Best Baby Toys of 2024
These colorful and simple toys can help kick off your baby's development and keep them entertained.
By Amylia Ryan | Medically Reviewed by Holly Peretz OT
Fewer things are more fun to add to your baby registry than toys. But there are also so many baby toys out there—with literally thousands of options, choosing the best toys for your little one can get overwhelming pretty fast.
To help you curate the playspace of your dreams, here are the best toys for ages newborn to 12 months that encourage skill development, inspire a healthy imagination and, most important of all, entertain your baby.
In This Article
Babylist’s Picks for the Best Baby Toys
About Babylist
Looking for the best items for your growing family? Add all your favorite baby products to ONE registry with Babylist.
How We Chose Our Best Baby Toys
We researched customer reviews from thousands of real Babylist parents. We utilized insight from the Babylist editorial team, including Associate Editor Amylia Ryan, who’s been personally testing baby toys (with the help of her two children) for five years and has written hundreds of guides on baby products and parenting lifestyle.
What to Look for In Baby Toys
Realistically, babies are perfectly fine playing with stuff you have around the house, like wooden spoons and plastic food containers, so don’t feel obligated to break the bank on toys. The best baby toys have features that help with developing eyesight, fine motor skills and an ever-growing curiosity about their world—and, of course, are safe.
Here’s what to look for when choosing toys for your little one:
- Contrasting colors and patterns. A baby’s vision isn’t fully developed until they’re around five months old (and even after five months, some parts of baby’s vision is still developing). To help them see and focus on objects, look for toys that have high contrast in colors and patterns. Black and white is best for newborns (stripes, checkerboard or simple images are easiest to focus on), while older babies love looking at brighter colors.
- A variety of soft textures. Toys with strips of satiny, velvety, rubbery, bumpy or fluffy material are an absolute delight for tiny, grabby fingers. Babies are working on their fine motor skills from about three months and up, and interesting textures make developing those skills even more fun.
- Safe for chewing. Babies want to put everything in their mouths. Everything. The time will eventually come when your curious bub will try to eat something not so great (pet food, a dirty rag, carpet fuzz, etc.), but you can make up for it by making sure some things are actually okay to gnaw, like toys and teethers that are free of harmful chemicals and made with one-piece construction (no small parts to break off and choke on). Lots of Montessori toys fall into this category, but always check labels to be sure.
- Easy to clean. Toys that are machine washable and dishwasher safe are great when you don’t want to spend a ton of time washing toys by hand. It’s also a good idea to check if a toy has trouble drying all the way, especially if it has tiny holes that can trap moisture. Plastic, silicone and rubber are susceptible to mold, so those toys should be thoroughly cleaned and dried fairly often.
- Audible. Rattles, bells, crinkles, lullabies—if it makes a sound, your little one will pay attention to it. Babies love making things make noise, and it’s one of the ways they learn cause and effect. You can encourage their curiosity and learning with toys that respond in some way to their actions, usually with noise or movement. They’ll be fully entertained if it jingles when they shake it or squeaks when they squeeze it (admit it, you may be a little entertained, too). And if your baby is Deaf or hard of hearing, they may still be able to sense vibrations or certain pitches of sound, so try experimenting with audible toys to see what your baby reacts to.
And no need to overdo it on the amount of toys—a few fun and bright options will come in handy to distract a fussy baby or make tummy time more enjoyable. Happy playing!
Amylia Ryan
Associate Editor
Amylia Ryan is the Associate Editor at Babylist, specializing in the topics of health, wellness and lifestyle products. Combining a decade of experience in writing and editing with a deep passion for helping people, her number one goal in her work is to ensure new parents feel supported and understood. She herself is a parent to two young children, who are more than willing to help product test endless toys, books, clothes, toiletries and more.
