Best Toys for 3 Months Old Babies

Give them a toy, and you’ll realise just how playful and curious your baby can be, even at only 3 months of age! Toys are great for stimulating a baby’s motor and sensory skills and aiding in cognitive development. When choosing toys for 3-month-old babies, focusing on items that stimulate their senses, encourage exploration, and support early developmental milestones is essential. At this age, babies begin exploring the world around them through sight, touch, and sound, making sensory-rich toys a perfect choice. So, what kinds of toys are good for your 3-month-old? Continue reading to find out.

Teething Toys

Teething toys are designed to be chewed on by the baby. They aid in the eruption of the front, middle and back teeth.

1. Skills Development

Along with stimulating their gums, teethers help build motor skills. They are also good for (1):

• Keeping the baby busy for hours playing with the brightly coloured toy that have different textured features
• Relieve soreness in the gums
• Build jaw strength and hand coordination

2. Recommended Toys

• Teething toys with rattlers
• BPA-free Hard/soft teething keys
• Silicone water filled teethers

Developmental Toys

Developmental toys have interactive features that respond to inputs.

1. Skills Development

These toys help in cognitive skills and sensory development. Their features include:

• Motion sensors that activate sound effects and melodies
• Flashing lights along with buzzers that stimulate both vision and touch sensory inputs
• By flipping the movable parts or pushing the buttons, babies develop motor skills
• Auditory stimulation helps develop hearing and differentiation of different sounds

2. Recommended Toys

• Talk and Go Farm Rattle
• Take Along Musical Toy
• Animal activity Rattle

Musical Toys

Musical toys produce sounds when struck or play tunes at the push of a button.

1. Skills Development

These toys build their sensory skills and recognition. They are also useful in (4):

• Putting babies to sleep with relaxing music such as lullabies and sounds of nature
• Toys that also feature lights can serve as a bed light
• A projector that can project images of stars and the sky in the night can help learn patterns

2. Recommended Toys

• Twinkle and learn Tambourine
• Soft musical nightlight
• Star projector with relaxing music

Light Up Toys

Light up toys come with flashing lights and synchronised sound. They could be in the form of a soft toy or a rattler.

1. Skills Development

Visual stimulation is the primary function of these toys with auditory stimulation as an added benefit. They are also useful in:

• Building motor skills as babies learn to touch and handle toys
• Cognitive skills are built with the inputs giving out visual and audio response
• Putting babies to sleep as a bed light

2. Recommended Toys

• Animal soft toy with motion activated light
• Toys that double as bed lights
• Baby lullaby projector

Activity Toys

Activity toys feature a host of things to play with making them great toys for 3-month-old baby boy or girl.

1. Skills Development

Stimulation of the senses and self-expression are the important skills developed by these toys. They also help in:

• Hand to eye coordination
• Keep babies buy with their attention focused on the toys
• Educational toys build a logical perception

2. Recommended Toys

• Soft cloth book
• Play gym
• Crib danglers

Sensory Toys

Sensory toys are engaging and offer a range of textures to feel and explore.

1. Skills Development

It builds motor and sensory skills while helping baby gain a feel for what each object can do. You will also find that (5):

• They build the idea of textures and sounds together for each toy so babies can learn to recognise individual toys and their unique sounds.
• The different textures stimulate tactile perception

2. Recommended Toys

• Roll and sing caterpillar
• Spin to discover toys
• Turn and learn driver

Crib Toys

Crib toys are fun and stimulating in every way. They can keep babies engaged most of the time with an assortment of interesting objects to play with.

1. Skills Development

Crib toys develop visual ability, built grasping and auditory skills. They are designed over-all to serve these functions:

2. Recommended Toys

• Multifunctional hanging animal toy
• Baby stroller with music
• Wrap around crib- Giraffe

Baby Einstein Toys

These toys combine all the functions into one set of toys which each toy displaying a function.

1. Skills Development

It builds sensory and motor skills in babies. They also have functions such as:

• Activity balls that are easy to grasp for little baby hands
• Each ball comes with one feature such as a mirror, chime, light and rattle.

2. Recommended Toys

• Roller pillar activity toys
• Shake and spin activity toys
• Bumpy ball

Hand-Held Toys

Handheld toys are the most basic toys for three month old that can be carried around and offered to your baby to soothe them.

1. Skills Development

They develop motor and sensory skills along with vision. Handheld toys are useful because:

• They are easy to carry around and offer to the baby when they need a distraction
• The features and textures are stimulating
• It promotes tactile and visual perception

2. Recommended Toys

• Wrist and foot finder rattler
• Maracas musical toy
• Birdie activity toy

What Do Age Recommendation Labels on Toys Mean?

