Infant Play
What can you do to help promote play in your baby?
All children are different and may enjoy different toys and interactions, but the following are suggestions for activities and toys for the baby:
Birth to 1 month
-
Hang brightly colored objects near your baby.
-
Hang mobiles with high-contrast patterns.
What you can do as a parent:
-
Sing and talk to your baby.
-
Play music.
-
Rock your baby and take them for walks.
2 to 3 months
-
Likes bright objects
-
Enjoys pictures and mirrors
-
Likes rattles
-
Enjoys infant swing
-
Enjoys car rides
What you can do as a parent:
-
Sing and talk to your baby.
-
Play music.
-
Rock your baby and take them for walks.
4 to 6 months
-
Likes brightly colored objects
-
Likes to hold toys
-
Enjoys rattles or bells
-
Likes swings and strollers
What you can do as a parent:
-
Talk to your baby.
-
Encourage your baby to crawl and sit by placing them on the floor.
6 to 9 months
-
Enjoys large toys with bright colors that move
-
Likes to play peek-a-boo
What you can do as a parent:
-
Call your baby by name.
-
Speak clearly to your baby and encourage different sounds.
-
Name body parts, foods, and people.
-
Tell your baby simple commands.
-
Play pat-a-cake.
-
Begin saying words that tell what you are doing.
-
Encourage your baby to crawl by placing toys beyond their reach.
9 to 12 months
-
Enjoys looking at books
-
Likes hearing sounds of animals
-
Enjoys large toys that can be pushed and pulled
What you can do as a parent:
-
Take your baby to different places and outings.
-
Play ball with your baby.
-
Read to your baby.
-
Tell your baby names of body parts.
Toys for babies
Birth to 6 months
-
Mobiles
-
Mirrors that will not break
-
Music boxes
-
Bells and rattles
-
Stuffed animals
-
Swings
7 to 12 months
-
Blocks
-
Brightly colored toys
-
Books
-
Balls
-
Cup and spoon
-
Jack-in-the-box
-
Rattles
-
Teething toys
-
Toys that can be pushed and pulled
-
Baby dolls
Online Medical Reviewer: Liora C Adler MDStacey Wojcik MBA BSN RN
Date Last Reviewed: 9/1/2025
© 2000-2025 The StayWell Company, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care. Always follow your healthcare professional's instructions.
Related Conditions
- Anatomy of a Newborn Baby’s Skull
- Assessments for Newborn Babies
- Baby's Care After Birth
- Breast Milk Collection and Storage
- Breastfeeding and Delayed Milk Production
- Breastfeeding at Work
- Breastfeeding Difficulties - Baby
- Breastfeeding Difficulties - Mother
- Breastfeeding Your Baby
- Breastfeeding Your Premature Baby
- Newborn Care in the Delivery Room
- Caring for Babies in the NICU
- Common Conditions and Complications
- Common Procedures
- Congenital Heart Disease Index
- Difficulty with Latching On or Sucking
- Digestive Disorders
- Fever in a Newborn Baby
- Hearing Loss in Babies
- Hearing Screening Tests for Newborns
- Heart Disorders
- High-Risk Newborn Blood Disorders
- Infant of a Mother with Diabetes
- Infant Play
- Infant Sleep
- Inguinal Hernia in Children
- Keeping Your Baby Warm
- Male Conditions
- Megaureter in Children
- Micropenis in Children
- Neurological Disorders in the Newborn
- Newborn Appearance
- Newborn Babies: Getting Ready at Home
- Newborn Complications
- Newborn Crying
- Newborn Health Assessment
- Newborn Measurements
- Caring for Newborn Multiples
- Newborn Screening Tests
- Newborn Senses
- Newborn Sleep Patterns
- Newborn Warning Signs
- Normal Newborn Behaviors and Activities
- Physical Exam of the Newborn
- Play
- Preparing for Your New Baby
- Preparing the Family
- Preschool Play
- Skin Color Changes
- Stages of Play
- Substance Exposure
- Taking Your Baby Home from the NICU
- The Growing Child: Newborn
- The Respiratory System in Babies
- Thrush (Oral Candida Infection) in Children
- Toddler Play
- Toy Safety
- Toy Safety—Identifying High-Risk Situations
- Toy Safety—Prevention
- Transient Tachypnea of the Newborn
- Vision and Hearing
- When to Call Your Child's Healthcare Provider
- Basics About Your Newborn Baby's Body
- Buying Guidelines for Safe and Fun Toys
- Unwrap the Gift of Toy Safety
- Breastfeeding: Getting Started
- Breathing Problems