10 Best Baby Toys
Babies learn and develop by engaging their sensory and physical capabilities. Think about touching, feeling, holding, hearing, and seeing. And it is only through these expressions that kids gain natural abilities, practice new skills, and familiarise with their environment.
What could be the best way to reinforce all-round sensory stimulation other than playing with toys?
As you might expect, the market is never short of toys you can acquire to aid your child play, learning, and all-round development.
But, with so many alternatives in different shapes, colors, forms, and sizes- how do you know the right product for your baby?
Well, choosing the most suitable toy for your baby is no one-touch affair. Conducting thorough research is certainly the best way out. Now, if you are about to get into the market for the first time or out for a few additions for your kid’s existing collection, you are at the right place.
In this article, we’ve done all the research to furnish you with all the information necessary to make the right purchasing decisions like benefits of toys, types and a detailed buyer’s guide. We have also recommended the best baby toys online and answered some common questions.
Top 10 Best Toys For Kids in India
| Product (Best Brands) | Best Price |
|---|---|
Our pick |  |
| |
Bright Multiple Changing Colors | |
Multiple-use | |
Best Educational Toy | |
Best for Hand-Eye Coordination | |
Soft and Comfortable | |
Fun Design | |
Best for Crawl Training | |
Best Bump &Go Action | |
Benefits of Baby Toys
Encourages learning
Toys like other common play items can shape early learning in many helpful ways. In the playing process, there are plenty of educational opportunities that when exploited allow babies to familiarize with different aspects and things in life.
For one, toys are often modeled after animals, houses, and other household items which when they come into contact with they learn not only what they are but their uses too.
Activates multiple sense
Babies like every living being have several senses which help them reason and become aware of different realities in their immediate environment. By playing with toys of varying designs, babies are automatically challenged to make use of their senses to make the most out of their playing time.
Talk about touching and feeling build textures, fitting shapes, reacting to lights and sounds from toys, and more. Almost every type of toy ignites multi-sensory action for immersive playing.
Enhances creativity
In the process of handling toys, kids learn to use their imagination and innate skills. For instance, there are toys that require joining of parts to make a complete unit. Therefore, with kits that test and require a little creativity to prevail, kids can improve on their natural creative capabilities early enough.
Promotes physical activity and exercise
Another obvious benefit of playing with toys is that it encourages kids to become active. Though in a small way, the movements and crawls following toys or grabbing and throwing things around are perfect ways to exercise and improve motor skills.
Keeps kids busy and happy
Giving your baby toys to keep him engaged and happy while you enjoy some free time could be more than a perfect way to go about. So you can only watch them giggle and play while you take care of other things at a distance.
Types of Baby Toys
Educational/learning toys
These are designed to stimulate thinking and discovery early in life. Educational and learning toys come in different shapes, forms, and style but are generally characterized by features that help the baby familiarise with their surroundings and other aspects of life in totality.
Puppets/Dolls
Puppet toys are models of real-life items, animals, physical features, houses or any other thing that may interest babies. They also come in almost every imaginable design. The type is especially ideal if you want to introduce your baby to particular things in a baby-friendly way. The most common varieties are soft stuffed animals or baby dolls with smiling faces.
Musical toys
As the name hints, musical toys are designed to treat the baby with soothing sounds, tones, and baby-friendly vocals. They produce musical notes that stimulate the baby’s listening skills. In some cases, they take the form of popular musical instruments such as a drum or piano or even a combination of several instruments.
Mobiles/Push and Pull Toys/Walkers
These are defined by different forms of movement when in use. Mobiles engage the baby’s motor skills by keeping them physically active when following the motion patch whether physically or visually. Some are equipped to make noise or mimic the sound of real-life objects they model. Popular designs here include toys vehicles and strollers.
Teethers
Teethers are designed specifically for babies during the teething stage. When placed in the mouth they provide a fulfilling stimulation on the gums hence facilitating teeth growth. They also help in easing boredom especially when the baby is left alone to play while being watched at a fair distance.
Vision toys
These are purposefully designed to help the baby focus and improve their vision. The idea of vision toys is to expose babies to different colors and varieties of textured pattern finishes. By engaging the sense of seeing, babies not only enjoy playing but improve their visual capabilities too.
