Best Toys for a 5 Months Old Baby

Nowadays, there are plenty of options available when it comes to selecting toys for babies. All the toys look so appealing that you are left scratching your head, wondering which one to choose. For parents, sometimes it is difficult to identify the right toy for their baby catering to his interest and age. But, finding age-appropriate toys for your baby is essential to facilitate his practice of current skills and the development of new ones.

Babies, during this stage, start exploring their surroundings and become more aware of the objects and people around them. Therefore, it is important to find toys for your baby which are safe even if you baby chews or bites. Colorful toys with different textures that are easy to hold, like soft toys, teethers or playmats, are fascinating and ideal for your baby. You can also buy toys that make noise to keep your baby engaged for long. Also, find out which are the best toys for a 5-month-old that help in the development of the necessary skills of the baby.

Toys That Help Develop a Sense of Self

Toys like a mirror can be an excellent way to trigger the concept of self in babies.

1. Skill Development

• Child-safe mirrors provide your baby with the first image of himself, thereby refining his sense of self and individuality.
• Such toys facilitate self-reference, enhance memory, social skills and interactive skills in babies.

2. Recommended Toys

• Plastic mirrors
• Peekaboo with a blanket
• Playmats with a floor mirror

Activity Toys

Activity toys have new tools that can keep your baby happy and engaged for long.

1. Skill Development

• Exploring through activity toys may help your baby evolve his hand muscles while engaging him in activities like grasping, moving, holding and releasing objects.
• A baby gets the chance to refine his visual and tactile senses by handling activity toys.
• These toys may prosper hand-eye coordination and motor skills.

2. Recommended Toys

• Playing blocks
• Linking rings
• Activity gym
• Softballs
• Stacking rings

Music and Light Toys

Music and light toys are a great way to stimulate the senses of your baby and keep him entertained for hours.

1. Skill Development

• Playing with musical toys will enhance your baby’s eye-hand coordination.
• It will also sharpen his sense of vision, sound intelligence, creativity and imagination.
• It can even refine his fine motor skills.

2. Recommended Toys

• Sound and light drum
• Xylophone
• Robots
• Toy mobile
• Light and sound cars

Rattle Toys

A variety of rattle toys are available in various forms, like animals, flowers, fruits, keys and they are bright and colors. Rattle toys are a must-have for your baby.

1. Skill Development

• Holding and shaking a rattle toy can establish a sturdy grasp reflex and develop fine motor skills.
• It can help in enlarging the attention span of your baby.
• Rattle toys promote visual tracking skills which involve a baby following the movement of a moving object through coordinated eye movements.
• Your baby may also form a sense of action and reaction while playing with rattles.

2. Recommended Toys

• Wrist Rattles
• Baby talk rattle
• Rattle balls
• Rainbow shaker

Soft Stuffed Toys

Babies love to hug and sleep with soft stuffed toys as these toys provide them with a sense of security. Here is how these toys promote skill development in a baby.

1. Skill Development

• Soft stuffed toys may help generate body awareness (fingers, hand, toes, feet) in your baby.
• These toys actively encourage sensorial and tactile senses.
• Reading cloth books to your baby will also lay the basis for early literacy skills.

2. Recommended Toys

• Blanket toys (stuffed animals with a blanket attached)
• Soft dolls
• Soft squishy books

Bath Toys

Babies enjoy bathing and spending time in the water. To make this time more fun, you can convert the bathtub into a play area with some simple and fun toys.

1. Skill Development

• Your baby will get the opportunity to enhance his gross motor skills while playing with bath toys.
• He’ll also learn about the concept of cause and effect that will help refine his cognitive skills.

2. Recommended Toys

• Floating toys like boats, balls, and ducks
• Water squirters
• Cups and containers
• Water pipes
• Water wheels

Teething Toys

Teething toys are essential for babies. Chewing and biting on teething toys will ease the teething pain.

1. Skill Development

• Teething toys help in the cognitive development of a baby.
• These toys will improve his fine motor skills and coordination as he learns to grasp the object and get it to his mouth.
• These toys will also develop dexterity.

2. Recommended Toys

• Brush and bite teether
• Soothing teether chill
• Molar teeth soother
• Sweet corn silicon teether
• Teething rings or keys

Crib Mobile

Bright-colored crib mobiles particularly those that can move and play music can make an exciting toy for your baby.

1. Skill Development

• A crib mobile will activate your baby’s auditory and visual senses.
• It will stimulate your baby’s brain development by improving his concentration levels.
• A crib mobile is an enjoyable way to develop a baby’s motor skills.
• Crib mobiles with soft lullabies can contribute to your baby’s healthy mental development by triggering sleep.

2. Recommended Toys

• Cradle Swings
• Toddler rocker
• Blanket with hanging mirrors
• Activity play gym
• Baby gym musical

Taggies Toys

Babies may enjoy playing with taggies, rolling them between their fingers or even chewing on them.

1. Skill Development

• Taggies toys encourage sensory stimulation in a baby.
• These developmental toys are beneficial for the promotion of cognitive skills and motor skills.

2. Recommended Toys

• Taggies football
• Tad and snuggle pal
• Little taggies
• Cuddle and tags blankie
• Tag and play pals

Crinkle Toys

Crinkle toys can be lots of fun and delightful learning tools as well.

1. Skill Development

• Babies may develop eye-hand coordination, reaching and grasping skills just by playing with these toys.
• Crinkle toys may promote the strengthening of physical and visual senses.

2. Recommended Toys

• Crinkle duck
• Baby paper crinkly toy
• Baby animals
• Crinkle me taggies

What Do Age Recommendation Labels on Toys Mean?

