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Top 10 Best Baby Toys (2026)

The best baby toys tend to be bought one stage early, for the week a baby starts swiping at a dangling ring rather than the week they can grip it properly. Buy for the week they are in and half of it ends up in a basket, so stage, not brand, is the thing to shop on.

For a baby who still spends the day flat on their back, the Kick & Play Piano Gym does the most in one purchase, because the arch, the toys and the piano all move as the baby changes. A gift giver who wants something small should take the Newborn Classic 2-Pack instead.

The question worth answering is not which brand is better, it is which week of babyhood a toy has to survive, because something built for a baby lying on a mat is ignored the moment that baby can crawl away from it. Size, noise and what a toy physically asks of a baby are spelled out where those things decide it, plus a note on which picks survive the switch from lying still to crawling.

1.Fisher Price Glow and Grow Kick & Play Piano Gym, Blue - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Glow and Grow Kick & Play Piano Gym, Blue
Most of the first months of play happen flat, on a back or on a front, which is why tummy time toys and overhead arches carry so much of the load. What decides between them is contrast, something within kicking range, and a surface that goes in the washing machine. Five light-up keys sit at one end of a padded mat, low enough that a baby lying on their back can kick them and hear something happen. The Kick & Play Piano Gym adds a movable arch, ten clip-on toys, and a piano that comes off once a baby is sitting rather than lying. It is the pick that keeps a job through several stages, which is the argument for it when only one thing is being bought.
$47.99$59.99-20%
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2.Fisher Price Roly-Poly Panda Play Mat - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Roly-Poly Panda Play Mat
The panda's paws prop a face panel upright, so a baby on their front has something to lift their head towards, and they also hold it rolled up for the car. A crinkle toy and a small mirror clip on and off, and the mat washes once they are unclipped. It does less than the piano gym, but it folds and travels and washes, the better trade where no mat can stay down.
$24.99$27.99-11%
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3.Fisher Price Slow Much Fun Stroller Sloth - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Slow Much Fun Stroller Sloth
Pull the sloth's hand down and it climbs slowly back up its branch, which is the sort of small trick that buys a parent ten quiet minutes in a queue. Satiny leaves crinkle on the branch, there is a mirror to catch, and the whole thing straps onto a pram. Made for birth and up, the Stroller Sloth suits the household that is out of the house far more than it is on the floor.
$16.99
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4.Fisher Price Newborn Classic 2-Pack - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Newborn Classic 2-Pack
A baby's grip turns up long before their aim does, so the useful toys at this point are the ones that still work when they are batted, dropped or gummed rather than held. Sensory toys for babies earn their keep here by making a noise the baby caused. Two shelf icons shrunk to fist size: the Corn Popper becomes a beaded rattle on wheels with a chewy handle, and the Rock-A-Stack a five-inch clacker that will not stay upright. The Newborn Classic 2-Pack adds a link, so the clacker hangs off a gym or a pram rather than rolling under the sofa. Two toys from one box make this a more sensible first purchase than the play mat at a few weeks old.
$8.99
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5.My Mario - Plush - 6" Baby Activity Grabber with Rattle for Infants & Newborns - by Jada Toys