Interactive/Manipulative skills toys
These enhance baby’s imagination and creativity through interactive play. Ideally, these toys present age-appropriate challenges which the baby must practice to solve. The most common toy products of this type include activity boards, blocks and stacking units, puzzles and more.
What to Consider When Shopping for the Best Baby Toys
Age appropriateness
The first thing you’ll probably notice, baby toys come rated suitable for specific age range. While you have to ultimately decide depending on what you deem suitable for baby, it is important to consider manufacturer recommendations. One main reason for this is to ensure the choice is not beyond the child’s comprehension.
Again, with different growth and development milestone, interests tend to change hence the need to think about age-appropriate products. The good news about this is that there are more than enough options for every age range.
Go lightweight
No matter how good-looking, safe, or age-appropriate a given pick is- it can’t be as suitable if your baby cannot handle it comfortably. Given the relatively small grip and limited arm strength, you should ensure your picks are light and manageable.
Size
Apart from being lightweight, a good pick should be of modest size. While babies should generally have larger toys with parts and components that can’t be swallowed accidentally, it should be overbearing either.
An appropriate size should fit your little one’s grabby hands for hassle-free lifting, bouncing, and manipulation when playing.
Think bright colors
A good baby toy should provide enough visual stimulation. There’s no better solution to this than devices with bright and happy appearance. Naturally, radiant colors have a striking appeal that can keep the baby interested for hours.
To help toddlers optimize their visual capabilities, going for high contrast multiple colors with the patterned finish is advisable. Ideally, exposure to the attractive appeal stimulates delight and happiness.
Easy to clean
Babies are generally messy. Therefore their toys and associated playing accessories will need constant cleaning to keep them hygienic and safe. To save yourself time and effort, avoid items that may be challenging to tidy.
Similarly, they should also take a little time to dry before they are available for use again. Machine washable toys are suitable.
Sound/Audibility
Babies are quite sensitive to sound and so anything that emits interesting tone will instantly attract their attention. Needless to say, go for playthings that inspire curiosity and entertain through lively tones.
Toys with rattles, jingles, and integral musical sounds are fantastic to this end. Avoid toys that are too loud to prevent scaring the child or worse damaging their tender hearing organs.
Safety
Of all the basic factors that any parent should have in mind when shopping for baby toys- safety underpins them all. Well, it is never prudent to assume that every product you may come across on toy shops or e-stores is baby-friendly. Baby toys remain safe if they are got for a toddler of the recommended age bracket.
Always be on the lookout for safety threats such as sharp edges, potentially harmful loose parts, toxic build, or small sizes with an ever-present risk of chocking. In all, a good choice should present no potential to cause injury or any other form of harm to your baby.
Adaptive
With the baby developing in every possible way over time, the toys should also be changed or better live up to existing expectations. Because buying every other time can be expensive and non-economical, finding toys that grow with your child is the perfect solution.
Limit spending money on things that will be put aside in a few months. Instead, invest in adaptable items that can be transformed or take additional components that make them different with new challenges as the baby grows.
Versatility
In your quest to add ideal play items to your baby’s collection, strive to pick toys that can be utilized in multiple ways.
In other words, it should not restrict a child from playing only one type of game with it. Instead, it should be open-ended allowing use in multiple playing scenarios so as inspire creativity, logical thinking, sensory stimulation, and more all at different times.
Durability
Throwing stuff around, knocking and shoving items over, chewing and drooling on accessories are all realities of a typical baby play. To ensure, you reap value out of money spent filling your young ones play items collection, go for items that can endure rough handling. At this point the build material is crucial. Regardless of the nature of the material your choice should withstand wear and tear for reasonable timelines.
Price
All said and done, the price comes ultimately determines possession. Of course, the more you pay is likely to dictate the quality you get. But at first, you should try to avoid high-end products then scale up over time as learn what appeals or suits your baby’s interests.
Otherwise, if you have a budget, compare your options at the given price range before making the ultimate decision.
1. SahiBUY Drum Keyboard Musical Toys – Our pick
The SahiBUY musical toy comes in attractive contrasting colors that will invite any baby’s attention at first glance. Combining a drum and keyboard layout all in one unit, it holds nothing less than moments of joy during baby playing times.
