If you're looking for the best toy for a 6-month-old to 12-month-old, you've come to the right place. Now that your baby can reach things, it's a great time to treat them to some fun toys that they can play with. Especially as they develop their gross motor skills even further in the run-up to their first birthday.
Black Friday toy deals
This is your last chance to grab Black Friday baby deals. Even though the big day is over, we'll still be updating this page with everything from sensory to sound, soft toys and stacking rings, so be sure to bookmark this page and keep checking back to grab those bargains.
• Up to 70 per cent off at the Early Leaning Centre
• There's up to 60% off Baby Mori
• Mamas & Papas up to 50 per cent off toys and gifts
• 20% off Vtech at John Lewis
• Up to 48 per cent off Peppa Pig at Amazon
• Save £50 on the Fisher-Price Leaping Leopard Jumperoo Activity Center at Very (was £119.99 now £69.99) Plus many more Very Black Friday baby toy deals
• Get baby toys for better than half price at Argos
• Up to 33% off Melissa & Doug at Amazon
For starters, this is a great age to allow your baby to explore the noisier toys such as musical toys or electronic toys, so make sure you have your earplugs at the ready. These lights and sounds are fab for stimulating your little one's senses. Meanwhile, toys that involve baby's touch help to develop their hand-eye coordination while providing hours of fun.
The same can be said for shape sorters and activity cubes. These also encourage your little ones to develop their problem-solving skills. Additionally, baby walkers are recommended at this age to help them with the transition from sitting to standing to walking as this can help towards developing their muscles and coordination skills. You'll find that all the best toys for 6-month-olds are colourful and have lots of texture. So that way, it'll keep your bubba engaged all while fine-tuning their skills.
Editor's choice:
Best toy to develop gross motor skills: VTech First Steps Baby Walker
Best toy for developing motor skills: Taf Toys Sensory Wonder Tissue Box
Best toy for developing communication skills: Fisher-Price Smart Stages Puppy
If you're looking for some toy ideas to get you started, scroll down for lots of inspiration with help from our mum testers.
Best toys for 6 months to 12 months old
Best toy to develop gross motor skills
ON SALE
Description
Walkers are great at encouraging babies to move. If you've noticed your tot is making attempts to
Pros
- Helps to develop baby's first steps
- Walker, standing activity table, and sit and play activity centre all-in-one
Cons
- Batteries not included
Best toy for developing motor skills
halilit.co.uk
Description
Babies will be delighted by this fascinating peek-a-boo box where they can hide and pull out an
Pros
- Promotes sensory play with textures, sounds and colour recognition
- Helps teach about emptying—and later filling—containers. This task involves both motor and cognitive skills
Cons
- Will be on tissue-stuffing duty
Best toy to help develop crawling
www.argos.co.uk
Description
With a built-in motor that'll get your baby to crawl after it, this ball is full of development
Pros
- Various lights and tunes to keep child occupied
- Helps work baby's muscles and aids crawling development
Cons
- Doesn't move that great on carpet (better on wooden floors)
Best musical toy
Description
With over 20 cheerful melodies, your tot will have hours of fun with this spinner from Bright
Pros
- Great for cognitive development
- 20 different melodies included
Cons
- A little pricey for the size
Best game toy
www.smythstoys.com
Description
With this interactive honey pot, your little one can enjoy four sing-along songs and 15 happy
Pros
- Interactive and helps to develop fine motor skills
- Peak-a-boo game very entertaining for baby
Cons
- Child may get bored quite quickly once they figure out which buttons make the bear pop up
Best toy for developing communication skills
ON SALE
Description
With over 75 different songs, phrases, jingles and tunes, this entertaining puppy dog is brilliant
Pros
- Cuddly and educational
- Batteries included
- Introduce parts of the body, shapes, counting, the alphabet and more
Cons
- Our mum testers weren't keen on the design
Best activity table
ON SALE
Description
There are loads of fun sounds on this entertaining activity table, from animal noises to catchy
Pros
- Can hang the toy in a crib strollers or the back of car seat
- Can either play sitting (legs remove) or standing
Cons
- No batteries included
Best to develop hand and eye co-ordination
ON SALE
www.elc.co.uk
Description
Enjoy hours of fun stacking these brightly coloured rings, bursting with tickly textures and
Pros
- Durable
- Glow setting useful for helping baby get to sleep
Cons
- Our mum testers said the stacking rings are quite heavy
Best toy to grow with baby
ON SALE
www.johnlewis.com
Description
Designed to grow with your baby through two stages of play, this interactive floor-into-table
Pros
- Great for helping your baby to stand independently
- Removable legs for floor time fun
Cons
- Ball game quite tricky for baby to figure out
Best toy for learning colours and numbers
Description
This preschool learning piano can help little ones become familiar with colours and numbers in
Pros
- Batteries included
- Ideal for learning about colours and numbers
- Early introduction to musical instrument
Cons
- None
Best toy to develop confident little walkers
www.argos.co.uk
Description
Designed to inspire and motivate your baby to get moving and walking, the walker features over 70
Pros
- Helps to develop baby's first steps
- Walker, standing activity table, and sit and play activity centre all-in-one
Cons
- Batteries not included
Best food toy
ON SALE
Description
This learning toy suits your baby's needs as they grow and provides plenty of ways for them to
Pros
- Helps develop fine motor skills
- Case makes them easy to take around out and about
Cons
- Baby needs to press the egg down quite hard to hear the chicks 'chirp'
ON SALE
www.thewhitecompany.com
Description
This is a lovely gift for little ones. It includes soft stacker sheep, sheepdog and cow. Your baby
ON SALE
www.argos.co.uk
Description
This is both fun and educational! Your little one will love exploring everything it has to offer.
ON SALE
Description
This jam-packed set of Montessori toys will keep your baby entertained for hours. With unique
ON SALE
Description
There will be lots of fun with this interactive inchworm toy. Your little one can press down on
What is the best toy for a 6-month-old to 12-month-old?
In our opinion, the best toy for this age range would have to be the Taf Toys Sensory Wonder Tissue Box. Shortlisted in the Mother&Baby Awards 2022, it also has some great reviews from our testers. Parents loved how unique this product was and how it kept their little ones interested.
Eleanor Weaver is the Deputy Homes & Garden Product Editor and has been a writer for titles such as Mother&Baby and Yours. In her role, she has researched and recommended the best products for parents, from breast pumps to toys, nursery décor to car seats. She's also kept a keen eye on celeb mums and influencers to share what they've been using to help make parenting that little bit easier.