Toys for Standing, Walking & Beyond
A PT Momma’s Guide
We’ve already covered my favorites for Tummy Time, Rolling, Sitting & Crawling. Again, my hope is to take the guesswork out of it for you so you don’t have to spend hours scrolling, googling & wondering what the heck you should actually get your for baby. Let’s be honest — the options available can be super overwhelming. The truth is, you really don’t need much. Just a few of these items can really go a long way & serve your baby well through many stages.
For STANDING, WALKING & BEYOND, consider
suction cup toys
push walkers
ride on toys
single shape or large knobbed puzzles
small sliding board
activity table/center
push toys
pull-string toys
egg shakers & musical instrument sets
stepping stones
magnets
bead mazes
trampoline
basketball hoop
balance bike
As soon as your baby shows interest in pulling up to stand, start encouraging play at low surfaces like the couch or coffee table. Pretty much any exciting toy works for playing at low surfaces although I tend to gravitate towards smaller, more light-weight toys or ones that lay flat on the table. Single shape puzzles, large knobbed puzzles & bead mazes can be wonderful for this stage as your baby continues to work on their grasp & fine motor skills, just now in standing. The bead maze I recommend actually has suction cups so it won’t slide all over the table as your little one works. Standing activity tables or centers are also great motivators for standing play. Eloise enjoyed a similar one to the Manhattan Toy Activity Center pictured below for months. We ultimately opted for one without electronics so that it wasn’t as overstimulating & so that she could more easily focus on one skill or task at a time. However, if you choose to go the electronic route, there’s no shame in your activity table game & I highly recommend the Baby Einstein Curiosity Table. I love this one because the table legs remove for floor play so it can be well loved through Tummy Time, sitting & crawling prior to standing. It’s actually going to be under the tree for Aubrey this year. You can always simply remove the batteries if you decide you want a quieter, less-likely-to-overstimulate version.
Once your baby masters standing to play at those surfaces, its time to move on to play at vertical surfaces. Suction cup toys like Squigz that easily cling to windows, mirrors, walls or doors make play at a vertical surfaces extremely enticing. At our house, we really enjoyed the Melissa & Doug® animal magnets at our back door or the refrigerator. Place them to the side or above your baby’s head to encourage cruising or reaching up onto tip-toes (precursor to jumping). They were awesome not only for standing play but also for language & vocabulary building. We actually purchased several sets for ourselves over the course of a few months.
Independent standing or standing alone without any support is a critical skill to learn prior to walking. To encourage independent standing & taking those first few independent steps, placing something small in your baby’s hands like these egg shakers can encourage your baby to let go of their support surface. At this stage (& honestly even as early as the sitting stage, musical instruments are a wonderful asset to your toy box. They allow your baby to explore sound & work on fine motor skills & coordination. They can be great motivators for standing & later for walking.
Once your baby has the hang of standing & is attempting steps with their hands held, a push walker will come in handy to encourage those first few supported steps. These are different than the seated baby walkers you may be familiar with. Seated baby walkers are actually known to cause injuries & lead to delayed development of independent standing & walking if used improperly or for extended periods of time. Ride-on toys can often be used as a push walker first — they can be a nice two-for-one deal. They make great moving surfaces that challenge your baby’s standing balance. The Radio Flyer Busy Buggy pictured below is STILL a beloved item in our toy collection almost TWO years after it was purchased. My daughter used it to challenge her pull-to-stand skills (at 7 months) & later her standing balance. Then it became a fun push walker prior before she eventually learned to ride it all over the house. As she practiced getting onto & off of the seat, she learned problem solving, proprioception (knowing where her limbs are in space), postural control (ability to stay upright against gravity) & practiced single leg balance. The seat opens up for fun peek-a-boo or object permanence play. Toddlers also LOVE to stash their favorite items in cool hiding spots. It doesn’t have any lights or sounds which let her quietly explore how to turn the knobs, spin the gears, honk the horn, move a lever up & down & turn the steering wheel. It’s also narrow enough that the wheels didn’t impede her ability to propel herself.
A small sliding board can also be utilized for several skills — pulling up to stand, climbing, sitting balance reactions & vestibular input just to name a few. They are especially wonderful if your baby happened to skip crawling. Climbing up the slide is a great way to build strength, endurance & coordination.
Stepping stones can be easily added to any obstacle course for an added balance or jumping challenge. They are a great way to practice standing balance while doing some artwork at an easel or to practice jumping down from a low surface or forward from one stone to the next as your toddler’s jumping skills progress.
A trampoline is a great addition to your toy collection, especially if you have a toddler who LOVES movement & is beginning to explore jumping. They are also great to challenge your toddler’s standing balance with fun activities like “marching in place” or reaching overhead onto tiptoes to bat at a balloon while standing on the trampoline. The added handlebar helps provide a little extra stability for the newbies.
A basketball hoop is another favorite for encourage reaching overhead while standing on tip-toes (challenging balance, motor planning & strength). They are also great for encouraging ball skills that require bilateral coordination.
Lastly, a balance bike is a wonderful investment as your toddler approaches 2 years old. They provide an opportunity to practice balance, spatial awareness, motor planning, coordination, visual scanning, strengthening & safety. Balance bikes are associated with earlier independence with “riding” a bike for participation in peer or family activities. They are different than a bike with training wheels or a tricycle because they allow for your child to focus on learning to balance & steer prior to learning how to pedal. Breaking down the task of learning to ride a 2-wheel bike into smaller parts allows for ease of learning. That’s how balance bikes promote improved confidence along with a faster transition to a 2-wheeled bike.
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Want more toy ideas? Find me on IG @thebabymovementcoach & shoot me a DM for more recommendations based on your child’s developmental skill level & goals for play.