Age recommendation labels on toys serve as guiding principles which may help people select a suitable gift for a child. The recommendations usually refer to:

• The safety aspect of the toy specifying risks from small parts
• The age group which the toy is targeting
• The physical skill of the baby to handle the particular toy
• The baby’s mental aptitude to understand the toy

Safety Tips for Babies

• Babies tend to put toys in their mouth. Therefore, make sure that you keep the teethers, rattles and other toys clean.
• It is advisable to supervise your baby while he is playing to prevent any possible accidents.
• Refrain from giving your baby toys that have tiny parts as these parts can come loose thus posing as a choking hazard.
• Avoid attaching or dangling a rattle or a toy to a playpen with elastic string as it can end up entrapping your baby.
• Ensure that soft toys do not have any wire under the fabric lest it pokes through the material and harms your baby.

How to Help Your Baby Learn while Playing?

You can help your baby learn while playing in the following ways:

• When introducing a new toy to your baby demonstrate how the different features of the toy work. Explore them together by paying more attention to action and reaction rather than teaching things.
• While playing with your baby interact with him using lots of words, facial expressions & gestures. The more he hears you more will be his familiarisation with different words and sounds.
• You can place your baby in the lap and hold his toy in front of him and then help him explore the toy from all sides describing things at the same time.
• You can also indulge in tummy time with your baby as it is essential for strengthening his neck, chest and upper body muscles. Position his favourite toy at a distance and encourage your baby to move out and reach it. Alternatively, provide him with an attractive toy while he is lying on his tummy so that he remains in that position for a longer time.
• You can sing songs or read picture books together to build an understanding of language and cognitive skills.

How to Choose Best Toys for Your 5-Month-Old Baby?

Learning toys for 5-month-olds that match your baby’s age, skills and awareness may be best suited for him. Some handy tips to help you choose the best 5-month-old baby toys can be:

• Offer toys which support your baby’s urge to taste, reach, grab things like rattles, soothers, teethers.
• Look for toys in a variety of sizes, shapes, textures so that your baby gets a wide range of experience which supports the expansion of different skills like toys for a 5-month-old baby boy can be blocks, rings, measuring cups and toys for a 5-month-old baby girl may include soft toys, musical toys.
• Select toys which are simple and may have multipurpose like a toy which can be pushed, rolled, shaken and emit music like a musical taggie crinkle toy.
• Go in for toys that may help foster cognitive skills, fine and gross motor skills, language skills both receptive and expressive in your baby like musical shakers or inflatable play mats.
• Choose toys that involve lots of movement, exploration, touch, imitation which may boost the social, emotional and interactive development of babies like floor mirrors, activity gym, tummy time mat.

FAQs

1. Are black-and-white toys still beneficial for a 5-month-old?

Yes, black-and-white toys are still beneficial at this age! While babies start to see more colors by 5 months, high-contrast black-and-white patterns can continue to stimulate their vision, especially for those with slightly delayed visual development. Look for toys with both black-and-white and color patterns to encourage gradual color recognition.

2. Are textured balls helpful for tactile development?

Yes, textured balls are wonderful for enhancing tactile development. With different textures (like bumps, ridges, and soft bristles), these balls encourage babies to explore through touch, which is crucial at this age. They also support early motor skills as babies practice grabbing and rolling the ball.

3. Are water-filled toys suitable for a 5-month-old?

Yes, water-filled toys can be highly engaging for a 5-month-old. These toys are often squishy and can be refrigerated to provide soothing relief for teething gums. They also help develop fine motor skills, as babies enjoy squeezing them and feeling the cool sensation. Ensure they’re made of non-toxic materials and are sealed securely to prevent leaks.

4. Can musical foot finders be useful at this age?

Definitely! Musical foot finders are small socks or ankle wraps with gentle rattles or chimes that encourage babies to kick and move their feet. They help babies discover their legs and feet while strengthening their muscles through movement. These toys also support body awareness, as babies realize they can create sounds by moving their own limbs.

These were some of the good toys for 5-month-olds. Play in the early months of your child’s life is mostly about exploration. Playing with appropriate toys lets your baby experience different sensations which are very useful for his mental and physical development.

References/Resources:

1. Important Milestones: Your Baby By Six Months; CDC; https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-6mo.html

2. How to Buy Safe Toys; American Academy of Pediatrics; https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/How-to-Buy-Safe-Toys.aspx

3. Developmental Milestones: Birth to 5 years!; Stanford Medicine; https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/pediatricsclerkship/documents/5-Developmental-Milestones-MedU.pdf

4. Motor development milestones; World Health Organization; https://www.who.int/tools/child-growth-standards/standards/motor-development-milestones

5. Well-Baby Care Visits & Developmental Milestones (Age 0-12m); Cleveland Clinic; https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22063-baby-development-milestones-safety

6. Choosing Safe Toys for Toddlers and Preschoolers; Nemours Kids Health; https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/safetoys-young.html

7. Choosing Safe Toys for Kids: Here’s What Pediatricians Recommend; Seattle Children’s Hospital; https://www.seattlechildrens.org/wellness-and-health-news/choosing-safe-toys-for-kids/

Also Read:

5 Months Old Baby Milestones
Activities for 5 Month Old Baby
5 and 6 Months Old Baby Daily Schedule
Your 5 Months Old Baby Growth and Development

Our Editorial Policy

Parenting is a huge responsibility, for you as a caregiver, but also for us as a parenting content platform. We understand that and take our responsibility of creating credible content seriously. FirstCry Parenting articles are written and published only after extensive research using factually sound references to deliver quality content that is accurate, validated by experts, and completely reliable. To understand how we go about creating content that is credible, read our editorial policy here.