Best baby activity cubes for fun and learning

The Hape Country Critters Play Cube is a well made and durable fun activity cube toy made from sturdy wood and child-safe materials like water-based paint. One reviewer who bought this for their one year old's birthday described it as "By far the best toy we've bought". They have recommended the toy to their friends with children of similar age, saying their child had not stopped playing with it all week. They also loved how well it was made, being nice and sturdy.

The toy is designed to give your toddler hours of fun for years to come with plenty of challenging activities that will inspire their imaginations and allow them to practice motor skills, logic skills and perseverance. One reviewer bought it for their one year old son and said, "at the moment he's most drawn to knocking the balls through the holes in the lid with the mallet and rolling them down the track on the side - but I'm sure he will start to play with the other parts too as he develops." They said it seems that the different parts of the toy have different complexity, meaning there's a lot of scope to play with it for a long time to come. Other reviewers mentioned the pull mechanism might be tricky for small children, but as the toy is designed to grow with your child, don't worry if there are certain things they struggle with at the moment. They will discover the more advanced features later on when they are more developed.

We love this toy cube! It is a hub of activity, with a beaded spiral, shape sorter, turn table and a tap to the bottom activity. With five sides of fun and engaging activities, this cube is also coloured beautifully and designed to be attractive and visually appealing for your little one. One reviewer says, "This is a really lovely toy. It looks gorgeous, better than in the photos. The colours are very appealing. It's very sturdy and beautifully made."

This Little Farm Wooden Activity Cube a great addition to your child's toy collection, as it helps to encourage problem solving and develop fine motor skill. It has spinning tiles, rotating gears, bead spiral and shape sorter. One reviewer wrote, "Lovely gift for my one year old grandson’s birthday. He really enjoyed it and wouldn’t put it down. He especially liked moving the beads on the wires"

The toy is aesthetically pleasing to look at too, with a beautiful design featuring soft colours. We think it'll look lovely in a child's nursery. One reviewer who bought this for their 7 month old son who loves grabbing and moving things with his little hands, likes that it keeps him completely occupied while they cook or fold laundry, and say, "It’s also very pleasing to the eye."

A clever feature you'll love about this toy is that it has a  flip-over space-saving lid, which means the top can be flipped inside the cube for easier storage. One disadvantage is that the design is a bit more simple when compared to some others, so it may not have the scope to last as long in terms of your child's development, but this will depend on how much your little one enjoys playing with it.

This Zany Zoo Wooden Activity Cube has child-friendly bright colours and five different sides of fun and games to entertain and educate your little one. Each side encourages a different kind of play – with doors to open, animals to explore, a bead maze to wind through, and colourful spinners to spin. It's perfect for toddlers! One reviewer who purchased it for their 1 year old girl pointed out that the size, and in particular, the height of this toy promotes a toddler to stand, bend and use their hands in many different ways, making it a very active toy for physical development as well as mental.

Because this activity cube offers so much to explore and discover it will grow with your little one as they develop. One reviewer wrote, "We ordered this for our youngest (5 months), but our older two (5 & 3 years) have been playing with it already." The toy is also well-made of sturdy wood, built to be handed down through family generations. One reviewer says that they had some other small items from this brand already that were all very premium and solid. They say that this toy is even better. They recalled seeing similar toys in doctors waiting rooms to entertain the kids, and said that they remember those ones having stickers on wooden boxes that peeled off over time – this toy has everything painted on instead, and they felt it will last a lifetime. Although, some have mentioned that the wood can chip easily.

We love the unique features of the Wooden Activity Cube Hanoi Theme – it has plexiglass sides with a sorting shape game, so your little one can see their shapes drop inside the cube! Sadly, we couldn't find any customer reviews for the product as it doesn't seem to be widely available, however, we wanted to include it in our line-up as it offer young ones the opportunity to see where the shapes go after they have pushed them through the slots, instead of them just "disappearing". The toy also has a bead slide, gears to turn and other interactive elements. It suitable for children from 10 months old and helps stimulate sensorial development and encourage perserverance.

