20 Best Toys For 9-Month-Olds Who Are Ready To Stand Tall
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Growth happens slowly, then seemingly all at once: Your baby, who you used to be able to leave lying on a playmat, is suddenly on the move at 9 months. Many babies this age can, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , sit up unassisted and possibly scoot or crawl. They're also in the window when many babies pull up to a stand, suddenly seeing the world from an upright position.
You'll want toys that can meet your 9-month-old wherever they are. We love versatile playthings that work whether a baby is sitting or standing. When we test toys with kids this age we also find that toys with many different activities and ways to play hold their attention. And while many of the toys on this list promote gross motor skills that lead up to walking, we've also included favorites that help your baby continue to hone fine-motor finger skills.
Our Top Picks
• Encourages first steps: VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker
• Best for pretend play: Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Ultimate Playhouse
• Boosts problem-solving and fine-motor skills: Fat Brain Toys InnyBin
• Introduction to music: Hape Baby Einstein Magic Touch Piano
4-in-1 Activity Table & Easel
This can be set up in tabletop position, shown, or tilted like an easel that your baby can play with while sitting. Activities set off more than 135 educational songs, sounds, and phrasesabout colors, numbers, counting, and shapes.
"Smart Stages" settings let you choose between 1 for the simplest learning and up to 3 for more advanced lessons. During the preschool years, the easel can be used for drawing. A parent tester told us it held her baby's attention long enough for her to get a meal ready. Win! 3 AA batteries included, 6 to 36 months
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Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker
You may have seen this classic at a playspace or daycare: It's so immensely popular, it has tens of thousands five-star reviews on Amazon. Activities include a five-key piano, a pretend phone, rollers and gears, numbers and shapes, and a removable activity panel, all loaded into a push toy that encourages walking. 2 AA batteries required, 9 months+
VTech
Discoverosity Activity Center & Play Table
While you can start using this earlier than 9 months, it's still appropriate for a 9-month-old who loves to be upright but can't yet stand confidently on their own. Montessori-inspired toyslike a mirror and a spinner keep them engaged while the circular platform supports their feet—and then transforms to a tabletop as soon as they're able to hold on to the outside and play that way.
Tester parents loved that they could use this for years. "Once our baby outgrows the activity center we can keep using it as a table," one said. 4 months+
4-in-1 Steps & Stages Activity Center
Our award-winner is fun whether your baby is still crawling, sitting up, or pulling to a stand. Put the panels together and stand them up, and this toy is a wall of fun. But when it's time to go, the panels can be separated and used individually.
Parent testers loved the versatility. "It has many configurations and can definitely be considered four toys in one," said one mom of a 1-year-old. 3 AA batteries required, ages 3 months+
VTech
Ultimate Playhouse
My own babies just loved the Fisher-Price playhouse, so good for pretend play. Your baby can imitate you opening and shutting a door, switching a light on and off, "gardening," and more. There are activities on every side and more than 200 learning songs, sounds, and phrases that can level up as your baby grows. 3 AA batteries required, 6 months to 3 years
Little Head, Little Nose
Kids learn to name 10 different body partsin this board book, but parent testers liked the sweet, rhyming text the best. "I love the tenderness and joy in this story, which celebrates the everyday moments of love, care, and connection that shape a child's sense of belonging," says judge Pranoo Kumar, a reading specialist and bookstore owner. From birth
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Little Simon
Pop-Up Ball Pit
Bring the play space experience home with this ball pit, which comes with a set of 50 balls and folds up when it's not in use.Good Housekeeping Institute tester families appreciated how it's easy to carry around, like a grocery bag. "My nearly 1-year-old will climb in and out of this all day," one parent said. 9 months+
Infantino
InnyBin
