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Babies at this age are extremely curious about their surroundings. They will be opening doors, drawers, boxes, toilet lids, garbage cans, and other similar items. They’ll be interested in anything!
Their exploration has reached an all-time high as they comprehend and make sense of several new concepts. They’re learning how to play and create new opportunities to explore every day.
As parents, we want to do everything we can to help our children grow. Although our babies learn via play and experience every day, there are many things we can do to support them along the way.
We can help our baby learn new motor abilities in a variety of ways when teaching new motor skills. One of the first steps toward providing children with the most exposure to learning is to provide them with age-appropriate, developmentally-based toys and materials.
Common household items can also make excellent baby toys. Your baby will be entertained by so many simple objects at this age, from formula cans and milk jugs to egg cartons and cardboard boxes.
Baby Play At 9 Months
There are numerous pleasurable things you may engage in with your infant. Remember that you are their favourite plaything. Following your baby’s lead will present you with a wealth of fresh experiences and insights into your baby’s environment.
Activities that offer your kid a sense of their body, support physical skill development, and create a rich language and music environment are all great.
- Allow them to crawl by placing them on their tummy and placing a brightly coloured object just out of their grasp. Allowing them to use your hands to press their feet against will sometimes help them move. Provide plenty of verbal encouragement.
- Bath time is now a lot of fun as your baby begins to sit on their own. They’ll be quite adventurous and play with sponges, floating toys, bubbles, and cups. Never leave children in the bath alone.
- Simple games to play include “peek-a-boo,” “this little piggy,” and “round and round the garden.”
- As your baby grows older, provide toys that will help them develop their mobility skills, such as a cardboard box to crawl through, sand and water play, a push along waggon, and pull-along toys.
Many digital devices captivate babies because of their fast changing colours and dazzling lights. However, parents are highly urged to minimise or limit their babies’ exposure to television, laptops, tablets, mobile gadgets, and playstations.
There is no proof that watching television or using digital devices would aid your baby’s learning. Interaction with other people is the best method to help your baby learn.
What to look for when shopping for toys for a 9-month-old
When purchasing toys for your infant, regardless of age, consider the developmental milestones they’re working on and choose items that will help them grow those skills.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), between the ages of 9 and 12 months, babies may be:
- Pulling up to stand
- Walking while holding onto furniture, also known as cruising
- Looking for things that are hidden or placed out of sight (hello, object permanence)
- Taking an item in and out of a container
- Picking things up with their thumb and forefinger, which is called a pincer grasp
Types Of Toys For Babies
Sensory Toys
Sensory toys are designed to engage a baby’s sense of sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing. These toys are an essential part of a baby’s development as they help to stimulate their brain and encourage exploration and discovery.
Some examples of sensory toys include:
- Texture balls: These balls come in various textures such as soft, bumpy, or smooth, and help to develop a baby’s sense of touch.
- Mirrors: A baby’s first encounter with their own reflection is an exciting experience. Mirrors help to develop their sense of sight and self-awareness.
- Stacking cups: These cups come in different colors and sizes and can be stacked, nested, or used for pouring and scooping, helping to develop a baby’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
It’s important to note that the best sensory toys for a 9 month old baby are simple and easy to use. Babies at this age are curious and love to explore new things, but they are also easily overwhelmed by too many features or bright lights. So, it’s best to keep it simple and let the baby explore the toys and find their own way to play with them.
Musical Toys
Music and rhythm play an important role in a baby’s development. From birth, babies are naturally drawn to music and respond to the sound of different rhythms. Musical toys are a great way to introduce babies to music and help them to develop their sense of hearing and auditory processing.
Some examples of musical toys include:
- Drums: Drumming is a great way for babies to explore different rhythms and develop their sense of timing and coordination.
- Xylophones: Xylophones have brightly colored keys that can be struck to make different tones, helping to develop a baby’s sense of pitch and melody.
- Shakers: Shakers come in various shapes and sizes and can be shaken to create different sounds and rhythms, helping to develop a baby’s sense of timing and coordination.
In addition to the developmental benefits, musical toys are also a lot of fun for babies. They can be used to encourage movement and dancing, which is a great way to strengthen gross motor skills and coordination.
It’s important to note that when choosing musical toys for a 9 month old, it’s best to avoid toys with lots of buttons or complex features. Simple and easy-to-use toys are best for this age group, as they are still learning about cause and effect.
Developmental Toys
Developmental toys are designed to aid a baby’s growth and development in specific areas such as cognitive, fine motor, and gross motor skills. These types of toys are a great way to encourage learning and exploration while also providing a fun and engaging experience.
Some examples of developmental toys include:
- Shape sorters: These toys come with different shaped blocks that need to be placed in the corresponding holes, helping to develop a baby’s cognitive skills, fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities.