The xylophone sticks might not be suitable for small hands, so this is one for slightly older children, with each side of the Lewo Wooden Activity Cube introducing a way to play a different game. One reviewer says, "It keeps the small one entertained. And she can use it on her own as she gets older. But for now, watching me do all the stuff is enough" Another reviewer who bought this for their 8-month-old says she loves it, and it keeps her entertained for ages. They said it seems very well made and solid, and the one they bought for their nephew the previous year is still going strong, and he still enjoys it now he's 2 years.

The toy includes alphabet and animal recognition, the musical xylophone, a teaching clock, spinning gears and more. We also love the A-to-Z letters and shapes for your little one to spin and learn. One reviewer chose this toy because of its bright colours, which they say were great for encouraging their autistic son to interact and improve his motor skills. they say, "He loved it and played with it as soon as he saw it. He doesn't normally play or interact with things, so this was a nice surprise."

Shaped more like a hexagon than a cube, the TOP BRIGHT Wooden Activity toy has even more sides for your little one to engage with – seven in total, including a bead maze, rainbow gears, recognition clock, shape sorter and animal flip board. The top can also be inverted and placed in the box along with shapes for easy storage.

One viewer who was making a conscious effort to buy non-plastic toys where possible was very impressed with this mostly wooden activity cube. They loved that there's so many different activities in one toy for stimulation and education, and appreciated the vivid painted colours, quality wood with smooth edges and the even finish. Their review concluded, "Not the cheapest toy but worth the money for quality and engagement value."

Some have mentioned that the circle block is a bit small, so this might be something to be aware of if you're worried about little one putting them in their mouth. Another thing to know is that the box doesn't actually have a bottom which means it isn't designed to store the shapes, although you could still pop it on a shelf with the shapes inside to keep them together, you just won't be able to take it down with the shapes still inside.

This VTech Busy Learners Activity Cube is great to encourage youngsters to sit up while they play, working on their balance and motor skills. One reviewer said, "This was the best purchase to help our daughter sit up independently at 6 months old. After a week of use, she learned to independently sit up and loves to play with this everyday. She’s 9 months now, and this is still a favourite toy."

The cube has lots of fun features to keep little ones engaged, with five sides of fun activities to encourage them to explore and discover. There are light-up buttons that will introduce them to animal names and sounds as well as shapes, and a songbook of 25 different songs. This toy cube will definitely have something to capture your child's attention. One reviewer warns that the toy doesn't have a volume control setting though, so it can be a little loud depending on where you are, but they said that it's great for learning and the songs are catchy.

A sweet and compact design, the Woody Treasures Activity Cube has a fun bead maze, animal sliders, spinning frog, abacus counter, and fun shape sorter. The four corners are finely polished with a rounded design that prevents injuries and accidents. It's also small enough for little ones to grab and turn easily, so they can play with any side they want.

One reviewer says it was the perfect size for their granddaughter to play with. They said, "She is one and it is just the right size, she can pick it up, so able to turn it around to play with the different activities." They liked that the top comes off too – you can invert the bead maze so that it is more easily stored inside the box along with the blocks. They also likes that it's made from brightly coloured wood as their granddaughter loved all the colours.

Another reviewer who purchased this as a gift for a 7 month old said that although the baby is young it still stimulated and brings enjoyment with the colourful activity box. They said, "She shows a lot of interest in this wonderful toy which is extremely sturdy. Well made and will bring joy with long lasting fun for many years."

The TOP BRIGHT Wooden Shape Sorter Activity Cube features some great learning tools. It comes with a variety of fun learning activities like the teaching clock, shape sorter and insects to teach baby about the world around them. It'll help them with some of the skills that they will need that are key to their learning and development.

Some people have mentioned that the toy is smaller than they thought, however, one reviewer who purchased it for their grandson's 1st birthday said, "I read the reviews prior to purchasing, I knew it was on the smaller side. It is perfect, not too heavy, brightly coloured. The shape blocks are the perfect size not too big for his little hands and not too small to cause a choking hazard."

Another reviewer on the other hand had a different experience though and wrote: "My 1 year old loves this toy however the blocks that come with it for the shape sorter are very small, and as he still puts toys in his mouth, they are very dangerous. He nearly got one stuck in his mouth." If your little one has a tendency to put things in their mouth, this is definitely something to be aware of.