Age recommendations are guidelines offered to parents or gift-givers to help them choose a toy that is suitable for a baby of a certain age. The guidelines are based on the following factors:

• Safety first. Some of the top toys that are safer for older children are not suitable for toddlers, for instance, toys that have small parts that can be easily swallowed. Children younger than 3 years old tend to put things in their mouth often, therefore all toys are designed to prevent this (1).
• A thorough knowledge of the various stages of development of children goes into designing toys. Toys for babies mostly involve grabbing, shaking and squeezing to build motor skills. A 6-month-old would just bang a bunch of building blocks together while a 2-year-old might want to stack them, older ones might want to build things and so on.
• Observations of how children use the toys are done by the developers by testing them with real children to see how they appeal o different age groups. They also observe for how they play with the toys and pick out design flaws in them.
• Inputs from parents and children go into making toys for different age groups. They need to be designed with the entire household in mind and other parameters that affect the rest in the house.
• The history of similar is taken into account when building a new one or upgrading an existing toy.

Safety Tips for Babies

Toys for infants 3 months of age while being fun should also be safe. Since they can also be hazardous here are a few tips (2):

• Choose toys that are well designed, whether you’re buying new ones or using a toy passed down from older siblings; ensure they haven’t worn out in ways that can be dangerous. Pay attention to stitches and seams on stuff toys and that they are not damaged. Parts on other toys should be securely attached and has no sharp edges.
• Avoid picking toys that have a chord or a string that’s longer than 12 inches. Long chords can wrap around the neck and strangle babies in sleep or during play.
• Watch out for cheap plastics that can be toxic. Certain manufacturers could add chemicals such as plasticisers to make toys more flexible, these chemicals can be harmful.
• Balloons and other rubbery sheets that can break into tiny bits are a choking hazard and should be avoided.

How to Choose Best Toys for Your 3 Month Old Baby?

At three months your baby can grasp things and reach for what interests them. Here are some tips on how to choose good toys for them (3) (6).

• Lightweight rattlers are ideal toys for kids of this age. They are colourful and make plenty of noise. Look for rattlers made out of good quality materials and without small parts that can be swallowed.
• Soft stuffed animals and dolls make good toys for 3 months baby girl. Babies start developing an attachment to a plush animal or toy and it’s important you buy them a good one which can last for years.
• Teething rings with rattlers are a good choice for this age. Soon they’ll have sore gums and gnawing on a soft but firm rubber ring is soothing.
• Squeaky rubber toys that squeak while being easy to grip is a popular toy among babies of this age group. They can be taken anywhere and are perfect during their tub time.
• Activity bars that have plush or plastic toys on them can be fit on their crib, stroller or car seat. They can keep your baby occupied all the time.

FAQs

1. Are electronic toys appropriate for 3-month-olds?

Simple, age-appropriate electronic toys with lights and gentle sounds can be engaging but should be used sparingly. Focus on toys that encourage interaction rather than passive play.

2. What are good tummy-time toys for newborns to 3 months?

Tummy-time mats with attached mirrors, textures, or dangling toys encourage babies to lift their heads and explore. These toys make tummy time more engaging and support neck and upper body strength (1).

3. Can 3-month-old babies hold toys?

At this age, babies begin to develop their grasp. Lightweight toys like soft rattles or silicone teethers are easy for them to hold and manipulate, fostering hand strength and coordination.

Generally, good toys for 3-month-old are those that captivate their senses—sight, sound, and touch; making them favourites among babies. Therefore, choose any that blends all these features.

References/Resources:

1. It’s Play Time! The Best Toys For Baby’s First Year; Pathways; https://pathways.org/best-toys-for-babies/

2. Toys and Play: Birth to 12 Months; Seattle Children’s Hospital; https://www.seattlechildrens.org/health-safety/parenting/toys-and-play-birth-to-12-months/

3. Good Toys for Young Children by Age and Stage; National Association for the Education of Young Children; https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/play/toys

4. Early Childhood Development Toys By Age; UnityPoint Health; https://www.unitypoint.org/news-and-articles/early-childhood-development-toys-by-age—unitypoint-health

5. THE ROLE OF PLAY FOR NEWBORN CHILD DEVELOPMENT: PLAYING AT 0-6 MONTHS; The Genius of Play; https://www.thegeniusofplay.org/genius/expert-advice/articles/the-role-of-play-for-newborn-child-development.aspx

6. Learning, Play, and Your 1- to 3-Month-Old; Nemours KidsHealth; https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/learn13m.html

Also Read:

Toys for 4 Months Old
Toys for 5 Month Old 
Toys for 6 Month Old Baby

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