Best Toys for 7- and 8-Month-Olds, According to Experts and Parents

“What is great about this ball is the different textures that allow the baby to feel different sensory experiences,” says Caplan-Colon. In addition to playing a variety of songs and lights, the ball wiggles and wobbles on its own, giving your baby something to chase after as she’s starting to crawl, so you’ll get even longer use out of this toy. You can also roll the ball back and forth with baby for that all-important reciprocal play, and explain your actions to further help with their development.  

“They can begin to develop an understanding that different words result in different actions such as, 'ready set,' 'bounce ball,' 'roll ball,' 'throw,'” says Caplan-Colon.

Weight: 1.4 pounds
Dimensions: 6.46 x 6.46 x 6.97 inches

Nesting cups are a favorite toy of Dr. Lytle because, “they are an open-ended toy, meaning there’s more than one way for a child to play with them.” Some of her suggestions include: stacking them, building a tower with them, nestling them together, or putting  a smaller toy or ball inside one to take it out again. 

The Green Toys Stacking Cups set includes six cups  labeled with numbers to add a learning element. They are large and made from 100- percent recycled plastic milk containers, so baby can safely chew on them when teething. As an added bonus, they’re dishwasher safe for easy cleaning.

Weight: 6.3 ounces
Dimensions: 5.75 x 5 x 8.25 inches

At this age, babies love “banging things together and transferring items from one hand to the other,” says Caplan-Colon. Although your little one may not be able to stack these eggshell-shaped spheres yet, the weighted element makes it far easier for growing hands to try. They will, however, be able to spin and roll each piece around, unlike traditional stacking cups. 

My daughter loved throwing these around; she was always mesmerized by the way they wobbled. Plus, the soft texture of the baby-safe ABS plastic will feel inviting to the touch, further encouraging exploration. It also lends to the toy's durability — we’ve had them for years and they still look brand new.

These Fisher-Price blocks have always been a hit in my house. The bright colors and varying shapes help make playtime more exciting since you can narrate each distinction to help develop your child’s language skills. The lid is also designed to allow blocks to be dropped into coordinating cut-outs, something my daughters loved realizing they could do on her own. I personally love the bucket these come in as it keeps everything contained, makes clean-up easy and allows you to tote the whole set to Grandma’s house!. Plus, I can confirm these are incredibly easy to keep clean (all you have to do is wipe them down).

The best learning happens when you speak, sing and interact with your little one, and the LeapFrop Scout’s Learning Lights Remote can help in that effort. When baby presses the music button, she’ll hear a counting song, a numbers song or fun tunes (there are 65 songs total) that you can sing along to. The remote also helps introduce your baby to numbers, shapes and words with bright colors and lights. 

Plus, it’s small and light enough to take in your diaper bag.

My oldest daughter received this VTech Drop and Go Dump Truck when she was 6-months-old, and it quickly became one of her absolute favorites. My daughter loved dropping the balls into the slot and watching them tumble into the back before dumping them out and starting all over again — an act that experts note helps enhance hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills and understanding of cause-and-effect.  

She was able to practice her fine motor skills by pressing the buttons on the sides to hear the 30-plus songs, melodies and phrases. She was even content to play with the three included balls separately (truly, there were days she would not put them down). As she got older and started walking, she would use the string to pull the truck around with her, trying to fill it with stuffed animals or other small toys. 

The Baby Einstein Discovering Music Activity Table is a great option whether your child has started trying to stand or not. If baby is able to stand while holding onto something, go ahead and use the table with the legs on. If she’s not quite there yet, take them off and let your little one play with it as a floor table.

This musical table has a host of activities for your baby to discover: piano keys to tap to hear music, a guitar to “strum,” a drum to beat and a French horn with a spinning rattle. A highlight for baby is the music book in the center with pages she can flip. When she does, she’s rewarded with melodies and twinkling lights. Make the most out of this toy and playtime by pointing out the different sounds, shapes and colors to your child.