With it, a baby will be encouraged to learn how to put their hands in use while paying attention to sounds getting emitted at every hit. Its handy design allows the child to touch, feel, and hold items essentially learning to coordinate different senses in the process.
And that’s not all. The icing on the cake is rhythmic lights that will keep flashing while playing. That way, every sensory dimension of the baby remains engaged essentially supporting full-scale development.
- The toy combines drums and keyboard layout all in one unit to provide wholesome entertainment and learning experience
- The drums have lights that flash up when playing offering entertainment and enhanced sensory experience
- Offers options of melodious songs from the drums and musical notes, animal sounds, and songs from the organ keyboard
- It comes in bright and attractive multi-colored appearance and baby-friendly design
- Features colorful and sleek buttons for playing
- Has a battery-powered lights system to provides extra sensory stimulation when playing
- Provides various sounds
- Colorful and eye-catching
- Baby-friendly
- Modest size and lightweight
- Good quality build
- Awesome functionality
- Default volume may be too loud for some babies
2. Elephant Baby Soft Toy
Vkaire baby soft toys are truly soft. In no time, you will watch them turn in your baby’s best friend. Toothy is a baby elephant soft toy that is made from certified organic cotton shells.
Toothy can be a great cuddling friend. It can also help you introduce the animal kingdom to your baby.
- This soft toy has a hypoallergenic polyfill that does not cause harm to kids
- It is knitted, making it super soft to touch.
- Because of its unique knitting technique, the toy stays puffy even after long use.
- The toy is tightly stitched to avoid injuries.
- It is easy to wash and maintain in the long run.
- Made from certified cotton makes it safe for the kids.
No cons were observed
3. Funskool Twirlly Whirlly Turtle – Bright Multiple Changing Colours
A toy that your baby can pull around the house, the Funskool Twirlly Whirlly is a fantastic buy in every way. If anything, the external finish consists of multiple bright colours that can ignite the visual senses of a young one to concentrate and keep playing for hours.
Looking at it, the toy can keep your baby playfully engaged as s/he keeps it sliding around the play area. The toy not only pulls along but will also change colour as it moves providing the much-needed visual stimulation.
The Funskool toys are made with safety of babies in mind so you do not have to keep monitoring every move your loved one makes with it. Then again, the cute turtle shape is firmly built to ensure longevity in use.
- Features a push and pull-along style to allow hassle-free movement and unlimited fun to keep a child happy
- The design has the inner shells of the turtle spinning around to make it more entertaining
- It changes color when pulled or pushed along a course providing instant and continuous visual sensory stimulation all through the playtime
- Has dimensions of about 18.5 by 15.5 by 14.5 cm which is ideal for typical baby playing needs
- Comes in a multi-colored finish to make it attractive to children
- Comes with a sturdy string to aid hassle-free pulling
- Has non-skid wheels to help grip the surfaces for a smooth pulling experience
- Attractive and visually stimulating
- Ideal for kids in a wide age range
- Safe and baby-friendly design
- Fun, engaging, and stimulating
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Decent quality construction
- Reasonably priced
- May be a little heavy for babies
4. WISHKEY 7 Rattles and 1 Teether Toy – Multiple use
The WISHKEY Colourful toy set consists of nicely designed and cute looking rattles and teether ideal for stimulating sensory and motor skills. Babies aged three months and above can easily grip them thanks to a sleek and smooth finish that is easy on the hands and comfortable too.
Apart from the attractiveness, the set is made of quality plastic that is safe for baby use. So you won’t have to worry about exposing your baby to any sort of harm.
Perhaps if there is any reason you should consider it is- its inherent ability to keep your baby playfully engaged while encouraging wholesome sensory development.
The rattle sound will keep the baby amused while the teether will give the gums the stimulation they need to help the teeth develop. Overall, a good buy if you want your baby to listen and play while learning.
