This baby toys and activity guide is a must-have reference and starting point for selecting developmentally appropriate toys and activities for infants four through seven months. The key to choosing toys is understanding infants’ basic abilities and preferences as they grow. These abilities and preferences are important in attracting and motivating infants to engage with toys because true learning and retention only come through engagement.
So, how do we pick the right toy for the right child? This is where we need to look at age as a GUIDELINE to selecting toys. The U.S. Product & Safety Commission (CPSC) and international ASTM are the organizations that oversee toy regulations and keep products safe for our kids. They have developed these regulations by categorizing toys by the child’s age. However, the age was determined by the abilities and preferences of typically developing children, and it is well known that children develop abilities at different rates. So, as you select toys for your child, please look at age as a guide and abilities and preferences as a better indicator.
From the moment they are born, infants start acquiring information from their physical senses, learning from what they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. Ideal baby development is based on feeling safe, secure, and loved. This Baby Toys and Activity Guide will take parents through toys and activities for their babies four through seven months, going through physical, cognitive, language, and social-emotional development. It is based on early childhood whole-child education, which allows children to learn in many different areas simultaneously. By the seven-month mark, you can expect the baby to recognize often repeated words; some will be crawling, and some will pull themselves up to stand. Play is important in helping a baby achieve important developmental milestones. So, what exactly does play look like for a young infant four through seven months old?
Table of contents
What Play Means for Babies
Infants are active learners who are increasing their interest in their surroundings. They are turning their attention outward from their body, and movement is changing from reflexive actions to deliberate movements, but arm movements are still crude and erratic. By five months, they can roll onto their backs and push up on their hands and knees. This is when they will begin sitting independently. Older babies will be using their upper body strength and shoulder muscles to start crawling. They also start to understand Object Permanence – the concept that an object is hidden or partially hidden but did not disappear and still exists somewhere.
These developmental milestones give them greater visual capacities for grasping objects or bringing objects to midline for exploration. This grasping, raking motion is called Palmar Grasping. They can manipulate objects more readily, although their fine motor coordination is still rudimentary. These babies will be transferring objects from hand to hand. Children learn to differentiate among objects and can group visual stimuli into categories. They are interested in bright colors, high contrasts, and complex patterns.
Babies prefer yellow and red colors over blue and green, and patterns over solids. Their visual acuity improves from 20/400 to 20/10 in three months. All of their color receptors work by two months. Their visual tracking has improved, and their vision will be almost adult-like by six months.
Infants like sounds in the frequency range of the human voice and are sensitive to sounds due to fluid in the middle ear. Low tones calm babies, while high tones distress them. Babies enjoy gentle, repeated rhymes and exaggerated speech sounds but react negatively to sudden loud noises and changes in volume.
Baby Toys and Activity Guide
Baby Toys
Selecting great toys for children aged between 0 to 12 months can make a significant difference in their early development. Infants usually begin using educational toys once they have control of their arm movements and start to reach out, which usually occurs towards the end of the first month. As they develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, soft, lightweight, rounded corners, and textured are best suited for them. Handheld toys should be sized so that children can easily grasp and manipulate them. Toys that make gentle sounds are also appropriate. Since children continue to mouth objects, it is essential to choose washable toys. While four month olds babies prefer toys made of soft materials, their preference for such toys decreases as they approach their first birthday.
As young infants begin to learn and enjoy toys, they prefer simple actions that produce a clear and direct effect. For instance, toys that light up, move, or produce sound from simple kicking or shaking are engaging and appropriate. Infants are also drawn to brightly colored and patterned toys that make gentle sounds.
Baby Activities
The well-being of a caregiver who looks after young infants greatly affects their early childhood development. The caregiver should be attentive to the infant’s needs, promote a healthy attachment, and ensure that the infant feels safe, secure, and loved. Physical touch is crucial; cuddling an infant regularly and gently stroking their skin provides comfort and security.
