Gross Motor Guide
Physical Therapist approved!
Here at Eat Play Say, we want to take the guesswork out the equation and help you help your little one thrive. This guide contains Physical Therapist approved toys that help reach gross motor milestones - all organized by age!
Sassy Tummy Time Floor Mirror: This mirror is soft sided with a high contrast border - perfect for tummy time and side-lying (and eventually, sitting). It stands up on its own so it doesn’t have to be propped up against a wall or toy.
OBall Rattle: Great to work on grasping, reaching, rolling and shaking! It makes a little noise to catch your baby’s attention and is lightweight so you don’t have to worry about your baby dropping it.
Kick and Play Mat: A great all-in-one toy that will last for months. It starts out as a place to lay baby down for floor time and transitions into a great place to work on sitting and reaching. Comes with a mirror and maracas, too!
High Contrast Book: Another great tummy time tool to encourage head turning and lifting. Also good for sidelying play!
Prop-a-pillar: Great “prop” if your baby doesn’t like to do tummy time flat on the floor. You can also use for early sitting to cushion those tip-overs (closer to 4.5-5 months).
Foam Mat: A good place to lay your baby for floor time. It folds up small for storage and you can fold up the sides to contain toys a little bit.
Boppy: A great multi-use tool - use it for feeding and for floor time! Lay baby over it during tummy time for some added support, especially for babies who don’t like to lay flat on the floor. As baby gets older, it can also be used for support when working on sitting.
Bandana Buddies Elephant: This has multiple teething parts for baby to grasp at and bring to their mouth, rattles and crinkles, and a little mirror. Bonus: it can attach to a stroller!
Muslin Swaddles: Another one of those multi-use items. Roll one up for under baby’s chest during tummy time or behind baby’s back during side-lying play. You can also use one under baby’s hips during floor time on their back to encourage bringing their legs and feet up.
Tummy Time Water Mat: A fun way to keep tummy time interesting. Movement causes the objects inside to move around and encourage baby to move their hands and look around.
OBall: A great first ball! Use it to work on grasping and holding in supine or side-lying, or roll back and forth when working on sitting.
Sock Rattles: Socks with cute little animals on the end that rattle when baby kicks. Great for working on grabbing feet and bringing them to their mouth.
Popping Turtle: Great motivator when trying to get your baby to pivot in a circle on their belly and for working on sitting balance. Push it back and forth or move it side to side and watch the balls pop on the turtle’s back.
Sensory Balls & Blocks: A variety of small balls and animals that can be used for rolling, switching between hands, and bringing to mouth. Also includes 8 squishy blocks so you can build block towers for baby to knock down.
Regalo Playpen: A safe place to put baby when you are cooking, cleaning, taking a shower or playing outside. It’s not exactly a toy, but it’s very important that all babies have a flat surface to play and move in order to develop all of their gross motor skills!
Toy Tissue Box: This is great for reaching and pulling while in tummy time and for sitting and reaching, too!
Baby Einstein Octopus: Four different modes to grow with baby! It encourages reaching in tummy time and sitting and has a crawling and dance party mode as baby gets more mobile.
UpSeat: PT/OT approved sitting container starting around 4 months old. It keeps baby out of that rounded sitting posture and supports upright trunk and spine. You should still follow the container rules of no more than 15 minutes at a time. Baby needs to be able to hold their head up independently without it falling/drooping, and should not be slumped over in the seat. We want to see a straight line of ears over shoulders over hips when sitting - no slumping over or c-shaped spine!
Indestructible Book: A great early book because babies can chew it, crumple it, and try to rip it but it won’t get ruined! It’s good for sitting practice because it’s easier to manipulate than many board books since it’s so lightweight. There are many variations, but the Itsy Bitsy Spider is a favorite because you can read it, sing it, and act it out.
Activity Cube: Great for sitting, pulling to stand, cruising, and standing practice. Nice and sturdy (but you still want to stay close by in case it does tip!). Different “activities” on each side of the cube plus toys on top to encourage pulling to kneel and stand!
Bubble Machine: Another toy that keeps on giving. You can use it early on to work on finger isolation, requesting “more”, and for visual tracking. As your child gets older, you can use it outside for running to chase bubbles or jumping to pop bubbles.
Ring Stacker: Great for working on independent sitting (and language and fine motor skills too!). Take rings off and put them on to work on balance while sitting. Have your little one reach up high, out to the side, or way out in front to practice reaching while maintaining balance and coming back to midline!
