Our Favourite Baby Toys - 9 to 15 months

As our babies gain new skills and mobility day by day, some of their infant toys are no longer relevant to them. So we kept those toys and brought out others from our store to engage them. Here are some of the baby toys which they enjoy and I thought are helpful for their development.

1. Baby Walkers (from 9 months)

These walkers are effective in getting the babies to learn to walk. Once our little ones mastered crawling and could pull themselves up to cruise around, we took the walkers out to encourage them to walk.

A side note on crawling – do not skip crawling. It is a significant milestone for the babies to achieve because crawling is essential for them to pick up hand-leg coordination skills. Many activities in life require proficiency in hand-leg coordination, such as climbing a ladder and riding a bike.

When we started the babies on the walkers, we had to monitor them very carefully because they might fall backwards when pulling themselves up. Pushing the walkers forward also seemed a little dangerous as the walkers were too fast for them. We spent the next few weeks guarding behind while they learned to balance.

The moment they got the hang of pressing their weight on the handle, the walker turned into a sturdy walking aid. Very soon, they enjoyed speeding behind the wheels, and it became a norm for them to cruise around the house by themselves. And it didn’t take them long to walk independently after that. By the time they turned thirteen months old, they ditched their once-loved walkers.

Our walkers are from Fisher-Price – Musical Lion Walker*; Walker-To-Wagon*. The walkers are great to have except for the space they take up because both cannot be folded up to keep out of sight.

2. Wooden Maze (from 9 months)

Our maze – Highways and Byways from Classic Toys* has many colourful cars that spin and slide along the wires. Mazes help to develop the babies’ tracking skills which is vital for reading while cultivating their hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

Get those with a sturdy base and large enough for your baby to grip and manipulate.

3. Ikea Busa Play Tunnel (from 9 months)

We took this out from our store once the babies started to crawl. I feel that this is a lovely toy to have as it contributes to building their sensory processing skills and confidence while they crawl. Crawling through an enclosed space may be daunting for some children. Start them early in this to avoid certain developmental issues including claustrophobia, amongst other things at a later stage. This toy looks bulky but it is easy to press flat and store for later use.

4. K’s Kids Match and Build Soft Blocks* (from 6 months)

I have already suggested this toy in my last post on our favourite toys from 0 to 9 months old. We are still playing this now but with a different intent in mind. Other than building their stacking skills, I also show them the matching pictures and playing peek-a-boo.

5. Ikea Building Beaker (from 6 months)

Again, I had already introduced the stacking cups when they were six months old to encourage them to crawl towards the tower I bulit. These days, I encourage them to nest the cups to create their awareness in sizes. Nesting the cups is more straightforward as compared to stacking the cups into a tower.

6. Wooden Puzzle Block (from 12 months)

This is an excellent activity that helps to stimulate hand-eye coordination and visual perception skills.

However, I find my collection from Mothercare too advance for my now 14-month babies as the number puzzles are not easy to fit it. Instead, with so many numbers and shapes set in one piece of wooden block, it confuses and prevents the babies from focusing on the shapes puzzles that seem more age appropriate to me.

If I am to choose all over again, I will select something more manageable as a starter, with large knobs and simple shapes, such as the Melissa and Doug Shapes Knob Wooden Puzzle*.

7. K’s Kids Shape Sorter* (from 12 months)

This toy functions as a shape sorter, as well as a peek-a-boo. While I have introduced the wooden puzzle block and the soft block in the earlier paragraphs, this toy is more compact and easier to carry around.

8. Slide* (once they can walk steadily)

Bring the playground indoors! I bring them to the nearby playground in the morning. However, the slide is too high and steep for them. Having just a pair of eyes and hands to handle two roaming babies adds on to the danger element. But they love the slide. So I recently bought second-hand toddler slide for just $8 from Carousel so that they can play all day.

These two babies are very energetic. They refuse to take naps unless they are tired out. Thus having a slide at home helps in expending their energy and hopefully resulting in longer naps.

9. Toy Phones

When they started fighting with us for the remote control, house phone and cell phones, I knew having a toy phone is a necessity. We got ourselves two hand-me-down Fisher Price Flip Phones* from the babies’ cousin. These phones are the types I prefer, those with traditional number buttons and not a smartphone. I did not insert any battery because I don’t like the idea of having electronic baby toys.

10. Fireman Truck

We have this Little Tikes Fire Truck* for at least five years now. The hose and water tank are long gone, but the truck remains in excellent condition. It is now our four children’s favourite toy, with the babies sitting in it and standing behind where the tank used to be. The elder ones will push them around the house. It is enjoyable seeing the 4 of them cruising around the house day in day out; I relish these noisy moments.

Which baby toy do you love? Please share with us in the comment box below.