The toys you give your baby have a huge influence on the development of their
fine and gross motor skills, which is why it's really important to regularly
change their toys based on their age. Before six months of age your baby will
use their whole hand to pick up toys and that's why the toys recommended before
six months are really large. But between six to nine months of age, babies fine
motor skills start to improve, and as a result they start using their fingers
more. Which means that they need toys that will facilitate this fine motor
development. If your baby keeps playing with those big toys from their newborn
days, they will keep using their whole hand to grab things and this could keep
them from practicing how to use their fingers and delay the development of
those crucial fine motor skills. So if your little one is over six months old
it's time to give their toy box a little update. These are the toys I recommend
for babies aged six to nine months that are great for fine motor development.
First off, those soft material rattles.
It's time to replace them with baby rattles and maracas.
And here's why.
Unlike the soft material rattles, which have very thick handles,
these rattles encourage your baby to start using individual fingers
more than their whole hand.
And this small change can make a big difference in their fine motor
skill development.
Moreover, these rattles are lightweight.
So your little one won't struggle to hold them, shake them or bang them around,
which is going to be their new favorite thing.
And last but not least,
your baby is still figuring out how to let go of toys intentionally.
So you'll need something sturdy that can withstand being dropped numerous times.
And luckily, this is exactly what those baby rattles and maracas are made for.
Next up, it's time to trade those fabric books for board books.
Fabric books are a great toy for very young babies who are still in that mouthing
stage, as well as spiting up, and need soft washable toys. But by the time your
baby is six to nine months of age, board books are the way to go to promote fine
motor development. They're sturdy with thick pages that will resist your baby's
natural inclination to explore by pulling and tugging the pages. This means
your baby can enjoy their favorite stories without any accidental tears.
Also the thick pages make it easier for their little fingers to grab and then
turn in comparison to the pages of fabric books. But in saying that, your
little one is still going to find it a little bit of a challenge to turn the
pages in the board books. So to make it easier for them, place elastic bands or
hair ties between each page. This holds the pages slightly apart which will make
them easier for your little one to grab and then turn. Board books also have
interactive features such as flaps to lift or textures to feel. And when your
little one engages with these features they will use a variety of grips which
will help to further improve their fine motor skills. The next thing to put away
is the baby gym but before you pack it away make sure you collect all those
links and put them together to form a link chain. Your little one is going to
love playing with this link chain. And because it is extremely lightweight in
nature and it has a round shape they're going to find it really easy to hold but
more importantly it's going to give them the opportunity to practice transferring
one link from one hand to the other hand. This ability to switch hands while
holding a toy is a key skill for your baby to develop. In fact, it's a stepping
stone towards learning how to intentionally drop a toy, which is a
developmental milestone they're likely to reach in the upcoming months. Now is
also the perfect time to introduce a shape sorter to your baby's toy box. But
there's a twist. At this age we're not expecting them to fit the shapes into
the corresponding holes on the sorter. That's a skill that they won't be able
to master until they're 12 months of age. Right now your baby will be more
interested in simply playing with the shapes. These shapes are not too small to
be a choking hazard but they're small enough to require more precise handling
and this will naturally encourage your baby to use their fingers to grasp and
manipulate them. This helps to develop their finger control and
coordination, which are crucial skills for their fine motor development.
So get all the shapes out of the shape sorter and either place them in a large
bowl, or a container, or directly in front of your little one on the floor.
Your little one will soon reach forward
and start to pick them up and explore them.
Playing with these shapes can also help
your baby learn the skill of purposefully dropping a toy.
To do that, you would simply give your baby two shapes to hold and then present
one. Your little one will be faced with a small problem to solve. They will need to
drop one of the shapes they're currently holding to grab the third one. And this
seemingly simple task is a huge leap in their cognitive and motor skill
development. So while your shape sorter might not be used in the traditional
sense just yet, its parts can play a pivotal role in advancing your baby's
fine motor skills and problem-solving abilities. Next up are ring stackers.
Again, this is not a toy that we are expecting your baby to play with in the traditional
sense of stacking the rings back onto the ring stacker.
Instead, at this age, your baby will enjoy pulling the rings off, possibly one or two
at a time, and exploring them in their own unique way.
They might turn them around in their tiny hands, switch them from one hand to the other,
mouth them, or even bang them together.
Each of these interactions, as simple as they might seem, helps to further develop and refine
your baby's ability to use their hands to pick up small items using just their
fingers and get them one step closer to dropping toys with purpose. Being able to
drop a toy with purpose is just one of the many amazing milestones your little
one will achieve during their first year of life. To help you navigate these
exciting milestones and know when to expect them I've created a free easy to
understand developmental milestone chart. Just click the link in the description
box below to grab your free copy.
This next toy will serve two purposes.
It's going to help develop your baby's fine motor skills, as well as, alleviate
their teething pain.
And it is teethers.
The best teethers at this age are those which are round or have cylindrical
handles. And I have two favorite teethers.
The first one is Sophie the giraffe.
Sophie's cylindrical legs make it really easy for a baby to hold and put into
their mouth.
and you'll also notice that your baby will need to adopt a variety of grips
as they manipulate Sophie.
The next teether is a silicone baby teething rings.
These rings are perfect because of their round shape.
They're also so easy for your baby to grasp and even pass between their hands.
Plus, they're incredibly soft and chewy, providing a soothing sensation
for your little one's tender gum, making that teething phase a little more bearable.
The next toy you want to add to your baby's toy box are cause and effect toys.
And by that, I mean toys which do something in response to being hit, touched or poked.
The best cause and effect toys for this age are musical toys,
as they don't require a lot of force to activate the music.
My favorite musical toy at this age is the activity panel on a baby pushwalker trolley.
The reason for this is because it is simply so versatile and it has lots
of different sections which will require your baby to adopt different grips.
For example, the piano keys will encourage your baby to work on their pointing skills.
Initially, your little one will point using their whole hand.
And then, as they develop the ability to isolate one finger, they'll start to point with that
individual finger.
Then you have the movable flaps which will encourage all the baby to use their fingers
to first pinch the flap and then turn it.
And then you have the crank, and this requires even more precise finger control to activate.
What I love about the activity panel is that your little one can use it while they're lying
on the ground doing tummy time, when they're sitting up, or when they start to kneel.
Now while it is fantastic to load up your baby's toy box with toys that will boost their
five motor skills, it's also crucial to be aware of the other side of the coin.
Believe it or not, there are four popular toys on the market that do seem like loads
are fun and super helpful but they can actually slow down your baby's gross
motor development if they're used excessively. Plus they can also pose
safety risks which you want to avoid. So make sure you watch this video next to
find out exactly what these toys are so you can make an informed decision if
they're toys that you want to purchase for your little one.