Musical Instrument Set: Make your own music and work on sitting balance at the same time. Plus, it all stores inside the drum for easy clean up.
Melissa & Doug Pull-back Cars: Entertaining for early sitters and encouraging for early crawlers. They are soft enough for babies to play with!
Silicone Stacking Cups: Soft, stacking cups that double as a teething toy. Use to work on sitting balance, take them in the bathtub, and then nest them all together for compact clean up.
Skip Hop Activity Center: A standing activity center that converts to a kid’s table. It still counts as a container so it is recommended to use for no more than 15 minutes at a time. The footrest can be adjusted so that your baby’s feet are flat and it does have some movement to it but doesn’t encourage jumping like the standing jumpers do. We recommend waiting until baby is able to support all of their weight in standing - around 7 or 8 months old!
Playskool Walk ‘n’ Ride: A push walker and a ride-on toy! Lightweight but easy to use. Fewer bells and whistles than some of the others, but definitely serves the purposes of helping your toddler get around.
Radio Flyer Walker: Wooden push toy that even has a storage basket. Can also be used for seated/vertical play! I like that it has some activities on the front without the sounds and music of some similar push walkers. We love push walkers because babies have to use their muscles to walk (similar to walking holding hands).
Crawling Tunnel: A great toy to work on crawling on hands and knees! Make an obstacle course, use it for hide and seek and peek-a-boo, or roll a ball back and forth through the tunnel.
Press & Go Cars: Work on transitioning from sitting to crawling - your baby can push the button on the car to make it go then crawl after it!
Suction Spinners: Stick them to the fridge, a door or window to work on sitting, standing, and playing at a vertical surface.
Melissa & Doug Pounding Bench: For hand-eye coordination and working on balance in sitting, kneeling and squatting. Just watch your fingers!
Cardboard Blocks: The bigger size is great for little hands because they are easier to stack. Build a tower to knock down, a race track for cars, or even an obstacle course to work on walking/crawling between the blocks or stepping over.
Baby Doll: A great first baby doll for your baby! A great toy for working on carrying toys while walking and eventually for pushing in the shopping cart or doll stroller!
VTech Sit to Stand Alphabet Train: An all-in-one ride on and push toy. The engine and caboose disconnect so that it can be used as a push toy or put them together to use it as a ride on. It also comes with alphabet blocks that are great for fine motor/building and you can drop them in the top of the train and watch them drop down into the caboose.
Large Trucks: Encourages pushing a toy while knee walking or crawling. Trucks like this can also be used to push back and forth between you and your little one. Or load it up with smaller toys and push it around!
Melissa & Doug Nesting and Stacking Blocks: These are awesome because you can build a tower taller than your toddler, but the blocks still nest together for storage so they don’t take up much space. You can use them to build towers, make a path for your child to crawl or walk through, or build smaller targets to knock down by kicking or throwing a ball!
Two-Tiered Water Table: Perfect for those hot days when you can’t get to a pool. Great to work on standing, squatting, cruising, reaching on tiptoes, pouring, dumping, splashing!
Baby Balance Bike: A fun first birthday gift! Let your baby zoom around the house on this balance bike - works on reciprocal leg motion and sitting balance. It also works on dynamic single leg balance for getting on and off the bike!
Foam Climbing Blocks: The five different shapes in this set are great to use for working on crawling and climbing over obstacles, walking up and down inclines, and stepping over, too! The foam challenges balance more than walking on solid ground.
Spinning Toy: One of those great fine and gross motor toys. Works on hand-eye coordination and balance. Use it to work on balance in kneeling, transitions from sitting on the floor to standing, bending/squatting to pick up the rings and stand back up to put them on.
Peg Puzzles: There are so many great ways to play with these puzzles, but one of my favorites is to place the pieces on one side of the room and the puzzle board on the other. Then your little one can walk back and forth to take the pieces to the board one at a time. Challenge them by having them walk backwards, sideways, move like a certain animals, or navigate an obstacle course.
Shape Sorter: Bang the shapes together, work on matching the shapes to the right holes, practice zipping. It has a carry handle so your little one can carry it around and it’s great for travel! It also has flaps on the back so you can use it like a lift the flap book!
Foam Ball Pit: Just add balls! You can use ball pit balls, soft playground balls, stuffed animals or even pillows. Use it as a jumping pit, work on stepping over the edge to get in, work on sitting balance when it’s full of balls, and work on throwing and catching for hand eye coordination while you’re at it!