My Mario - Plush - 6" Baby Activity Grabber with Rattle for Infants & Newborns
There is a rattle inside Mario's head and crackle paper inside the star hanging off him, so one soft toy makes two entirely different noises. At six inches without the pendant, the Super Mario Activity Grabber is plush rather than plastic, and small enough for a fist that will not open all the way yet. It is the one to pick when the gift also has to be recognisable to the adult opening it.
$7.99
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6.Fisher Price Maracas, Pink - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Maracas, Pink
Soft pom-poms on both ends of these Maracas mean they can be swung into a face without consequence, which is the practical test for anything a baby holds. Coloured beads do the rattling and the handles are sized for a small grip. Compared with the Super Mario Activity Grabber these are louder and far less cuddly, and that noise, the one a baby made themselves, is the whole appeal.
$7.99
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7.Fisher Price Baby's First Blocks - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Baby's First Blocks
Sitting changes what a toy has to do, because both hands come free at once and a dropped object turns into a problem to solve rather than a lost cause. Both of these also give a baby a reason to go after something. Chunky blocks and a bucket whose lid has shaped holes cut into it, which is the entire idea: post them through, tip the bucket over, start again. Baby's First Blocks has a handle on the bucket, so the whole thing goes into a bag for an afternoon at someone else's house. It is the pick with the longest run in it, because posting stays interesting well after the rattles have been abandoned.
$10.99
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8.Fisher Price Poppity Pop Turtle - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Poppity Pop Turtle
Give it a push and coloured balls pop around inside the shell as it rolls off, precisely the bait a baby who has just started crawling responds to. The Poppity Pop Turtle is made for six months and older, and the popping carries far enough to pull a baby across a room. Unlike Baby's First Blocks it only earns its keep once a baby can move, so it is the one to buy slightly ahead of where they are.
$8.99
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9.Fisher Price Calming Vibrations Puppy Soother Refresh - by Fisher Price

Fisher Price Calming Vibrations Puppy Soother Refresh
Not every baby toy is for playing with. The end of the day is its own shopping problem, and it is usually solved by something soft that makes the same noise every night. Four modes, music with vibration, vibration alone, music alone and nature sounds, all with a volume control, which is the part that matters at two in the morning. The Calming Vibrations Puppy Soother runs up to ten minutes at a stretch and is small enough to go in a bag for a night away. It suits the household whose problem is getting a baby to settle rather than keeping one entertained.
$17.99
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10.My Mario - Plush - Super Mario 3D DouDou / Blanket with Rattle for Infants - by Jada Toys

My Mario - Plush - Super Mario 3D DouDou / Blanket with Rattle for Infants
A ten inch square of very soft cloth with a plush Mario head in one corner, and a rattle inside that head, so it sounds when it gets dragged about. The Super Mario 3D DouDou blanket is made for babies from birth and has no small or hard parts. It does nothing electronic, less of a drawback than it sounds next to the puppy soother, because no batteries can die at the worst moment.
$10.99
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Match the toy to the stage your baby is in now

Work out which week your baby is actually in, lying flat, grabbing, sitting or crawling, and eight of these ten drop away immediately. If none of the ten fits the baby you are shopping for, the toy shelf runs a long way past this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of these are worth having in the house before the baby arrives?
The Roly-Poly Panda Play Mat is the one to have ready, because tummy time starts early and a mat that props a face panel up gives a baby something to work towards from the first week. The Stroller Sloth is the other, since it is made for birth and up and the first trips out tend to happen sooner than anyone plans.
What should I get for a six month old who has just started sitting up?
Baby's First Blocks is the obvious answer, because posting blocks through a lid needs both hands free and a steady body, which is exactly what sitting unlocks. The Fisher Price Maracas still work at that age too, and they are the easier thing to hand over when a baby is strapped into a high chair.
Is there anything here that suits a flat with nowhere to leave a play mat out?
The Super Mario Activity Grabber and the Super Mario 3D DouDou blanket both fold into nothing and live in a changing bag rather than on the floor. Neither needs a square metre of clear floor to be worth owning, which is the whole problem with most of this category.
What is actually worth packing for a long flight with a baby?
The Calming Vibrations Puppy Soother earns its space, since the same four modes that settle a baby at home work in a seat with headphones on around them. Pair it with the Newborn Classic 2-Pack, which is small, comes with a link so the clacker can be attached to something rather than dropped, and makes noise a neighbour can forgive.
What pairs well if I want to give two things at a baby shower?
The Kick & Play Piano Gym plus the Super Mario 3D DouDou blanket covers both halves of a day, the loud part and the quiet part, without either one repeating the other. If that is more than the occasion calls for, the Poppity Pop Turtle alongside the Fisher Price Maracas is a lighter pairing that still spans two different stages.

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