- The set includes brightly colored rattles with contrasting patterns and shades to draw the baby’s attention and keep them in a pure state of amusement
- Includes a teether toy that also doubles as a rattle with a textured surface to deliver adequate stimulation on the gums for teething babies
- The pieces in the set are made of BPA, Latex, and Phthalate and also come with pointless edges to the set remains baby safe
- Features a smooth and soft compressible ball ring which can serve as a bath toy as well
- Pieces come in modest dimensions that can easily get accommodated in the baby’s small and tender grip but are big enough to avoid swallowing
- The rattles come in different shapes, sizes, textures, and colors to help stimulate young one’s sensory acumen
- Colorful and adorable
- Help encourage listening, playing, and learning
- Baby-friendly design
- Easy on the hands
- Multiple-use cases
- Stimulating and supports the all-round development
- Durable construction
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Delivers stimulating rattle sound
- No negative points observed so far
5. Smartcraft Funny Cottage Toy – Best Educational Toy
The Educational Toy by Smartcraft has all it takes to fulfill the all-round in-play baby learning. At face value, it is strikingly colorful and attractive making it a good fit for stimulating the visual capabilities of young children.
Ideally, it is a perfect buy for one to three-year-olds the gender notwithstanding. The texture and the shapes of the various pieces that form the whole unit can help enhance the motor and sensory coordination skills of any baby. Again, the variety of color offers the perfect opportunity to train your child on different hues and shades.
While a baby can easily place some of the pieces that form the whole in their mouth, none is too small to present the risk of swallowing and subsequent choking. Looking at the toy, it presents endless ways for a child to play from counting to shape fixing and arranging the items, there is little else to ask
- Comes with multi-colored component s to help in color training besides offering visual stimulation
- Features retractable and loose components to enable unlimited playing opportunities depending on the kid’s interests
- Has overall dimensions of about 23 by 22 by 23 making it ideal for young ones aged eighteen months and over
- The unit consists of eleven 3D puzzle pieces, six animal sounds, eight musical scales and eight pieces of music offering lots of fun and entertainment for all-rounded development
- Made of sturdy non-toxic materials thus fully safe for kids even under long sustained use
- Offers lots of fun and entertainment
- Offers unlimited ways to play
- Attractive and visually stimulating
- Educational with mentally arousing games
- Great fit for all-rounded sensory and physical development
- Might be heavy to grab for some kids
6. Playhood Musical Crib Toy – Best for Hand-Eye Coordination
When it gets to imaginative, creative, and curiosity building in baby play, the Playhood Musical does precisely as the name suggests. Although it appears simplistic with no fancy features or extraordinarily eye-striking components, it comes handy when you need to add a fresh taste to your child’s playing experience.
In the first place, the toy is optimized to improve visual and motor co-ordination thanks to helpful engagement opportunities. Again, the sounds it emits at every tweak help ignite curiosity while building attentiveness to the surrounding reality.
Instead of introducing your baby to watching cartoons, the rattling tones can keep them engaged in a more fun and joyful way. Given that the toy can be easily attached to a typical baby cot, you can get it swinging with the melodious music blaring in no time.
- Fitted in a 360 degrees bracket to avoid collisions while allowing visual sensory stimulation
- Hanging design with the ability to be rotated by hand to provide an avenue for baby hand-eye coordination
- The unit consists of five animals which can be played individually and sounds when shaken
- Features a handy clipper to enable hanging on a baby cot for hassle-free access and play
- The components come in multiple colors to help improve visual capabilities
- The music component contains up to 100 songs with on/off and volume adjustments to pain-free user experience
- Operates on an AA battery to ensure delivery of sound
- Promotes hand-eye coordination
- Ignites child curiosity and imagination
- Pleasing musical options
- Colorful and attractive
- Lightweight with decent quality construction
- Safe and baby-friendly
- Music depends on battery power to play
7. Styleys Animal Finger Puppets – Soft and Comfortable
The Styleys Animal Finger Puppet consists of ten-finger fixable soft plush toys. The puppets are designed to be worn on the fingers hence helpful in enhancing the ability of the child to touch and feel items.
Similarly, each of the ten pieces depicts a different animal both in shape and style. Talk about an elephant, duck, dog, panda, bear, rabbit, cattle, hippopotamus, frog and a mouse. It means any child with the set will also get to familiarize with the various animals quite early in life.
All the pieces are not only small and good-looking but are comfortable to touch and hold thanks to the soft plush velvet build. More importantly, the material is child-friendly thus very safe for typical baby playing needs.