Technically, the age grading for this is 10 months and up, but it's worth the one-month wait. The InnyBin comes with five different shapes of different textures and a box threaded with stretchy elastic bands. Kids will have to use their fine motor coordination to push the shapes through the bands and into the box, and then use their problem-solving skillsto get them out again. 10 months+
RELATED: Best Baby Toys, According to Child Development Experts
Fat Brain Toys
Magic Touch Wooden Piano
Introduce music with this wooden baby-sized piano. There are two modes of play—your baby can pound out original tunes, or the piano can play built-in songs. When they're older, they can follow the colored dots on the music pages to experience learning to play simple classics. 3 AA batteries required, 6 months+
Sushi Sorter
Classic shape-sorting fun gets a modern update with this sushi-themed set. Your baby can explore matching the shapes to the holes, identifying colors, and listening to you name the additional designs on each piece, like a star and a heart. 6 months+
K's Kids Pull-Back Vehicle Set
Amazon reviewers verify that these first vehicles go far and fast with just a little pullback.The roll can encourage your baby to give chase. Parents also appreciate that they're soft, which is good for kids who still like to throw their toys around. (And who doesn't?) The set comes with a school bus, a fire truck, a police car, and a family sedan. 9 months to 3 years
Melissa & Doug
Growing Seeds Tissue Box Toy
Babies this age love to empty something, like a tissue box. This toy lets them have that thrill over and over. Restock the leaves, and hide the little seed in the pot under them, and let your baby delight in pulling each item out one by one. Finding the seed never gets old! The book helps your baby learn about seeds and how they grow. 6 months+
Pineapple Soft Stacker
This stacking toy looks adorable, but the fun really begins when kids take it apart and try to reassemble it again. Each of the pieces has its own special feature,like a post that rattles, a ring that crinkles, a plastic segment with textures and a topper with crinkly leaves and ribbons. 6 months+
Melissa & Doug
Sensory Ball
Nubby and baby-size at just 7 inches, this classic sensory ball is beloved by developmental experts and parents for teaching motor skills such as rolling, throwing, and catching. The little ball can lightly bounce, too, and comes in several colors. 6 months+
Snack Cart Walker
Fourteen play pieces—including a toy hamburger, hot dog, and taco—can be played with on the floor, but your 9-month-old may eventually be inspired to stand up and "cook" on this food cart. It's got more than 100 learning phrases plus sounds and lights. A globe button lets parents select lessons in English, Spanish, French, or Brazilian Portuguese. 3 AA batteries required, 6 months to 3 years
Baby Drum
What's a better lesson in cause-and-effectthan a drum? You bang it and it makes a sound! This one goes even further: The red and blue circles make two different tones, and they also activate different colored lights. Or, if a baby rolls the drum, it sets of an automatic drum beat and light show. 3 AA batteries required, 6 months+
Hape
My Little Artist Playset
Winner of a previous Best Toy Award, Gund's sensory sethas a piece that crinkles, one that rattles, and one that squeaks. All are fun for a baby to take out and put in the art case. Plus, the artist bear is adorable. And the pieces are machine-washable! birth+
Stackable Bath Boats
If your 9-month-old has not graduated to a bigger tub, it will probably happen soon. They'll be able to sit up and splash around, and having some bath toys will be key to keeping them happywhile you get them clean. Mushie's stackable, floating boats are a modern classic tub toy with fun-shaped drainage holes in the bottom of each boat. 10 months+
RELATED: Bath Toys for All Ages
Sort and Discover Activity Cube
A lot of activity cubes start at 12 months, but this VTech version sits low to the ground and is easier for a 9-month-old to explore. Every side, and even the top, has activities. There are lights and sounds in addition to pages to flip, blocks to sort, and pieces to spin. It counts and goes through more than 75 songs and phrases. 2 AA batteries required, 9 months to 3 years
Soft Blocks
Your 9-month-old can explore the textures and mirrored surfaces on these blocks, bang them together, and shake them to hear what sound they make. If you demonstrate how to stack one on top of another, they'll f irst delight in knocking them down, but then might give their own stacking skills a try. 6 to 24 months
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