To support the development of young infants, it is necessary to provide them with various activities that encourage bonding, sensory exploration, motor skill development. Tummy time is an important activity that will help transition the infant to sitting and crawling. Toys such as soft balls and blocks can help the baby practice grasping and releasing objects, this can help in development of fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
Supported standing is another activity that can be practiced with the baby, by putting them into a standing position and allow them to bear weight on their legs. This will strengthen their muscles and prepare them for crawling and walking. Toys that can be pushed or pulled, such as toy cars, can help improve the baby’s hand-eye coordination and encourage them to explore their environment.
Introducing the baby to their reflection in a mirror can help them develop self-awareness and social skills. Encouraging them to interact with their reflection by making faces and pointing to different body parts can be a fun and engaging activity for the baby. Water play is also a great activity that can help develop their motor skills, sensory awareness, and understanding of cause and effect. Providing a shallow container of water for the baby to splash in can be a great way to introduce them to water play.
Toy Categories for Babies
This website has categories set up for children of all ages. Toys and activities should be chosen according to the child’s abilities rather than their age. Research has shown that abilities develop at different rates and are difficult to distinguish into defined play categories. Your child may excel in one play area and seem to be delayed in another play area. This is typical development. It’s good to try plenty of different play activities with your baby. This gives your baby many ways to learn about their world.
Educational Play
Books
It’s important to start reading to infants early as it promotes brain development, enhances cognitive thinking, and teaches about language and emotions. When starting, it’s recommended to read slowly, and it’s never too early to begin. During the age of four through seven months, babies will focus on your face, tone of voice, and emotions as you read. The books for this age should be no more than 6-8 inches in any direction and no more than five pages long. They should be light, sturdy, washable, cloth, or light plastic. Infants at this stage can grasp and start to turn pages towards the end of seven months. Pages with bright colors such as yellow & red, high contrasts, and patterns will grab your baby’s attention. Pictures should be simple and clear and represent familiar objects, animals, or people.
- Plastic-coated foam books
- Cloth books
- Simple picture books
- Nursery rhymes
- Simple ABC and number books
- Educational Technology:
- Infants four through seven months old will be interested in audio that includes language that can be imitated, such as lullabies, simple songs, rhythms, and nursery rhymes. Gentle, predictable sounds are best played at low volumes.
- Most types of screen time are best saved until the child is over 2 years old. But! Connecting with family and friends over video calls can be fun.

Building Play
Blocks
When providing blocks for infants, it is important to ensure they are lightweight and easy to grasp. The edges should be rounded without sharp points, and the block should be 3-4 inches. Infants will not build anything yet at this stage, because their arm motions are still erratic. As the baby starts to control these movements, the motions become increasingly oriented and deliberate. The baby will explore the blocks by grasping, squeezing, and shaking them. Offer blocks that make noise if shaken or squeezed. It is recommended to use soft plush cloth, sponge, or rubber-like materials that are lightweight and squeezable. They should have bright, vibrant colors, especially yellow and red. It is also advisable to use blocks with high visual contrasts and patterns. It is important to avoid wooden blocks as they are too sharp for these infants.
- Plastic block
- Soft plush blocks
- Sponge blocks
- Rubber-like blocks
- Foam blocks
- Pillow blocks

Music Play
Musical Instruments
Infants are naturally inclined towards music and are particularly drawn to multi-sensory elements. It’s important to choose music items that are small enough for infants to handle and easy to grasp when ready. The edges of the objects should be rounded to avoid any sharp edges that could cause harm. Additionally, the items should be made of lightweight, soft, sturdy, and washable material that is brightly colored with high contrast to keep the infants engaged.
- Musical Mobile (prior to 5 months)
- Musical Gym
- Wrist, ankle, and handheld bells and chimes
- Small lightweight tambourines
- Rattles, shakers, and instruments that make sounds when kicked
Music Technology
The ability to manipulate buttons has yet to be present during the initial four to seven months of an infant’s life. Nonetheless, infants exhibit a discernible inclination towards technology that stimulates their senses through features like music, moving characters, blinking lights, and speech as they grow. Music is critical to language development. Infants are sensitive to sound due to fluid in their middle ear and can detect speech sounds as early as one month. These infants can differentiate between a lullaby and an adult-directed song. They prefer sounds within the range of human voice frequencies, while low tones are soothing and high tones are agitating. Repetitive, gentle rhythms such as heartbeats and acutely enunciated speech sounds are pleasing to infants, while abrupt, loud noises or changes in volume can cause distress.