All things considered, the Styleys Animal Finger Puppets can aid the development of senses while also facilitating early learning.
- The set consists of ten pieces each depicting a different animal namely hippopotamus, elephant, rabbit, duck, cattle, dog, panda, bear, frog and mouse hence good for early learning
- The animal puppets are products of durable soft velvet cloth that are comfortable to touch hence very easy on the baby’s hands
- The puppets are small and cute with a life-like face to keep the baby attracted and engaged for a boredom-free play
- Animal shape design with contrasting bright colors helps grab the baby’s attention
- The toys with small finger holes to allow fitting on baby’s little fingers for a comforting supple feel
- Soft and comfortable
- Looks cute and lovely
- Provides a fun way to play
- Enhances the baby’s imagination
- A great pick for education and early training
- Ideal for animal storytelling sessions
- Decent quality construction fabric
- Colorful and attractive
- May only suit children that seem attracted to animal characters
8. Magicwand Ball Drop Rolling Swirling Tower Ramp – Fun Design
Simple yet creative games can go a long way in enhancing all-rounded early childhood development. With the Magicwand® Ball Tower Ramp your baby can as well enjoy while s/he learns and develops on various fronts.
Designed particularly for toddler’s educational needs, it’s simple yet provides interactive playing opportunity that stimulates the mind. The Tower Ramp is easy to set up and disassemble allowing on the use.
Otherwise, once assembled it instantly turns fun to play with and engage the hands while watching the ball roll down the entire length of the ramp.
- Has a fun to play with design- the baby simply loads the ball from the top and watch it twirl down
- Educational toy with multiple playing opportunities such as putting up the tower or recognizing the pieces that form part of the unit
- Made of high-quality and sturdy plastic to ensure it does not give in to pressure during set up and effectively withstand playing wear and tear
- The unit includes three acrylic activity balls with multicolored beads and shapes for on the interactive play
- The design is optimized to suit the needs of children aged twelve months and older
- Features bright colored finish to keep the baby attracted hence improved visual ability
- Has elaborately shaped components to provide an avenue of engaging motor skills and interactivity
- The safe and non-toxic material
- Attractive and good looking
- Mentally and visually stimulating
- Decent build quality
- Enhances touch and grab skills
- Fun and safe to play with
- Easy to setup
- Stylish and unique
- Lacks sound
9. World of Needs Baby Musical Toy – Best for Crawl Training
Baby toys get designed with natural growth and developmental milestones in mind. The World of Needs Crawling baby toy stays true to the above statement. Its design primarily takes a crawling stature making it ideal for babies learning to move around on all four limbs.
With it your baby will feel encouraged to emulate the posture and practice going out on all fours. In the process, the limbs are likely to grow stronger as the urge to exercise more independence grows.
Beyond that, the soft and amusing baby laughter that it emits can help your loved one go all out expressing the sense of happiness. Even better, the feeding bottle that hangs on the front and glows when the toy releases singing sounds will keep the happily entertained.
To top it all, the overall design will aid hand and eye coordination leading to better motor and sensory skills.
- The baby toy comes in crawling shape to help the baby practice movement on all the four limbs through imitation
- Equipped with pleasing baby laughter sounds to help a baby express their joy and happiness
- Has the hanging bottle feature a unique glow when the toy emits singing sounds for an enhanced overall sensory experience
- Has dimensions of 12 by 11 by 7 cm which is an ideal size for babies and infant aged between six and twenty four months
- Boast of versatile design to help encourage ability training, interest development, emotion, and hearing among other sensory activities
- Fun for playing and learning
- Cute and colorful
- Helps improve eye and hand coordination
- Available in assorted colors
- Small and light size
- Baby-friendly construction
- May require constant adult supervision
10. YIJUN Musical Toy Train – Best Bump & Go Action
If you desire to jumpstart your baby’s curiosity while enhancing brain development, the YIJUN Musical Engine train toy is yet another befitting pick. The shape of the train head with a smiley face, the external looks appear inviting and will instantly demand the child’s attention at first sighting. Moreover, the bright multi-colored finish makes it even more appealing to any on-looking eyes.
