17 best baby toys for newborns

The Playgro Sensory Friend Lupe Llama was awarded Gold for Best Baby Toy at the Mother&Baby Awards 2024.

Sensory Friend Lupe Llama is filled with features to stimulate baby's senses, Lupe supports developmental skills from birth through touch, sound, sight and oral exploration. This sensory baby toy makes development fun, and offers a new friend for your little one.

Our mum tester said: "It is such a cute and super soft toy which my baby loved. The llama was very soft but also had features which provided lots of sensory benefits for a baby. My baby loved the crinkly ears, little plastic bits on the legs and there was also a leaf shaped plastic teething ring which she loved to teeth on. The toy is super easy to transport around and has a ring which can easily attach to the pram or to play gym for instance."

Read our full Playgro Sensory Friend Lupe Llama review.

The Playgro Clip Clop Activity Rattle was awarded Silver for Best Baby Toy at the Mother&Baby Awards 2024.

Clip Clop is Playgro's beloved activity rattle that keeps baby entertained whilst supporting sensory play, fine motor skill development and teething. Designed to engage little hands and imaginations, baby will adore exploring Clip Clop's chewy teether beads, rattle sounds, reflective mirror, lift-up saddle, textured materials, colours and shapes. Simply add a clip to secure Clip Clop to the stroller or car seat for on-the-go adventures! One of Playgro's top sellers, Clip Clop is perfect for take-anywhere fun and sure to become one of baby's favourites.

Our mum tester said: "This is a good product to help make a mum's life easier as it has different sounds and textures for a baby to investigate. there are some bits of ribbon which look a bit like tags on clothes which I have found my baby likes. there is also an easy-to-hold handle for the baby to grasp hold of the toy."

Read our full Playgro Clip Clop Activity Rattle review.

Suitable for: Newborns and up | Number of toys: 12 | Great for gifting | Award: Won Silver at the Mother&Baby Awards 2023 for Best Product For A Newborn - 0-4 Months 

The Taf Toys newborn kit is a great addition for those first few months of your little one's life. As your newborn is beginning to learn the world around them, this newborn kit has 12 development toys and products to help support them in a fun and healthy way. The kit comes with a development guide, providing parents with newborn tips and explaining how to use each toy and product inside. It encourages and nurtures development, visual stimulation, and tummy time.

Our mum tester Kayleigh said: "First of all I love this product, secondly this product has helped my daughter hit her milestones sooner than anyone had ever expected. She loves the comforter and smiles when she sees it, it settles her and the neck support for tummy time has helped my daughter build more strength than she already had. The picture cards and mirrors are amazing for tummy time to encourage her to look up."

If there’s one thing on your mind in those first few months with a newborn, sleep! Luckily, there are plenty of baby toys designed to help this. Don’t worry!

For example, this special Ollie the Owl can be used from birth. This Tommee Tippee toy functions as a nightlight and a cry sensor. With four built-in tunes, this toy plays music to your baby if they wake up during the night. Not only does it look adorable, but it’s also very huggable and soothing.

If owls aren’t your thing, there is Bennie the Bear or Pip the Panda, too.

A parent reviewer said, “Bought purely for its white noise capabilities, we haven't used the music options at all. It's very cute, lovely and soft. The fact it's rechargeable is brilliant, no more faffing about with batteries. Ours lasts for ages as we don't use the cry sensor at the moment, and I suspect that's what uses the most battery. The light is nice, bright enough but also subtle so not disruptive. Loses a star for being hand-wash only, I foresee it getting a bit grubby.”

A great little all-rounder, Sprinkles The Jellyfish has a number of different features that make him the best buy. Brightly coloured with patterns for visual development and different textures for tactile development. Sprinkles The Jellyfish also has a handy hook, making him great for clipping to the car seat or pushchair on the move. He’s safe from birth and will keep your baby entertained for months.

A parent reviewer said, “This toy is perfect to hang in my baby’s pram… Other Lamaze toys are a bit long for his pram and I feel like they’re too close to his face. Also, he’s totally mesmerised by the patterns and colours. Good purchase for a newborn.”

After a soft toy for your little one? This adorable, personalised Bunny Soother is perfect for your newborn baby. It’s a pretty, light colour, which is ideal whilst their eyes are still developing. This bunny is made from a tactile fabric for your baby to develop their senses. It’s suitable from birth, is machine washable at 30°c and is strong enough to survive the test of time as your baby’s best friend.

A parent reviewer said, “Sweetest little comforter for new born. It’s soooo soft and although, quite a simple design, it’s absolutely charming. I cannot fault it. It’s even nicer than in the picture. Reminiscent of simpler days gone by."

These bright little musical rings will keep your baby entertained for hours, both at home and on the go. They are colourful and chunky, with each ring providing different sounds and textures for your baby to engage with. Easy for little hands to hold, the musical rings are suitable from three months old. Our panel of mum testers also found the rings to be super durable, withstanding the inevitable falls from the highchair! Plus, you will be relieved to hear, they’re not too loud.

A happy reviewer said, “Much loved by my 6-month-old nephew. Good quality, colourful rings which have already been played with a lot!”

As always with toys from Lamaze, this is far more than just a rattle! Freddie the Firefly is full of surprising features your baby will love, with his soft fabric head, ribbon fillers, his colourful rotating wings and a see-through pod your baby can gaze at. The bright colours and high-contrast patterns are also perfect for developing your little one’s vision.

