Stepping into month 9 with your baby can be very exciting. Your baby seems to be suddenly all grown up into a toddler almost. Babies are on the move at all times, touching, lifting, and playing with anything and everything. They treat every single object with renewed interest and want to know what it can do. This is an excellent time to try out new toys for 9 month old baby.
Your little one will spend most of their awake time exploring and playing with their toys and everyone around. They seem to be content with their toys one minute but the next minute they are screaming out for attention. Giving them the right toys can keep them occupied longer while teaching them a lot of new things.
In This Article
- How Much Play Time Does a 9 Month Old Baby Need?
- What to Consider While Buying Toys For a 9 Month Old Baby?
- List of Top 9 Types of Toys to Buy For a 9 Month Old Baby
How Much Play Time Does a 9 Month Old Baby Need?
Your 9-month-old needs proper independent and interactive playtime every day. You may not notice any changes, but they are developing and learning at a great speed, and you should make the best of it.
What to Consider While Buying Toys For a 9 Month Old Baby?
When you are on the hunt for the right set of toys for your 9-month-old, here are some factors you need to consider first:
1. Baby Readiness
How ready is your baby to sit and play with toys? Some babies like to sit in one place and play while some like to just keep exploring. Some like it outdoors and some like it indoors. The toys you choose need to be in sync with what your baby is ready to do.
It is a good idea to introduce new items to your baby but if it does not align with what they like, they may never touch them.
2. Baby Mobility
How mobile is your baby at this stage? Are they crawling or dragging themselves across the floor? Or are they just sitting up without support and still not ready to move? Though you can buy toys to encourage them to move, you cannot buy just those types of toys. You need to buy toys they can use and explore in their current state of development as well.
3. Development
What milestones has your baby crossed? Cognitive development and motor skills are two of the major influencing factors when it comes to picking toys. You need to buy toys that will stimulate and challenge them to cross the next milestone. It should also d
4. Size
Toys can be big or small, but they need to be comfortable for a baby to handle. If your baby is sitting up and playing, you need to buy toys that are light and easy to carry and play with. Something too big or heavy might hurt your baby.
5. Innovative
Many toy manufacturers come up with interesting innovative toys that can not only interest babies but adults as well. Buying toys that are innovative and push your baby to think beyond their current level will be very beneficial.
List of Top 9 Types of Toys to Buy For a 9 Month Old Baby
Here are some options you can look into when you are on the lookout for toys for a 9 month old.
1. Sorting Toys
Babies love to sort things. They understand differences and pile items in their own way. Teaching them similarities and differences can be effective when you do it with interesting sorting toys. Sorting toys are an excellent way to teach your baby hand-eye coordination and improve their fine motor and problem-solving skills.
How Can Sorting Toys Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Help Identify Similarities and Differences | When the baby sorts of items based on similarities or differences, they learn to look into the details. They look for similarities and spot them. This improves their focus and teaches the mind to “search” for something. |
| Help Understand Different Shapes And Sizes | Sorting on the basis of size or shape will teach the baby more about those features. They understand big and small, various shapes and designs. They see and feel the items to understand how similar or different they are. |
Sorting Toys You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Colour sorting toys
- Shape sorters
- Sort by size
Few Top Brands in India For Buying Sorting Toys For Babies
- Shumee
- Babyhug
- MeeMee
- Funskool
[Read : Development Of Hand-eye Coordination In Babies]
2. Language Development Toys
Your baby is gearing up to utter their first words. Toys designed to stimulate the language part of the brain will help them learn new words and sounds, easily and retain them longer. These toys play a vital role in developing emotional and social skills in babies.
How Can Language Developmental Toys Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Improve Vocabulary | Introducing babies to new words can improve their vocabulary over time. Toys are an effective way to help babies connect items to their names and retain the details in the brain, for longer. |
| Teach Sounds | Learning the sounds of the letters and words is very important for learning a language. It lays a strong foundation for language development. |
| Build Confidence | Having a good command of a language will boost a person’s confidence as they can communicate more effectively. It helps them socialise and mingle better. |
Language Developmental Toys You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Books
- Audiobooks
- Baby laptops/phones
- Flash Cards
Few Top Brands in India For Buying Language Development Toys For Babies
- Tutu’s lab
- Creatives
- Wonder house
3. Books
Books are the best items you can introduce to a baby. There is no age limit to this “toy” as you can keep reading forever. Introducing your little one to the world of books can help them in many ways.
How Can Books Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Triggers Imagination | Looking at images and listening to stories encourages them to think of a different world. Feeding their imagination is very important for cognitive development. |
| Teaches the Difference Between Reality And Fiction | Reading books helps them understand that books are a fictional world and reality is where they are currently. When the story ends, they eventually understand it is all contained within the book. |
| Language Development | Books are instrumental in laying the foundation for speech and language development. They get exposure to many words from an early stage. |
| Improves Concentration | Focusing on the story helps babies improve their concentration and block out the rest of the events happening around them. This is very important to help them focus as they grow up. |
Books You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Soft Books
- Wooden Books
- Hard Cover Books
Few Top Publisher in India For Buying Picture Books For Babies
- Tulika Books
- Karadi Tales
- Tota Books
[Read : Speech And Language Developmental Milestones]
4. Activity Toys
These are toys designed to encourage and teach a baby to perform simple activities as a part of the play. It promotes learning in a fun manner. Activity toys develop creativity, learning, and imagination. The also promote emotional and social intelligence in babies.
