9–11 months
Mobility changes everything. Crawling, cruising along furniture and pulling up to stand give babies a new set of goals, and object permanence makes hiding games delightful.
Think containers to fill and dump, simple push-along toys, board books and anything that rewards curiosity. Always check size and small-parts warnings for this very mouthy age.
Fisher-Price
Five rings, a wobbly base, and a bucket of shapes give a caregiver several ways to play with one set.
At this stage: Take the lid off the bucket and play drop-and-dump before trying the shape slots.
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Workman Kids
Pictures of familiar objects and routines give a caregiver easy things to name and talk about during a short read.
At this stage: Pair a picture with a familiar object nearby and name it when baby looks or reaches.
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Workman Kids
A thin picture book that gives a familiar peekaboo game a storytime setting. The short format is easy to revisit a page at a time.
At this stage: Let baby reach for the next page while you repeat the same peekaboo phrase.
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Workman Kids
An illustrated trip around a farm, with animals and scenes that invite a caregiver to point, name, and make sounds.
At this stage: Let baby help turn the page and repeat the sound of whichever animal they linger on.
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Skip Hop
The bee can be played with as a rattle, and its cloud base has two ways to move during floor play.
At this stage: Try circle mode for a baby beginning to crawl. Try random mode when they are ready to follow it.
An adult should assemble it, install or replace the batteries, and secure the battery door with a screw. Before giving it to a child, remove the sensor-blocking sticker and all plastic or wire packaging fasteners.
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