“Playing with different textures encourages curiosity and strengthens hand and finger strength (known as fine motor control),” says Dr Amanda. “Holding Freddie close to little ones encourages them to reach out and grasp for the toy, improving hand-eye coordination and arm strength.”

A parent reviewer said, “One of our babies’ favourites... Fascinated at 3 months and now at 5 months loves it even more! Good for teething thanks to the plastic wings. The noise of the rattle aspect always calms her down.”

It might be more expensive than other mobiles on the market, but it will last your baby until they are three years old. It has six, different musical categories and 18 different tunes, meaning it can produce 40 mins of continuous music. Plus, its adorable, rotating characters on the ceiling will soothe your baby. Once your baby outgrows the hanging toys, it converts into a music box and projector, then a bedside lamp with a starry night projector. Covering developmental skills such as language and communication, cognition, senses and emotional intelligence, it’s a great buy.

A parent reviewer said “This is by far the best toy I have ever bought for my baby! It was the first one he connected with, from about 4 weeks old, he would lie and gaze and giggle at it, easily the best 20 minutes of his day, every day! I'm sure if I let him, he'd lie under it all day! He only stopped being so amazingly excited by it by the age of 8 months, by which time he had lots of other things to entertain him. Can't recommend this highly enough!”

This play gym and activity mat have lots of sensory toys to keep babies entertained, with a mix of music, noises, movement, lights and colours. This sensory stimulation helps capture the baby’s attention, improving concentration. The mirror also develops emotional understanding, as babies can see their expressions (such as their smiles).

A parent reviewer said, “This baby mat was super easy to set up. All of the pieces are cute and my baby enjoys looking at and playing with them. I have already put it in the wash and laid it flat to dry and am happy with the results. The mat has a nice thickness to it as well which makes me feel more at ease when she is doing tummy time. Excellent baby product!”

Young children love throwing the blocks and knocking over stacks. Knocking over the towers is accessible to very young children as it doesn’t require much coordination and can teach very young children cause and effect. As they get a bit older, they can try stacking the blocks themselves developing their coordination and muscle control. Plus, this set comes in a handy carry bag.

A parent reviewer said, "These blocks are brilliant- soft, safe for babies, machine washable too! They can be stacked or knocked over and it won't hurt the baby. Plus, they can be organised by colour, by animal, by vehicle or you can make a beanstalk too. My son played with these from age of 6 months to 3 years. As infants just grabbing them and knocking them over, later stacking them and then later sorting them by category. as good as new! and now I've passed them on to a friend's 6-month-old daughter who is thrilled with them. Even at this age, she tries to find the one block that jingles!

This box set of baby toys contains 20 colourful toys, including blocks, characters, balls and wheels, and vehicles. Your baby will love exploring the shapes and textures, and the colours will excite them once they're beyond the black-and-white vision stage. Plus, they can double as teethers.

A parent reviewer said, “I bought these for my little son, and he loves to chew on them and play with them. First, I found it a bit overpriced, but it is worth buying it as the quality is very good.”

This sweet finger puppet, board book features the classic nursery rhyme: Old MacDonald Had a Farm! Here, you can encourage interactive play, hand-eye-coordination and language development for your little one. This simple cook comes with a cute, soft finger puppet of a cow. Hopefully, this will help you bring the story alive. Wiggle the cow puppet as you act out this well-loved rhyme.

A parent reviewer said, “This book was for a friend’s one-year-old. She was delighted with it and her little boy loved it.”

A sweet way for infants and toddlers to discover textures and sounds, this five-piece infant toy includes a cloth-covered base and post with rattle, 2 squeezable rings, a plastic textured ring, and a textured topper with crinkle leaves and fabric ribbons.

One parent said: "My 8month old daughter loves this adorable pineapple stacker! She plays with it daily! It is so soft and easy for her little hands to grab! I love all the different textures that help stimulate sensory reactions. My only complaint is that we can't get the top to sit on it good because it is so soft."

These Fisher-price building blocks help to introduce your baby to colours and shapes and include ten colourful blocks to stack and sort. All the blocks fit inside the bucket for storage. Plus, the easy-carry handle means you can take the fun anywhere for take-along play.

A parent reviewer said, “Fisher-Price never disappoints with any product. I have so many toys from them, and the quality is excellent and baby-safe. They just know how to make a baby product and have thought of everything - colours, usability, age appropriateness, durability & safety.”

This unique toy features a mesmerizing maze of soft, BPA-free teething tubes. It can even be refrigerated for additional soothing comfort. The colours and unique shape of this teether will intrigue infants as they learn to track and turn their heads. Plus, they’ll be eager to touch, lift and shake this toy.

A happy reviewer said, “Gave this on Christmas day and my nephew (7mos) immediately loved it- the shape makes it perfect to hold and there's a nice range of textures to feel with the mouth and chew on. It makes a noise, but quite quiet- the only improvement would be if the rattle was a little louder to encourage more exploration, but it seemed an immediate success.”

Designed to stimulate visual development, these beautifully patterned squares are great for captivating newborns during their first year. Crafted with soft, high-quality fabric and featuring contrasting colours, they're reversible for 0-4 months and 5+ months to encourage exploration and engagement. Hang them in car seats, play gyms or prams for on-the-go sensory enrichment.

Review: "I love these sensory squares. They are so stimulating for my baby. The fact that they are double-sided and transferable is a bonus. I ended up ordering the play mat and strip. I would definitely recommend."