Best baby activity cubes for fun and learning

The Hape Country Critters Play Cube is a well-made and durable fun activity cube toy made from sturdy wood and child-safe materials like water-based paint. One reviewer who bought this for their one-year-old's birthday described it as "By far the best toy we've bought." They have recommended the toy to their friends with children of similar age, saying their child had not stopped playing with it all week. They also loved how well it was made, being nice and sturdy.

The toy is designed to give your toddler hours of fun for years to come with plenty of challenging activities that will inspire their imaginations and allow them to practice motor skills, logic skills and perseverance. One reviewer bought it for their one-year-old son and said, "At the moment, he's most drawn to knocking the balls through the holes in the lid with the mallet and rolling them down the track on the side - but I'm sure he will start to play with the other parts too as he develops." They said the toy's parts seem to have different complexity, meaning there's a lot of scope to play with it for a long time. Other reviewers mentioned the pull mechanism might be tricky for small children, but as the toy is designed to grow with your child, don't worry if there are certain things they struggle with at the moment. They will discover the more advanced features when they are more developed later.

We love this toy cube! It is a hub of activity, with a beaded spiral, shape sorter, turn table and a tap to the bottom activity. With five sides of fun and engaging activities, this cube is also coloured beautifully and designed to be attractive and visually appealing for your little one. One reviewer says, "This is a really lovely toy. It looks gorgeous, better than in the photos. The colours are very appealing. It's very sturdy and beautifully made."

This Little Farm Wooden Activity Cube is a great addition to your child's toy collection, as it helps to encourage problem-solving and develop fine motor skills. It has spinning tiles, rotating gears, a bead spiral and a shape sorter.

The toy is also aesthetically pleasing to look at, with a beautiful design featuring soft colours. We think it'll look lovely in a child's nursery. Reviews Editor Emily Gilbert has this for her 6-month-old son and likes that it keeps him completely occupied while she's doing housework. She says: "While this product is technically aimed at 18 months+, my son loves to sit and explore this cube and it's actually been so helpful in helping him practise his sitting as he's occupied with playing rather than focusing on sitting. It's also a bonus that it looks lovely on our play shelf too."

A clever feature of this toy is its flip-over space-saving lid, which means the top can be flipped inside the cube for easier storage. One disadvantage is that the design is a bit simpler than others, so it may not have the scope to last as long in terms of your child's development, but this will depend on how much your little one enjoys playing with it.

This Zany Zoo Wooden Activity Cube has child-friendly bright colours, five different sides of fun, and games to entertain and educate your little one. Each side encourages a different kind of play – with doors to open, animals to explore, a bead maze to wind through, and colourful spinners to spin. It's perfect for toddlers! One reviewer who purchased it for their 1-year-old girl pointed out that the size, and in particular, the height of this toy, promotes a toddler to stand, bend and use their hands in many different ways, making it a very active toy for physical and mental development.

Because this activity cube offers so much to explore and discover, it will grow with your little one as they develop. One reviewer wrote, "We ordered this for our youngest (5 months), but our older two (5 & 3 years) have been playing with it already." The toy is also well-made of sturdy wood, built to be handed down through family generations. One reviewer says they already had some other small items from this brand that were all very premium and solid. They say that this toy is even better. They recalled seeing similar toys in doctors' waiting rooms to entertain the kids and said they remembered those ones with stickers on wooden boxes that peeled off over time. This toy has everything painted on instead, and they felt it would last a lifetime. Although, some have mentioned that the wood can chip easily.

We love the unique features of the Wooden Activity Cube Hanoi Theme – it has plexiglass sides with a sorting shape game, so your little one can see their shapes drop inside the cube! Sadly, we couldn't find any customer reviews for the product as it doesn't seem to be widely available; however, we wanted to include it in our line-up as it offers young ones the opportunity to see where the shapes go after they have pushed them through the slots, instead of them just "disappearing". The toy also has a bead slide, gears to turn and other interactive elements. It is suitable for children from 10 months old and helps stimulate sensorial development and encourage perseverance.

Shaped more like a hexagon than a cube, the TOP BRIGHT Wooden Activity toy has even more sides for your little one to engage with – seven in total, including a bead maze, rainbow gears, recognition clock, shape sorter and animal flip board. The top can also be inverted and placed in the box with shapes for easy storage.

One viewer who was making a conscious effort to buy non-plastic toys where possible was very impressed with this mostly wooden activity cube. They loved the many different activities in one toy for stimulation and education and appreciated the vivid painted colours, quality wood with smooth edges, and even finish. Their review concluded, "Not the cheapest toy but worth the money for quality and engagement value."

Some have mentioned that the circle block is a bit small, so this might be something to be aware of if you're worried about little ones putting them in their mouth. Another thing to know is that the box doesn't actually have a bottom, which means it isn't designed to store the shapes; although you could still pop it on a shelf with the shapes inside to keep them together, you just won't be able to take it down with the shapes still inside.

This VTech Busy Learners Activity Cube is great for encouraging youngsters to sit up while they play, working on their balance and motor skills. One reviewer said, "This was the best purchase to help our daughter sit up independently at 6 months old. After a week of use, she learned to sit up independently and loves playing with this daily. She’s 9 months now, and this is still a favourite toy."

The cube has many fun features to keep little ones engaged, with five fun activities encouraging them to explore and discover. There are light-up buttons that will introduce them to animal names and sounds, as well as shapes, and a songbook of 25 different songs. This toy cube will definitely have something to capture your child's attention. One reviewer warns that the toy doesn't have a volume control setting, though, so it can be a little loud depending on where you are, but they said that it's great for learning, and the songs are catchy.

A sweet and compact design, the Woody Treasures Activity Cube has a fun bead maze, animal sliders, a spinning frog, an abacus counter, and a fun shape sorter. Its four corners are finely polished and rounded, preventing injuries and accidents. It's also small enough for little ones to grab and turn easily, so they can play with any side they want.

One reviewer says it was the perfect size for their granddaughter to play with. They said, "She is one, and it is just the right size. She can pick it up, so she is able to turn it around to play with the different activities." They liked that the top comes off, too—you can invert the bead maze so that it is more easily stored inside the box along with the blocks. They also like that it's made from brightly coloured wood, as their granddaughter loved all the colours.

Another reviewer who purchased this as a gift for a 7-month-old said that although the baby is young, it is still stimulated and enjoys the colourful activity box. They said, "She shows a lot of interest in this wonderful toy, which is extremely sturdy. It is well made and will bring joy with long-lasting fun for many years."

The TOP BRIGHT Wooden Shape Sorter Activity Cube features some great learning tools. It has various fun learning activities, like the teaching clock, shape sorter, and insects, to teach babies about the world around them. It'll help them with some of the skills that are key to their learning and development.

Some people have mentioned that the toy is smaller than they thought. However, one reviewer who purchased it for their grandson's first birthday said, "I read the reviews prior to purchasing, so I knew it was on the smaller side. It is perfect—not too heavy, brightly coloured. The shape blocks are the perfect size—not too big for his little hands and not too small to cause a choking hazard."

Another reviewer, on the other hand, had a different experience though and wrote: "My 1-year-old loves this toy; however, the blocks that come with it for the shape sorter are very small, and as he still puts toys in his mouth, they are very dangerous. He nearly got one stuck in his mouth." If your little one has a tendency to put things in their mouth, this is definitely something to be aware of.