- Stacking blocks: These blocks come in different sizes and shapes and can be stacked to build towers, helping to develop a baby’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
- Pull-along toys: These toys can be pulled by a string, helping to develop a baby’s gross motor skills and encourage movement.
It’s important to note that babies at 9 months old are still developing their motor skills and therefore, toys that are too complex or difficult to use can be frustrating. The best developmental toys for this age group are simple and easy to use, allowing babies to focus on learning and exploring.
It’s also important to choose toys that are age-appropriate and safe for a 9 month old baby. Always check for small parts, sharp edges, and any other potential hazards.
Toys for 9-12-Month-Old Babies
I am fascinated by child development as an occupational therapist. At this age, babies’ brains are rapidly developing as they explore their surroundings.
That’s why I enjoy these toys for 9-month-olds and up, which provide a lot of opportunities for exercising new motor skills and learning, while I sit in my glider and watch my littles babies play/
Shape Sorter
A shape sorter is an absolute must for any newborn or toddler. As they turn and rotate the pieces to fit into the hole, it’s an excellent tool for developing fine and visual motor skills. They’ll like banging the bright colours and shapes together and learning how to use this instrument correctly.
Piggy Bank
Your child will enjoy placing coins into the slot and seeing them disappear behind the door. They may require assistance in properly putting it above the hole, but the rest will be straightforward for them to learn and discover.
Crawl Ball
Some babies are already strong crawlers by 9 months of age, while others are still learning. This Wiggle and Crawl Ball will keep crawlers entertained with melodies, lights, buttons, and movement. And it might just encourage babies who are still learning to crawl to get going.
Fat Brain Toys Klickity Baby Toy
This Klickity Baby Toy is basic, but quite engaging for children of this age. Pushing the knobs in and out promotes cause-and-effect thinking and sensory exploration.
Pushing and tugging improve fine motor skills and coordination, while sounds, movements, and vivid colours engage the eyes and hearing.
Interactive Books
These lift-the-flap board books will help your baby develop an early love of reading. Turning pages while you read to them is a great skill for your baby to learn, but they will be even more excited to find what’s hidden beyond the flap.
Pull Backs Cars
Toy cars can help babies learn about pushing, pulling, and rolling, but many toys with wheels contain small pieces that can pose a choking threat to young drivers. Melissa & Doug’s set is suitable for youngsters aged 9 months and up. Simply roll the cars backwards to crank them up, then let go to see them race across the room.
Stacking Rings
To excite your baby’s senses of sight and hearing, this Light-Up Stacker exhibits sparkling lights and music. These huge rings are easily grasped and manipulated by small hands.
As your infant learns how to place the rings correctly to drop on the post, it will improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Stacking Cups
These nesting cups are perfect for young hands to hold and play with, and your child will enjoy them for years to come! They are not only excellent toys for 9-month-olds, but they can and will be used effectively until your child enters preschool.
Sometimes music and flashing lights aren’t necessary to keep a child happy. These are one of those simple, ideal toys that will last for a long time while encouraging imaginative play.
These cups are lightweight and robust, and your infant can utilise them in a variety of ways. They will nest them, build a tower out of them, knock them down, chew them, bang them, roll them, rattle them, float them in the tub, and pour water in and out of them.
As your baby grows into a toddler, they will enjoy pretend play with them. They’ll transform them into automobiles, drink from them like teacups, and mix their’soup’ in them with a spoon.
Musical Toys
Your infant will be overjoyed to hear themself create sounds. Watch them shake, rattle, and roll with all of these musical instruments as they make their own tunes and learn the cause-and-effect relationship.
Activity Cube
This Wooden Activity Cube has a lot for your baby to discover. As they move the tractor about, zigzag the beads up and down, and spin the spinners, it will help your child’s imaginative play and cause-and-effect skills.
It’s also the ideal height for your infant to begin pulling up to stand! This was the first spot where my daughter drew herself up and took her first cruising steps to the other side of the block while holding on to the top.
Walkers
This is the age when your baby begins to move and explore constantly. Give them the ability to move around on their own with this Sit-to-Stand Walker.
They’ll like playing with all of the push-button features that play music and light up, as well as pushing it around the home. It will aid in the development of their leg and trunk muscles as they prepare to walk.
Activity Table
The piano keys on Infant Einstein’s activity table may teach baby to count, as well as a French horn rattle, drum, and guitar, as well as four buttons that call out additional instruments and shapes. It plays classical music while your baby presses the buttons and can switch between English, Spanish, and French modes.
Blocks
As infants grasp these blocks, their small hands can easily hold on to them. They will practise hand-to-hand transfers as they pass them back and forth. They can drop them into the cup if they are paired with stacking cups or any other container.
