When Do Babies Start Playing with Toys?

This page contains affiliate links. We will receive a commission on qualifying purchases using these links.

When your baby seems to be awake only for a few minutes between feeding and changing, you might wonder whether you should be doing something so they actually “play.”

Even after a couple of weeks, you may find that your baby doesn’t look interested or just gets bored easily with their toys. It can leave you confused. Or you might be left wondering if you’ve made the right decision to buy all these beautiful toys for your baby.

Don’t worry, lots of parents are wondering the same thing!! 

So, let’s take a look at what “play” really means for babies, when do babies start playing with toys, and how you can support learning through play for your baby.

How to Play with Babies

You might be surprised to know that play and toys are not synonymous for babies. Babies may start to play with toys around 3 months, but they begin to engage in play right from birth. 

For the first few weeks, your newborn’s play is centered on getting their body moving and bonding with you!. It’s all about sensory experiences with connection and curiosity, without specifically needing many toys. Yes, play gyms and crinkle books are excellent sensory experiences for newborns. But don’t feel discouraged if your baby just seems to be looking around. That is their way of exploring right now! 

You’ll usually start seeing your baby interacting with toys more deliberately around 2-3 months. It’s often when their vision improves and enough core strength builds that they can intentionally reach for toys. 

The way little ones play evolves dramatically around 4-6 months when they start to sit up. And it matures even more around 6-8 months when sitting up is more independent. Understanding when and how to introduce the best toys for babies that support their development fosters play like nothing else!

Best Baby Activities by Age

1-2 Months Old

During the first two months, your newborn is adjusting to life outside your belly, and just getting more familiar with the world, and you.

The best play activities for newborns are gentle sensory stimulation and contact with primary caregivers. Practice lots of tummy time on your chest daily to help strengthen their neck muscles and head control. 

Lay the baby on the floor in their play gym and show them high-contrast (black, white and red) toys or cards to help with visual tracking. It’s so important for babies to play on the floor. Engage in tummy time and sidelying play with your newborn. 
Put your baby on your lap, make eye contact, and talk or sing to them! Less than 50% of newborns are read to daily, yet there are positive outcomes to reading to babies this young! So, start reading to your baby from day one if you can! (1)

What Can 3 Month Old Babies Do? 

By three months, you’ll usually notice your baby has developed better head and neck control, can track moving objects, and is now likely starting to reach, bat and kick toys. (2) They may also bring their hands to mouth, and begin cooing and smiling a lot. 

Tummy time at 3 months is finally becoming a lot more exciting. Lay your baby on a soft blanket and take them on a magic carpet ride. Get down face-to-face with them, and keep it fun by trying these 5 best ways to practice tummy time. 

Crinkly books (like this fish), and toys that encourage reaching and grasping (like our favorite the OBall) are the most appropriate  for this age. Around 10-12 weeks is the perfect time to introduce teethers too as babies start mouthing and teething.

Check out this blog post that covers all the best play activities for 3 month olds!

Activities for 4 Month Olds

Between 4-6 months, play actually does start to look like play. 

The duration of tummy time likely increases to several minutes per session (without tears, hopefully), as your baby might be preparing to roll over. 

At this stage, babies love themselves (honestly they should, because I would too if I were that cute). So having a tummy time floor mirror is so worth it! 

Rattles are another favorite for this age. Offer toys that can shake to make noise, as babies are just starting to set the foundation of cause and effect play.

Activities for 6 Month Olds

Play becomes more rewarding now as babies may learn to sit up with support and on their own between 6-8 months. (3) They are learning so many new things including object permanence (the idea that things still exist even when you can’t see them).

Play peekaboo with your baby, and wait for them to respond to you by making a noise. Let them explore safe household objects to play, like banging wooden spoons or opening plastic container lids.  

Build a tower with these soft stacking blocks and invite your baby to knock it down. Read board books with touch & feel and lift-the-flap elements to promote language development.

Introduce toys that roll, stack, or pop, like nesting cups, sensory balls, and pull-back cars. This activity cube (with multiple features to explore) is perfect for your new sitter (and later, new walker too). 

We have lots more play activities for 6 month old babies in this blog post.  

Activities for 9 Month Olds

Your baby’s idea of play is getting more and more interesting now as their mobility increases. Crawling opens up new worlds to explore. The pincer grasp allows for fine motor precision, and they may also start imitating your actions at this age. 

Your baby may now have a favorite toy, and you might also want them to play “independently” for at least a couple of minutes. But it’s important to remember that in infancy (and even early toddlerhood), ‘playing together’ comes first than ‘playing independently’. (We talk more about this HERE!)

This see and say musical toy is one of my favorite toys for imitation at this age. The other best toys for 9 month olds include push toys (like this activity walker), ring stackers (this spinning stacker is so fun), and cause & effect toys (like this learn & spin aquarium and busy ball popper).

Puzzles and puppets are also super beneficial for this age, as your baby might be learning to engage in simple problem-solving and pretend play. Check out this blog post for all the best ways to play with your 9 month old! 

Best Toys for Babies

Whenever you buy a toy for your baby, try not to stress a lot about age recommendations on packaging (unless it’s small parts that could be choking hazard)! Trust your knowledge of your baby’s abilities, and choose age-appropriate toys that help build skills.

We make this so easy for you by breaking down the best developmental toys for babies that help them build skills, like reaching & grasping, crawling and more. Having toys that grow with your baby, and can be used for years to come is always the best!

Toys are tools that support play for babies and toddlers, but play isn’t all about toys. Learning through play can happen anywhere, anytime. That’s why we made our The Infant Playbook!

The pediatric professionals at Eat Play Say came together to create this most comprehensive playbook for baby’s first year that includes over 100 zero-dollar activities, and help babies meet all of their milestones through the first year. 

Download The Infant Playbook here! 

Sources:

1. Scholastic. (2014). The Rise of Read-Aloud: Scholastic Kids & Family Reading Report™. Scholastic Inc. 
2. Folio, M. R., Fewell, R. R. (2000). PDMS-2 Peabody Developmental Motor Scales Second Edition. Austin, TX: PRO-ED, Inc.
3. Rachwani, J., Soska, K. C., & Adolph, K. E. (2017). Behavioral Flexibility in Learning to Sit. Developmental Psychobiology, 59(8), 937–948.