7 Best Toys for 8-Month-Old Babies: Help Them Learn!

Why do you need 8-month baby toys? 

While it's normal for your 8-month-old to want to be engaging with you most of the day, it's also normal for you to need a break. Between the demands of breastfeeding, juggling sleep schedules, and providing for the day-to-day care needs of your infant, it can get a little overwhelming, and supplying your baby with toys gives them a chance to explore the world on their own in a safe way, as well as giving you the opportunity for a few minutes to yourself. 

Having toys for an 8-month-old around can help them develop their senses, motor skills, and ability to interact with others, as well as entertain themselves alone. 

Best toys for 8-month-old baby

Here is our collection of some of the best types of toys for an 8-month-old and what to look for as you add in more activities or make up wish lists for friends and family members who want to give toys as gifts. 

1. Musical toys

Musical toys, whether they're tambourines that let your child make their own music or toys that play music, are fun for babies because they love anything loud. But these toys can also serve an educational interest by encouraging your child to dance and sing and teaching them about rhythm. 

Investing in some small, easily holdable toys like rattles can also give your baby something to do during breastfeeding sessions, since 8-month-olds may be prone to popping on and off the breast if they get distracted or bored and want to see what's going on.

2. Shape and color toys

Shape and color toys offer your child an engaging visual experience and can increase their vocabulary if you are there to help them learn what the different shapes and colors are. Popular choices are brightly colored blocks or very basic peg-style shape puzzles.

3. Sorting and building toys

These toys for 8-month-old babies can be as simple as blocks or the shape sorters that were around decades ago and are still popular. These help your child learn to categorize and understand differences and similarities between different objects.

4. Toys with buttons and dials

These toys do double duty, entertaining your child and teaching them how to operate the things around them. Learning to open latches, turn dials, and do up buttons and zippers works your child's fine motor skills and puts them on the fast track to independence when it comes to dressing themselves when they're older.

5. Balls and blocks

Easily manipulative toys like balls and blocks are always a great choice because they can provide hours of entertainment in a variety of situations, and they're easy to transport with you to the park or a play date.

6. Bath toys

Baths offer a great sensory experience in and of themselves just by virtue of the water and some baby-safe bubble bath, but adding toys to the mix can create even more fun. Anything that floats or pours is fair game, which means a measuring cup set or a little rubber ducky are great options, and bathtub crayons can also be a fun way to keep your child busy while you take care of the actual washing. 

7. Crawling and cruising toys

While your 8-month-old may not be doing a lot of standing, cruising, or walking on their own yet, sometimes you may use the toys designed to foster this development. Please remember that it is not recommended to use baby walkers on a regular basis. 

Don't forget to invest in some toy storage options so you're not worrying about stepping on or tripping over them while you're dealing with late-night breastfeeding sessions.

How to help baby learn while playing

While it's definitely okay to invest in 8-month baby toys so your child can have some time to play independently — and you can get a few minutes to yourself — interacting with your child while they play with toys is a great way to reinforce the concepts they're already learning. This doesn't have to take a lot of time or effort and could be something as simple as pointing out the colors on the toys or grouping like things together to illustrate the difference between dolls and animal figurines, for instance.

Keep in mind that babies of this age usually parallel play, which means they just enjoy playing beside you but may want to engage in their own activities and may not want help. 

When your child was a newborn, you probably didn't give much thought to toys, games, or activities, but as your baby gets older, these can be an important part of encouraging their brain development. Add these seven types of toys for 8-month-old infants to your child's day and watch as they start to engage with the world around them in a whole new way.