Weight: 5.6 pounds
Dimensions: 15 x 16.5 x 16.5 inches

One of the reasons balls make such great toys is that there are a multitude of ways you and your baby can play with them. "Rolling a ball back and forth between you and your baby mimics how we take turns in language interactions," says Dr. Lytle. In addition to rolling and passing one back and forth, you can make a 7- or 8-month-old baby happy by giving her a box she can place the balls in and then take out.

The Edushape Sensory Balls, in particular, have soft sensory spikes that make them easier for your little one to pick up and try to throw. Plus, they’re washable, won’t crush easily and come with a non-removable inflation/deflation receptacle. You can use them to encourage crawling by rolling them on the ground, too.

Dimensions: 4 x 4 x 4 inches

I never left the house without the Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes in tow. The small size and lightweight feel make it easy to toss in your diaper bag, and I’ve seen firsthand that it is endlessly entertaining for little ones. Both of my daughters loved this toy as babies and it kept their attention for surprisingly long periods of time for their age. 

The 10 melodies and songs are more gentle and soothing rather than blaring and overstimulating. They also seemed to enjoy the light show that accompanied the music. It can be used to teach colors and you can sing along with it, and the chunky size makes it easy for them to grab onto.

This sturdy, wooden activity cube is another toy guaranteed to provide hours of learning and fun for your 7- or 8-month-old. Peekaboo doors labeled with animals and spinnable tiles labeled with the alphabet to help your little one learn while practicing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. A squiggly track with colorful beads on the top and other movable features will be a hit with your child, too. What’s more, reviewers love that it helps little ones practice standing and getting their balance. Plus, the corners are rounded out to help prevent any accidents.

Note that although it’s recommended for kids age 12 months and up, several parents in the What to Expect community report that their little ones still enjoy playing with the toy in other ways.

While on the hunt for items that didn’t have crevices where mold could hide, I bought these adorable balls are proof that bath toys don’t have to be complicated. My daughters loved grabbing and splashing around with them, working on hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills along the way. They also loved the little animals inside and found them so interesting when they were floating around. I liked that these were easy to clean and fun to play with, even outside of bathtime.

Sophie the Giraffe has a cult following for a reason. “[It’s] easy to chew on for teething babies, makes noise when squeezed, rubbery and soft to the touch,” says Dr. Abelowitz. “All of which are great for sensory development for babies.”

Intrigued by the popularity of this teething toy and the adorable (oddly chic) look, I bought one of these for each of my daughters. They both loved chewing on the soft BPA- and phthalate-free rubber to relieve sore gums, and I appreciated that it was easy to wash. The long legs and neck make it easy to hold, and my daughters liked exploring it to find somewhere new to chew constantly.

If you have the space for the Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Ultimate Playhouse, it offers plenty of interesting ways to play for those as young as 6 months old to those as old as 2. Babies who aren’t mobile yet can sit in front of this to play with the mirror spinner and press buttons that play over 200 songs, sounds and phrases that can introduce your little one to the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, weather and more. There’s even a radio with working buttons, a light-up fishbowl, a shape-sorter trellis… the list goes on. It’s very entertaining, which makes the higher price tag worth the splurge. As your little one becomes more mobile, they’ll be able to crawl through the door (beforehand, though, it’s a great peek-a-boo moment). 

This offers sensory play, helps them learn cause and effect, hand-eye coordination and fosters fine and gross motor skills. At less than four pounds, it’s also lightweight enough to move around as needed.

With plenty of developmental milestones on the way (nearing the 12-month mark!), it’s good to invest in a toy that grows with your baby, like the VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker. This is meant to be a toy your little one can play with when sitting down, crawling or walking, with lots of fun features that can help with motor and balance improvement, as well as introduce them to new phrases, songs and sounds. 

This was the walker I used with both of my daughters and I really appreciated the versatility and lightweight feel. The detachable panel was easy for them to play with when they weren’t super mobile, and as they got older, they liked sitting up to play (the wheels can lock so it won’t move away) or pushing it around. But their favorite feature? The attached phone and turning dials. 

It can be challenging to find toys that encourage independent play at this stage, but in my experience, this LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book is one of the best. Easy-to-turn pages that won’t rip or bend are filled with 100 age-appropriate words and coordinating images to capture your little one’s attention. Each time they press the image, the book says what it is to help build their vocabulary and word recognition. It can be read in both English and Spanish, and the star button lights up and sings when pressed. 

