Always make sure that any toy you give your baby meets British safety standards.

Newborn - 3 months

In the early weeks your baby won't actively play with anything, but you can buy toys that she will enjoy looking at.
Young babies like bright contrasting colours as they are easier to see. They also like things that move, rattle or play tunes.

Useful toys: 
Baby gym - a soft padded mat with colourful toys hanging from an arch.  Includes fun shapes, sounds and textures to stimulate baby's senses and motivate movement.
Cot mobile - moving shapes to attract her attention.  Often a mobile also plays a tune.
Wrist or foot rattles - even if your baby is too young to grasp a rattle, you can get special rattles which fit to her wrist or ankle like a bracelet, and make a noise as she moves her hands.
Comforter - a soft cloth to reassure your newborn.  Tuck it inside your shirt so that it smells of you before giving it to your baby.

3 - 6 months

As your baby gets older, she will start to look around more and reach for things.  Suitable toys will be ones she can hold, especially ones with different textures to explore.  

Useful toys:
Cuddly toys - babies love cuddly animals in bright colours.
Activity toys - these have lots of different shapes and textures for baby to explore.  They may also include a mirror (babies love to look at themselves) and make noises.
Soft ball - babies love a soft, brightly coloured ball that they can pat and watch it roll along.  Some balls make gentle noises as they move.

6 - 12 months

Now our baby is learning to stretch and move around.  Hand-eye co-ordination is developing, so she can begin to pass a toy from one hand to the other.

Useful toys:
Soft ball - this will still be popular as baby can crawl after it as it rolls along.
Building blocks - these can be soft or wooden.  If you stack them up, she will knock them down again.  She will also enjoy putting blocks into a container and taking them out again.
Books - either cloth or board books with brightly coloured pictures.  She will enjoy turning the pages as you read to her.
Noisy toys - babies love to make a noise.  You don't need any special toys for this.  A wooden spoon and a plastic bowl will keep her entertained for hours.

Last Updated: August 14, 2007