They may be too little to build a tower at this age, but they will enjoy knocking down the ones you create. There are endless possibilities with these blocks right now, and kids can practise learning letters and colours as they get older.
Sensory Box Toy
Some babies simply like unravelling a roll of toilet paper or pulling all of the wipes from the package. If your child shares the same interest, they’ll enjoy this tissue box toy. It’s stuffed with silky, crinkly fabric tissues that may be pulled out and stuffed back in indefinitely. The bright colours will keep your child returning to this toy instead of the real Kleenex box.
Toy Phone
Get your 9-month-old infant started on pretend play with their very own phone as soon as possible. I’m sure they’re constantly attempting to steal your phone, so let them learn and engage with their own toy phone.
As they pretend to call mom and dad, they practise fine motor skills by pressing the buttons. They’ll also appreciate the lighting and sounds that make them feel as if they’re a part of the discourse.
Pop Up Toys
As a 9-month-old, these Popping Pals was one of my daughter’s favourite toys. It allows newborns to twist and spin the knobs, developing both fine motor skills and allowing the door to open. It also promotes early problem solving as your child learns how to twist and switch the knobs to make the toy work.
Crawl through Tunnels
Your baby will love to crawl through colorful tunnels. These tunnels help baby’s muscle development, intellectual development, visual sensitivity, and more.
Push n Ride Toy
Isn’t it true that every child wishes for a pony at some point in their lives? This little walker converts from a push toy to a bouncer and, eventually, a rolling ride-on toy, so it will keep baby entertained for a long time. It lights up and sings with movement, plus it features a few entertaining activities on the front.
Ball Popper Toys
Put a ball in one of the elephant’s ears or arms and watch it soar high out of the trunk. When turned on, the toy plays ten different melodies to keep children moving and dancing.
Song chairs
The Laugh & Learn Song & Story Learning Chair teaches babies to sit on furniture, which you may not realise you need to accomplish. When your child sits in the chair, the chair plays music as a reward. It also has a side table with singing crayons, a functional reading lamp, and a book for your child to practise turning pages, which adds to its overall charm.
Playhouse
This Little Tikes playhouse may be set up as a four-sided enclosed house or opened up for easier access to all of its exciting features. It has movable doors and shutters, a telescope, a mailbox, a window planter ball drop zone, and an activity panel with a mirror, spinning gears, and other features.
Baby Rocking Horse
To withstand life with a newborn, this Labebe unicorn rocker is composed of stain-resistant, pill-proof fabric. The solid wood foundation provides lots of sturdiness while remaining lightweight enough to rock easily.
Soft Climbers
Giving your infant ramps and arches to crawl over and varied levels to pull up on will help them make significant leaps in their coordination development. Because the shapes are made of soft foam, they are safe to play on and easy to arrange in whatever style you believe baby would enjoy.
Toys for 9 Month Old Bottom Line
When it comes to choosing the best toys for 9-month-old babies, there are several great options that can promote their cognitive and sensory development. Brightly colored toys with different textures and colorful pieces are perfect for engaging their attention and stimulating their senses. Push toys, such as push cars or push walkers, encourage the development of new skills and help babies strengthen their leg muscles while they explore their surroundings in a standing position.
Bath toys can make bathtime more fun and enjoyable for both baby boys and baby girls. Look for toys with smooth surfaces and suction cups that can be easily attached to the bathtub. Soft books with interactive features are fantastic for language development and can be easily held by little hands during tummy time or playtime.
Educational toys, such as wooden blocks, offer multiple learning opportunities for babies to explore shapes, colors, and different ways of building structures. Sassy Stacks of Circles, for example, are colorful, stackable rings that not only help develop hand-eye coordination but also teach babies about sizes and sequencing. Large rings and soft blocks are safe for young children and allow them to practice grasping and manipulating objects.
Activity toys like toy phones or play panels provide interactive play experiences that support language skills and promote emotional development. Additionally, toys that make animal sounds introduce babies to different body parts and animal names. These toys can be enjoyed by babies of all ages, from 9 months onwards, and can be a great gift for their early toddler years.
Sensory play is crucial for a baby’s brain development, and sensory balls are excellent toys to engage their senses and encourage exploration. They can be squeezed, rolled, and touched, offering different textures and sensory experiences. Another fun option is a ball pit, which provides a safe and enjoyable environment for babies to play and develop their motor skills.
While choosing toys, it’s important to ensure they are age-appropriate and do not include small objects that can be a choking hazard. Always consider the safety of the toys and opt for those with smooth surfaces and durable construction. Baby Einstein is a well-known brand that offers a wide range of toys suitable for 9-month-old babies and young children.
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