- Audio that includes language that can be imitated
- Lullabies, simple songs, rhythms, nursery rhymes
- Gentle, predictable sounds played at low volumes.
- Music Boxes (wound by parent or caregiver)
- Video equipment is not appropriate for this age, but the infant may watch the screen.

Pretend Play
Dolls and Stuffed Toys
Infants in their early developmental stages tend to explore objects through mouthing and tactile exploration. During this time, their fine and gross motor skills are in the initial stages of development, and working toward a small degree of fine and gross motor control. Around five months they will begin to sit, and later crawl. Therefore, dolls and stuffed toys designed for them should be basic, made of one sturdy piece that will not break or pull apart. All edges should be thick and round, without hard corners or projecting parts. The doll should not have removable eyes, hair, clothing, fur, bells, buttons, ribbons, or whiskers. They should be made of soft, pliable and cuddly material that is washable or easily cleaned.
The doll should have friendly features, especially the face, with highly contrasting facial features that are hand-sewn or molded. The doll should not have hair, clothing, fur, bells, buttons, ribbons, or whiskers. They should be made of soft, pliable and cuddly material that is washable or easily cleaned. The size should be four to twelve inches, ultra-lightweight, no more than two ounces, so it can be easily grasped and supported in the air. The colors should be vibrant, with reds and yellows, and highly contrasting, such as black and white, with basic patterns. A small degree of cause and effect, such as shaking, produces a sound or basic words and phrases. These babies will start to recognize familiar characters from media and domestic context. They will begin to recognize often repeated words. Sensory elements should be soft textures and soft sounds like rattles or music.
- Small dolls (baby, bean bag, rag dolls)
- Small stuffed or plush animals
- Music dolls
- Stuffed Toys
- Grab-on toys
Exploratory Play
Infant Manipulative Toys
Select toys for infants aged four to seven months based on their abilities such as laying, sitting, or crawling. Choose lightweight, washable, and brightly colored toys with different textures and easy-to-grasp parts. Toys should include sensory elements such as gentle sounds and slowly moving visual objects. Opt for simple cause-and-effect toys to stimulate their development.
- Play mat
- Mirrors (handheld around 6 months)
- Soft Mirror
- Mobiles (prior to 5 months)
- Squeeze and squeak toys
- Plastic discs on a ring
- Interlocking plastic rings
- Teething toys – Rattles – Lightweight balls (musical, chiming, grasping, special effects, or textured) – Multi-textured infant toys – Multi-sensory infant toys – Cloth & plush toys
Push and Pull Toys
Infants four through seven months are reaching, grasping, and mouthing items in their hands. When they start to sit up, around 5 months, they are ready for push-and-pull toys. Infants at this age find multi-sensory elements very attractive, and they enjoy music and sound effects. These toys should be soft and washable, easy to grasp and push, with rounded corners or edges. The size should be five to seven inches, with bright vibrant colors, high contrast patterns. The toys should be simple with a clear cause-and-effect relationship such as rolling forwards and backwards in one fixed line.
- Small rounded push toys (starting around 6 months)
- Simple cars or animals on wheels/rollers (starting around 6 months)
- Tissue Boxes with different fabric types
Water Play
Introducing your baby to the sensation of water can be done through supervised water play. To do this, you can fill a small container with warm water. Then let your baby splash and kick their feet while you supervise them. Around five months the infant will begin to sit up, and begin to reach for the water and splash. This activity provides your baby with sensory play and stimulation while also helping them become comfortable with water, which can prepare them for future bath time and swimming experiences.
