys that are both education as well as skill-building. This activity cube will help your child's motor function as well as their cognitive skills when it comes to figuring out each component.

Design

This one toy your baby will not get tired of. It incorporates so many dynamic features that it's easy enough for your child to switch from one side to the next whenever playtime starts getting redundant.

Entertainment Value

Similar to the last activity cube by VTech, this one appears to be identical until you look closely at each side. All five interactive sides feature different activities than the last and this cube's theme is bugs and animals! While the cube does talk and will teach your child about various animals, it also has 14 interactive features and 25 different songs that your child can sing along with.

Age Range

This cube will absolutely grow with your child and will last well into their toddlerhood, as VTech claims their product is great for kids as old as three years.

Educational Value

Every child should have a sorting cube in their toy box. Sorting cubes help to teach kids how they should separate and organize shapes based on size and will teach them important cognitive skills that they'll need as they get older. These types of cubes push them to use all of their critical thinking abilities in order to place blocks in the holes where they belong and they're rewarded with knowing that they came up with the correct answer.

Safety

Babies will be mesmerized when they drop a shape into the correctly shaped-hole and their block suddenly disappears. Additionally, they'll be even more surprised when they realize they've actually put it exactly where it needs to go!

Design

The high-quality wood exterior is durable and the paint is colorful while still holding true in traditional, classic colors.

Entertainment Value

This is a great activity for you to do with your child as well since the look on your face when they match a shape with its corresponding hole will be reward enough for them. This cube by Melissa & Doug meets all of the expectations we've grown to expect with them and is built tough to last for years.

Age Range

Melissa and Doug market this as being aimed at 2-5 year olds but users state that children as young as six months enjoy these blocks.

Educational Value

This fun little game is the perfect trick to getting your baby to work on their motor skills. It'll be a blast for them and can really be a fun family activity as well since everyone can help to collect these balls and restart the game. It's a fun way to get your child up and moving around and they'll be growing their tiny muscles and improving their coordination without even realizing it. This monster doesn't move too fast or too slow and rolls at just the perfect pace to give your baby a doable challenge.

Safety

This little monster is the ultimate in crawling needs. Your baby will be totally excited when they realize that not only will they have a pal to crawl along with them, but it's also a fun toy as well!

Design

If you were looking for something that will get your baby moving, this monster is it! Although he's called a "monster", he's not very scary -- In fact, he's quite friendly and will motivate them to move around and follow him as he leaves "snacks" all over the floor.

Entertainment Value

The Fisher-Price Zoon 'n Crawl Monster is a handy little tool to improve your baby's muscle function while they crawl around in an attempt to catch up with this funny guy. In his mouth, he holds several balls that will randomly spit out as he rolls and spins around the floor.

Age Range

The Fisher Price Zoom and Crawl is designed for a demographic of children between 9 months and 3 years of age.

Educational Value

Puzzles are great for you at any age, from nine months all the way into adulthood. They provide proper brain-bending that will increase your capacity for problem-solving and maybe even test your patience a little.

Safety

Once they put each place where it needs to be, they'll learn that satisfying feeling you get when a puzzle piece easily fits into its destined spot.

Design

This works best if they watch you put this puzzle together first and then encourage them to do the same. Initially, this puzzle will just look like random shapes to them until they start to piece it together.

Entertainment Value

This will boost their confidence and serve as confirmation to them that they're doing something right, thus increasing their problem-solving skills and helping them to think and reason out minor problems.

Age Range

Melissa and Doug suggests this puzzle for children between 24 months and 4 years of age. Users claim that by 2 years of age many children are already bored of it though and this fun, chunky puzzle is better suited to infants and young toddlers.

Educational Value

This will keep your baby mobile and have them crawling around in no time. Toy cars and trucks are known for motivating kids to be more active because when they're playing with an active toy, they'll enjoy moving around to support their imaginative play.

Safety

It can be pulled around via the string that's attached to the front of the truck, so whether your child is crawling or on their way to walking, they'll always have a way to bring their truck with them. Additionally, this truck can be played within a stationary position since it does come with three balls that can be loaded up and unloaded with the lift feature.

Design

As with all VTech products, this truck has an educational feature to go along with its other skill-building features. It'll help them improve on language, motor function, and will even teach them valuable facts about shapes, numbers, and colors once they're a bit older.

Entertainment Value

As your child moves their truck around, they'll be delighted to hear that it also plays music. The tunes will keep your little one jamming out as they become more and more motivated to stay active and drive their truck around the house. When they're not pulling it along with them, this truck has three buttons -- found on the side -- that play different sounds, melodies, and will teach them various facts.

Age Range

VTech’s Drop and Go Dump Truck is meant for children between 6 months and 3 years of age.

Educational Value

This puzzle is similar to the last but it's actually a bit simpler. It's not as overwhelming and doesn't have so much going on, but what it does have is a helpful guide to learning about shapes. On this puzzle, you'll find a circle, square, diamond, rectangle, triangle, heart, star, and an oval -- all the basic shapes that your baby will eventually be learning about in school.

Safety

These pieces are thick, easy to grab with small hands and fit perfectly in their correct places. In order to avoid making things too easy, each shape is painted in a different color than its home on the board, providing an adequate challenge for kids.

Design

It's never too early to teach your baby how to improve their cognitive skills. Their perception of these puzzle pieces and how they fit together will only help them as they grow and develop and learn to solve even bigger problems.

Entertainment Value

This is a great activity for you to do with your baby as you can teach them about each shape long before their school teacher ever does. Additionally, they'll gain cognitive skills as well as problem-solving skills just by putting this puzzle together.

Age Range

Melissa and Doug advertise this as being a great puzzle for 2-4 year olds. But based on how simple it is and how large and safe these chunky wood pieces are, we (and plenty of users) think this is better suited to children around or just under 12 months.

Educational Value

Music can do a lot more than just being a fun way to pass the time. It's soothing to the senses and having a melody that your baby is familiar with can really help to calm them down.

Safety

It's great on car rides and at home when your baby is restless, although we have to warn you -- Don't be surprised if you catch yourself singing this song throughout the day.

Design

It's the Baby Shark song! This song has practically taken the world by storm and has grown wildly in popularity among kids as well as adults. Many forget that it did start as a catchy little rhyme for kids, though, and this stuffed plush is just the stuffed animal your baby needs. It's cute, funny, and will have your baby singing along with it in no time.

Entertainment Value

The popular song has been turned into a loveable little plushy shark and we love how cute it is. Your baby will love it, too, and it'll quickly become their favorite comfort toy.

Age Range

Though this Baby Shark doll is technically marketed for children ages 2-5, it’s perfectly safe for your 10-month-old and plays a fun song they’re sure to want to listen to again and again.

Educational Value

It'll tell them all about various shapes and animals and have them riveted throughout playtime. The cube is fairly large so it's more of a stationary toy rather than one they can carry around them, but it will encourage them to sit up and maintain their posture while using it.

Safety

A simple switch on the top controls the volume in the event that you don't want this toy to be loud all the time. Additionally, this cube lights up when certain buttons are pressed to add to the fun.

Design

With five sides of fun, this activity cube was tailor-made for an active nine-month-old. Your child will find all kinds of surprises on this cube including flipping paddles, buttons, slide bars, and they'll be even more surprised when they realize this toy talks!

Entertainment Value

Anything interactive is key to encouraging learning at this age. At nine months, your child is very active and probably itching to be on the move, but they're also slowly absorbing the things they see and hear.

Age Range

The VTech Busy Learners Activity Cube is intended for children between 6 months and 3 years of age.