Beyond the face value appeal, the toy is equipped with a Bump and Go Action. It means it will move about freely on the surface and has the ability to change direction automatically when it hits or blocked by something else. As it moves, the young one gets to exercise by following it around enhancing their physical senses in the process.
Perhaps the best part is the fact that it features a musical engine that delivers soothing musical sound essentially igniting the auditory sense. It has 3D lights too that reflect around adding to its ability to improve visual sensation.
- Operates on a battery-powered musical engine for the on the go movement
- Has a bright multi-colored finish adding to its visual appeal
- Equipped with attractive 3D lights to provide both visual sensations
- Boasts of a unique BUMP & GO ACTION that allows it to move across surfaces and change directions automatically in case it gets hits or blocked
- Features double flashing lights, face action, shining eyes to give it an instant external appeal
- Boasts of wonderful phrases, whistles, and fun train sound to ensure more lively action
- Ignites the baby’s curiosity
- Soothing music and lights
- Boosts brain development
- Great visual appeal elements
- Entertaining and fun to play with anytime
- Safe and baby-friendly
- Does not come with batteries
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What makes a good toy for babies?
There are several crucial elements that determine a perfect toy for typical playing needs. While this will vary from one baby to another, it goes without saying that there is a bottom line. To be specific, a good toy should be age-appropriate, safe and baby-friendly, and more importantly, supports growth and development. Again, it should inspire imagination, physical activity, creativity, and entertain the child during playtimes.
2. What are the best toys for a 3-month-old?
At three months most babies are still too young for complex play items and accessories. As such brightly colored toys with soft music and sounds should be preferred.
Devices such as lightweight rattles and small and soft toys attachable on the baby crib or infant seat are perfectly ideal. Of course, any other options suggested by manufacturers could be good fits.
3. When should I give my baby toys?
For babies, the most ideal time to introduce them to toys is at about three months. At this age, a normal child will have a fair grasp of their immediate environment. And once a baby begins to react to sights, sounds, and activities around them you can introduce appropriate toys.
Rattles and music releasing devices are particularly ideal during these first months.
4. Are plastic toys safe for babies?
Given the composition of plastic material, they are never outrightly safe. The soft plastic material mostly used for crafting toys can be harmful when consumed. That said, however, toys are not designed to be consumed.
It means regardless of the nature of the build material so long as the product is used in the right way it is safe. With babies, you can’t guarantee that so supervising them play is the best way to guarantee safety.
5. Are wooden toys good for babies?
Wood ranks among the most common materials used for toy making. Of course, wooden toys are great for kids. But, because they are considerably heavier than plastic or cloth material counterparts they are far better for older kids. Otherwise, you may have to consider the manufacturer recommended age range to find out if a specific wooden toy is suitable for your baby.
6. How do you ensure a toy I buy is safe?
There are several indicators that will inform the safeness of any baby toy of choice. First, ask yourself if the toy is age-appropriate. Secondly, a safe toy shouldn’t have sharp edges and tips if at his/her age the baby isn’t in a position to comprehend the risk that comes with pointed parts.
Similarly, the components should be firm to minimize chances of breakages that may lead to injury. If buying for very young babies ensure the size of the toy or associated components is large enough to prevent accidental swallowing.
7. Which kinds of toys should babies play with?
By and large, babies can play with all kinds of toys so long as they are age-appropriate and safe. Whether they are wooden, plastic, or made of soft cloth material it there isn’t much restriction.
Of course, perceived baby interests will also count but whatever improves the playing experience is certainly a good bet for your money.
8. How much should I spend on a baby toy?
Depending on your budget no amount is too little or too much to spend on a baby toy. However, regardless of your limits, it is always prudent to exercise caution to avoid regretting quite soon. Particularly for starters, limit yourself to the affordable and mid-range before spending top dollar.
Conclusion
Toys are perfect items necessary to keep your baby active and stimulated by leaps and bounds. The abundant learning and development opportunities they present should equally inform your selection decision. The best part is there’s something for every baby no matter the age or personal preferences.
Our picks – WISHKEY Colourful Toy Set, Funskool Twirlly Whirlly Turtle, and SahiBUY Drum Keyboard Musical Toys.
Hopefully, with the information we’ve provided, you can go all out and get your little bundle of joy all they need for a one of kind playing experience.