How Can Activity Toys Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Introduce Life Skills | Toys involving transferring with a spoon, tongs, or pouring liquid can teach your baby important life skills in a fun manner. Doing these activities repeatedly will help them perfect the motions and perform their life skill well when the need arises. |
| Promote Effective Learning | When your baby physically does something, their hands follow instructions from the brain. This is a very effective method of learning important concepts and actions. Babies will remember concepts better this way. |
| Encourage Independent Play | Your baby will learn to play on their own without asking for you or anyone else. |
Activity Toys You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Multiple activity box
- Pounding activity – hammer
- Magnetic board
- Swirling tower
Few Top Brands in India For Buying Activity Toys For Babies
- Skola
- Funskool
- Babyhug
- Shumee
5. Balls
Those round items that seem to roll all over the can be very attractive for a 9-month-old. They will love to roll it, crawl behind it, and even try to throw it. It is inexpensive, easy to carry along and you cannot have too many of them. Playing with balls develops both gross motor skills and fine motor skills among babies.
How Can Balls Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Color Identification | Asking babies to give or bring a particular color of ball can teach them color names, in an interesting manner. Color identification is very important for babies. |
| Distance and Movement | When the ball rolls away from them, they learn to perceive distance and teach themselves to move enough to cover that distance. |
| Hand and Eye Coordination | It improves hand-eye coordination, which is an essential skill for overall development. |
Balls You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Softballs
- Small colourful plastic balls
- Large bouncy ball
- Ball pool
Few Top Brands in India For Buying Balls For Babies
- Funskool
- Creatives
- Shumee
- Ariraro
[Read : When Do Babies Start Seeing Colors?]
6. Toys With Buttons and Dials
Babies love to press and twist everything. They are just learning to do these motions with their fingers. Toys that promote this skill can be very useful at this stage.
How Can Toys With Buttons and Dials Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Help Improve Fine Motor Skills | As they push and press the buttons or turn the dials with their tiny fingers. It gets stronger. This helps them improve their grip. |
| Teach Cause and Effect | They understand how pressing a button or turning a dial can result in music or light. If each button has a particular sound or light, they learn to identify each button with its respective sounds and will try to repeat it. |
Toys With Buttons and Dials You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Baby telephones
- Colorful push-up toys
- Kids pretend tabs
Few Top Brands in India For Buying Toys With Buttons and Dials For Babies
- Toyshine
- Pluspoint
- Zest 4 Toyz
7. Household Items For Babies
Any item around the house that is baby-safe can teach your baby something important. They are watching you use these items and will try to mimic you in their own way.
How Can Household Items Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Improve Confidence | When tiny babies are allowed to use the things that adults use around the house, they get confidence in their strength and ability. It encourages them to try using different objects without fearing it. |
| Teach Practical Skills | Learning to use household items the way they are meant to be used or in innovative ways teaches the baby practical skills they need as they grow up. They observe, understand, and try to use these items as others do. |
Household Items You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Baby safe cutlery
- Tongs
- Sponge
- Funnel
- Vessels
- Mugs
8. Push and Pull Toys
Babies need to start moving more easily and comfortably. Only then can they start walking and running as they get bigger. Not teaching them to move now can make them sedentary as they grow up.
How Can Push and Pull Toys Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Improve Mobility | Moving around with the toy will promote mobility. They are not moving for the sake of moving. When they move as they play, it becomes a subconscious movement and becomes second nature. |
| Strengthen Limbs | As they crawl around with the toy, their limbs get stronger. All major muscles are used to move, and this helps make them stronger. |
| Improve Balance | When they have to move around pushing or pulling a toy, one hand is busy with the toy. They learn to balance their body weight on the other three limbs and move freely without toppling. |
Push and Pull Toys You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Push and crawl toys
- Pull along animals
- Press or pull back vehicles
Few Top Brands in India For Buying Push and Pull Toys For Babies
- Ammi enterprise
- Funskool
- Babyistan
- Crafts India
- Shumee
[Read : When Will My Baby Develop The Pincer Grasp?]
9. Stacking and Building Toys
As they get bigger, their stacking and building only go up vertically. They are keen to surpass their previous heights and go higher.
How Can Stacking and Building Toys Help a 9 Month Old Baby?
| Skill Development | Benefits |
| Help Improve Grip | Holding smaller blocks or toys and stacking them one on top of the other without toppling them requires immense concentration and perseverance. Your baby will have to grip the pieces tightly and release them with the right pressure to prevent them from falling. A good grip is essential for writing and painting as they get older. |
| Build Imagination | Watch your child try to build something bigger than last time or bigger than the house they live in. Their imagination has no limits and it will show in the way they try to build or stack toys. |
| Help Understand Balance | As they build higher, the building will collapse. Babies will try again. Over time they learn how to balance. They will stack the smaller blocks over the bigger blocks for balance and learn to increase the height slowly and create structures using their imagination. This is very important for a child’s independent thinking and creativity. |
Stacking and Building Toys You May Want to Consider For a 9 Month Old Baby
- Colorful stacking blocks
- Stacking cups
- Stacking rings
- Building pipes
- Foam blocks/ puzzles
Few Top Brands in India For Buying Stacking and Building Toys For Babies
- Imagimake
- Funskool Giggles
- Toyshine
- Wishmaster
Your 9-month-old is very curious to know how things work and they constantly keep testing their limits. They want to understand how their actions can affect items and toys around them. Give them the right toys and fuel their learning in the right direction.
Are you not too sure if you are buying the right toys for your 9-month-old? Read this article to know which toys are good for your baby and how they can help improve many of their skills.
