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Your baby is nearing 9 months of age — time flies when you’re having fun, right? Though the back half of infancy can be bittersweet for some parents (where did that squishy newborn go?), the final three months of a baby’s first year of life can be a blast.
“It is fun to begin seeing the personality of a child come alive, which is becoming more apparent as they are starting to develop more facial expressions,” says Luke Prest, MD, a board-certified pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics. “They are also becoming more interactive, as well.”
Those interactions may include a little language — though you may not understand what they’re saying at this stage — and movement.
“They are probably vocalizing or babbling some sounds while working on imitating sounds and words,” says Puji Jonnalagadda, MD, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at Pediatrix Medical Group. “They are working on getting in and out of a crawling position and paying a lot of attention to how objects in their surroundings work.”
To aid in this development (and make life fun for parents and babies alike), caregivers may consider adding 9-month-old toys to their little one’s shelves.
“The growing brain of a baby craves stimulation and depends on their parents to engage them,” Dr. Jonnalagadda says. “Toys provide an easy solution for engaging their babies. Choosing the right type of toys at this age can help them succeed in developing good control of their bodies, improve brain function, and use their developing sense of touch, sight, and sound.”
There are tons of toys for 9-month-olds to browse, which can feel slightly overwhelming. So what are the best toys for a 9-month-old? We chose 11 based on pediatrician advice and caregiver reviews.