Step2 Sports Climber: Practice those climbing and sliding skills at home. You can use it inside or outside without taking up too much space. It’s also fun to use the slide as a ball or car ramp. And this one has a basketball hoop, too!
Lalo Play Kitchen: Aside from being great for imaginative play and speech, play kitchens are great for working on standing and squatting! “EATPLAYSAY” saves 10%.
Toddler Slide: If you don’t have room for the big climber and slide, this is a great one that folds up for smaller storage!
Shopping Cart: Load it up with heavier toys for some heavy work. Also great for clean up time! Your little one has to squat to pick up toys then stand back up to put them in the cart.
Melissa & Doug Animal Rescue Shape Sorter: A shape sorter, truck, and play animals all in one! Work on fine and gross motor skills, animal sounds, and imaginative play.
Colorful Scarves: There are so many ways to use these, but our favorite is for dance parties! Wave them around, spin in circles, put them on the ground and jump over them, or make up your own dance moves.
Basketball Hoop: Great for working on getting on tiptoes, reaching overhead, and throwing to a target. It’s adjustable so it will grow with your little one.
Safari Magna-Tiles: Magnetic tiles are so fun! Build towers, houses, roads, etc. Play with them on the floor to work on tummy time, squatting, and kneeling. Play at a low table to work on floor to stand transitions, squatting and returning to standing, and kneeling. Stick them to the fridge, or take them outside and use the garage door for a different way to play.
Bubble Gun: Once your little one has the hand strength to pull the trigger, they can be in charge of their own bubble fun. Great to use outside to work on running, jumping and stomping to pop the bubbles!
Playground Ball: The perfect open-ended outside toy. Kick it into a goal, use it for bowling, bounce and catch, throw it through a hula hoop target. Comes in a ton of cute designs and under $10!
Turtle Stepping Stones: Make an obstacle course, work on balance, practice standing on one foot. This set comes with a spinner and activity cards, too!
Toddler Trampoline: A fun way to get the wiggles out when you’re stuck inside. The grab bar can help your little one get the hang of jumping.
Bean Bag Toss: Something for the kids to do while you play corn hole! Has a tic-tac-toe version on the back, too. Practice throwing and tossing!
Green Toys Wagon: Load it up and pull it around. Good for working on backwards walking!
Radio Flyer Steer & Stroll Trike: A classic tricycle, but with a parent push handle for when they are too tired to make it all the way back home. Has a storage basket so they can bring their toys along for the ride, and the handle is removable when they don’t need it anymore.
Rody Bounce Horse: A fun toy to work on dynamic sitting, single leg balance to get on and off, and pre-jumping skills.
Splash Pad: Fun for outdoor play on hot days! Work on running or jumping through the sprinkler, walking or crawling on the splash pad.
Ring Toss: A fun way to work on hand-eye coordination!
Strider Balance Bike: Great for learning the balance required to ride a bike - but without the pedals. The seat and handlebars are adjustable for growing kids. It makes the transition to a pedal bike much easier for some kids!
Mini Scooter: A great first scooter - easy to steer, comes in a variety of colors. It has two wheels on the front, one in the back, and a brake to prevent your kid from scraping the toes of their sneakers to stop!
Sidewalk Chalk: Draw some hopscotch or a bike/scooter course to challenge your child’s coordination. Work on fine motor skills, too. Draw in different positions - squatting, tummy time drawing, or sitting in a straddle all work different muscle groups. Outline your child with chalk and let them fill in body parts or color in fun outfits.
Reusable Water Balloons: Play catch, draw targets on the pavement, or work on squeezing the water out of splash balls for hand strengthening.
Balance Beam: Another great toy to add to your obstacle courses. Great for working on heel-toe walking, stepping over, marching, and side stepping.
Stomp Rocket: Great for working on jumping with two feet together, single leg stance and lower extremity strength/power.
Plasma Car: A fun ride-on toy that moves by wiggling the steering wheel - but can also be propelled with feet on the ground. Works on balance and coordination!
Bowling Set: This cute little bowling set comes with colorful bowling pins and a carrying case. Bowling is a great activity to work on hand-eye coordination and reciprocal arm/leg movements necessary for throwing and kicking.
Fort Building Set: Use connectors and poles to make tunnels, castles, rockets, and other play structures. Stores compactly when not using. Add blankets and pillows to make a fort!
Check out my Amazon Storefront for all kinds of recommendations for you and your little one, all organized by age!
This post contains commissionable or affiliate links.