This book has kept her entertainedentertaIned for more than 20 minutes at a time since she was about 8 months old. While grabbing any other book usually means she wants me to read to her, this is one she can enjoy completely by herself. I like that the touch control is very sensitive, which makes it easy for babies to play with it, and it’s lightweight enough for them to hold in their lap or carry around.

Whether they’re scooting, crawling or trying to walk, you want to encourage all of the movement — this Bright Starts Roll and Glow Monkey makes doing so even more fun. When tapped on the head, this interactive toy lights up, spins and dances to music, encouraging your little one to chase after it. 

While I do find the music from this toy can be a little loud at times, the entertainment it’s provided both of my daughters is worth the headache. Something about the lights and the sounds made my second daughter laugh, and both got a kick out of chasing it around the house, even as they got older. I also like that it’s small, lightweight and never left a scratch on my wood floors. 

Babies love music, so any toy that focuses on different songs and melodies is sure to be a hit. The Skip Hop Farmstand Let The Beet Drop toy is just as adorable as it sounds, with colors that don’t feel too bright and an overall aesthetically pleasing look you won’t mind keeping out on display in the living room. It offers so many different ways to play, with a light-up DJ bunny, different sounds and plenty of interesting textures for curious little hands to explore. A melon turntable and spinner make scratch sounds, while the tomato button offers even more sound effects. 

As your baby navigates using this on their own, they’ll be developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. It’s also good for sensory play, and at the end of the day, it’s simply entertaining.

Babies likely won’t start getting into imaginative play until they’re around 15- or 18-months-old, so most fake food isn’t going to be super interesting to them right now. This LeapFrog Shapes and Sharing Picnic Basket is a good place to start, though: the basket comes with everything they need for a faux picnic, with different shaped foods that can be sorted into the shape sorting top and placed on the included plates. When they sort the foods into the correct spot through the top, the basket calls out the shape, helping to identify that word. 

As babies, my daughters loved taking the items out of the basket and putting them back in. But as they got a little bit older, they became intrigued by the shape-sorting aspect. At every age, they loved the sounds and music ( which you can turn off, by the way) and as they got into imaginative play as toddlers, they liked to host pretend picnics with their dolls. 

If you’re looking to splurge on a special stuffed animal for your baby, the cuddle + kind dolls are a real treat. I splurged on a few of the “tiny” animals vs. the regular-sized stuffies, since they were the perfect size for little ones to hold. The animal comes in an equally tiny home that is really beautiful to look at and can be used for storing other small items down the road. I prefer. 

The high-quality, handmade look and feel make them worth the money. Plus, each cuddle + kind purchase donates 10 meals to children in need, so it’s something you can feel good about buying. 

The super snuggly Itzy Ritzy Itzy Lovey Plush and Teether Toywas another favorite for my second daughter. Aside from being really cute, it’s great for helping to soothe sore gums thanks to the textured teether made of flexible silicone. 

The rest of the toy is soft and fuzzy, and my daughter loved cuddling it when she was playing, in the car or resting. She was also very into the little ribbons on the side and the crinkly texture of the arms and legs for a while, which offer opportunities of sensory play. It’s also very lightweight and a decent size, making it easy to throw in a diaper bag.

There are a lot of questions about whether or not the Lovevery Play Kits are worth the moneyl in my opinion, they are. I subscribed to Lovevery for a few years and collected almost all of their Play Kits (which are made for ages birth to 5 years). Once subscribed, you’ll get a bi-monthly delivery of toys that have been deemeddevelopmentally appropriate for your child’s current age.  like games, sensory toyI’ve found the toys to be super high quality and very durable (most still look brand new even after two kids have been playing with them for years). 

I love that these toys are educational as well as entertaining without being over-stimulating – you won’t find any sound effects or music in these boxes, since they’re based on Montessori play principles. For the 7- to 8-month box, for example, kids will get stacking cups and a basket with balls, as well as a book on sign language. Each box also includes a play guide for parents so you can make the most of the benefits and learning experiences.