- Infant bath toys
- Bright colors
- Soft floating toys (up to three at a time)

Active Play
At this stage, infants are rapidly developing their motor skills and are increasingly curious about their surroundings. They begin reaching for objects, responding more actively to colors and textures, and developing a stronger back and neck, enabling them to sit up with support. This phase is critical as it lays the foundation for future cognitive, physical, and emotional development.
From my experience and observation, I have noticed that many infant play equipment options available on the market are either too advanced for this age group or do not adequately cater to their developmental needs. Properly designed equipment encourages exploration, stimulation, and interaction, all of which are crucial for development during these months. I have added a swing link and wanted to stress that for this age group, there should be a five-point harness to keep them secure. Please rock the swing gently and slowly. Infants at this age can be scared easily by swings.
When choosing play equipment for infants within this age bracket, I advocate for the following features:
- Encouraging Mobility: Equipment should be designed to encourage movement such as rolling, crawling, and controlled twisting, which helps in strengthening their muscles and developing coordination.
- Safety: This is paramount. Equipment should be robust, with secure supports, smooth edges, and made from non-toxic materials. Swings must have a five point harness to secure them.
- Stimulation: Items should introduce a variety of shapes, colors, and textures to stimulate visual, tactile, and auditory senses.
- Supportive Design: To accommodate infants who are beginning to sit up, equipment should provide ample support to encourage posture development without straining the child’s back.
- Interactive Elements: Features that encourage infants to reach, grasp, and touch promote fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Toy Safety
This is a perfect time for parents to create a dedicated, safe place and play area for their child. Toy Safety is essential because small objects should not be around young infants.
Conclusion
Your baby’s development is priority! As babies grow from four to seven months of age, they become more aware of the world around them and develop better fine motor control. To engage them, you can encourage supported sitting, provide toys that encourage grasping and reaching. Introduce cause-and-effect toys, and play interactive games such as clapping hands, making different facial expressions, or Peek-a-Boo.
Babies enjoy interacting with smiling parents and have favorite toys. Toys that are easy to hold or have attractive colors, patterns, or textures are their favorites. Spending time on the floor with toys is essential for their development. Placing objects just out of reach encourages them to roll over, sit or crawl. The best toys are the ones they choose for themselves, which could be anything from a bracelet to a sock. Infants should be allowed to explore objects made of different materials.
It’s important to understand that every baby is different, and their development may vary. Always follow your baby’s cues and adjust the activities according to their abilities and preferences. It is typical healthy development when an infant excels in one skill and may seem lacking in another. Remember to be patient and consistent with these activities and always create a nurturing and supportive environment to allow your baby to explore and learn at their own pace.
References
- Baby Development: 4 thru 7 months
- Young Baby Toys & Activities: 1 thu 3 months
- Toy Safety Guidance for Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
- Developmentally Appropriate Toys: What and Why are they Important?
- Whole child Education: What is the Approach to Teaching?
- Zero to Three
- Consumer Product and Safety Commission
I value your input and comments tremendously. If there is anything else I should include in this Baby Toys blog post, please let me know! Until my next post, Keep Everything Simple. Talk with you soon!
SiennyLovesDrawing
Tuesday 14th of January 2025
Absolutely love this list for good suggestions on kids gift ideas, personally I'm into sensory & safety 1st when sourcing a toy or educational item for young ones.
Nikki Wayne
Tuesday 14th of January 2025
Having educational toys like in the post age, it is so important because it will help the infant to perform and adopt faster and correctly.
Ashleigh
Sunday 12th of January 2025
What an amazing guide for new parents on what toys are good for their young babies! I will definitely reference this when looking for a gift for my new niece or nephew!
Renata
Sunday 24th of November 2024
This guide is an invaluable resource for parents, offering clear, age-appropriate recommendations for toys and activities that support infant development from four to seven months.
Sonia Seivwright
Saturday 23rd of November 2024
I miss my daughter my daughter being this age. It’s crazy how fast they become aware of their surroundings at 4-7 months. I love the idea of a safe space for them to explore different textures and materials seems like a great way to encourage their natural curiosity! Each baby develops at their own pace so being patient and responsive to their cues is key. Thanks for sharing!