The Best Newborn Toys, Tested by Babies and Moms

Lovevery has made a big splash in the market thanks to their subscription model of enrichment-focused play kits, which batch together eco-friendly, developmentally appropriate toys for your child. Each Lovevery installment, of which The Looker Kit is the first, is designed to cover a two or three month period (in this case, baby’s first 12 weeks). The Looker includes a range of newborn toys and a play guide that lays out developmental milestones to look for and activity recommendations to help your child reach them. It went down a storm with our tester Niki A-G. and her 10-week-old baby making it a clear winner of The Best of The Bump award for best newborn play kit. (See all of this year’s Best of The Bump winners.)

The Looker Kit, as its name suggests, is meant to engage a newborn’s powers of observation. That means plenty of black and white imagery, including high-contrast cards and a tummy time-friendly gallery in which to display them. “The contents of this kit is almost entirely black and white and designed with a newborn's limited range of vision and movement,” enthuses Niki. Coley suggests using the graphic silicone rattle to help develop visual tracking skills. She says to hold the rattle about 8 to 12 inches away from baby’s face and jiggle it a little to get their attention. “Once they are focused on the object, you can move it very slowly from left to right,” says Coley, who recommends parents practice tracking from side to side for the first few weeks. The set also comes with black and white mittens meant to help your infant discover their hands and a trio of “sensory links” that crinkle, rattle and squeak. Niki told us that her baby “engages with the items in the kit on a daily basis for at least 5 to 10 minutes at a time,” which is fantastic for a newborn attention span. “My daughter’s been known to flash a big gummy grin at the little wooden book in this kit, but few things bring her quite as much joy as the spiral-cut mobile, which hangs over her changing table and elicits a constant stream of gurgles, coos and caws,” shares Niki.

Niki acknowledges that this set of newborn toys is expensive, but adds that “it feels like excellent value for the money considering that buying dupes of the full range of items piecemeal would cost a similar amount, if not quite a bit more.” She found each toy in the kit to be well constructed and said they held up well despite daily use. “The inclusion of developmental guidelines and play suggestions make it especially worthwhile,” says Niki. The play guide includes useful reminders on what to expect during baby’s early weeks as well as suggestions on how to fill wake windows with a range of different play activities. “When you're juggling all the other challenges of new parenthood, the research-backed curation of a toy kit makes life just a little bit easier—and ease is something I'm happy to pay for,” she continues.

But what really seals the deal is that the collection is at once immediately accessible for newborns and still holds enough appeal for an older baby. “I can see almost all these items getting continuous use in our home over the coming months and even years,” concludes Niki.

Age rating: 0 to 12 weeks | Material: N/A | Dimensions: N/A | Care instructions: Varies

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A cursory search will turn up tons of black and white board books for newborn babies to gaze at. And with good reason: “Bold high-contrast designs can draw and hold your baby’s focus well because they match newborn visual abilities,” explains Coley. She adds that although newborn babies can’t yet perceive colors, “they can distinguish the differences between light and dark areas on a black and white plaything.” We tested several high-contrast books and cards, but the Happy Start High Contrast Board Book came out on top as the best newborn toy for visual development due to its ability to hold a newborn’s attention and versatile fold-out design. “I loved that I could make it short or long (like an accordion) so it could be more of a traditional book or the spread out version,” says Presley P. who tested the book with her 5-week-old and gave it high scores across the board. “My baby was able to focus on the images very well,” she adds.

Presley found the book was most effective for supported tummy and back time play. “This toy helped with head and eye movement for us,” says Presley, adding that she felt it gave her child the right amount of visual simulation. “He was able to focus on certain images and wasn’t fussing,” continues Presley, noting that her son’s favorite picture was the astronaut. From a parent’s perspective, Presley says she loved how big and vivid the images were.

Thanks to the sturdy card construction and clever design, this pick can be used as a classic board book or you can fan it out. Once opened up, it stands upright, making it the perfect newborn toy to introduce to tummy time. “He didn’t interact with the book but was able to pick his head up and focus on it as I read to him or it was spread out on the floor,” says Presley, adding, “It kept him engaged for about 7 min!” In order to make the most out of playtime, Presley flipped through the pictures and described each image to her son. This worked great—Presley says “it was one of the only toys we were able to enjoy this early,” noting that they were able to increase the length of tummy time sessions while using the book.

Age rating: 0+ months | Material: Card | Dimensions: 6.3" (L) x 6.2" (W) x 0.3" (H) | Care instructions: Wipe clean

You may have received tons of adorable stuffed animals at your baby shower, but it’ll soon dawn on you that newborns lack the coordination and strength to interact with them just yet. B. Toys’ Fluffy Koko Koala is an exception, as this lightweight lovey toy is perfectly designed for newborn cuddles, making it our Best of The Bump award winner for best newborn comfort toy.

The security blanket has a friendly kaola perched at the top and even features a crinkly, textured leaf for extra auditory stimulation. “It's small and light enough for my newborn to hold onto and engage with (as opposed to a larger fleece blanket),” says Niki, who tested the lovey with her 10-week-old daughter. And the soft, fleece fabric offers baby a comforting sensory experience.”If I place it on her chest, especially against bare skin, she smiles, grabs it, occasionally sucks on it, and seems to enjoy the sensation of it rubbing against her skin,” shares Niki. “Tickling my daughter with the koala’s little hairdo is actually what elicited her very first giggle, so it’s obviously earned its place as a member of our family!” Niki notes that her daughter is able to engage with it for a handful of minutes before losing interest.

Given that Niki’s daughter likes to suck on the comfort blanket, she really appreciates the fact that this toy can be easily machine washed and dried. Niki was a little skeptical that her newborn would be able to discern a difference (let alone have a preference) between this lovey and a burp cloth, but she said she was pleasantly surprised to find that her daughter formed an attachment to this toy. “She definitely recognizes the Koko enough to be soothed by it during meltdowns, and she seems to delight in its velvety texture and little crinkle feature,” shares Niki. Though it isn’t safe to put this (or any toy) in the crib with your baby for sleep, Niki’s newborn loved interacting with the toy while hanging in the bouncer or “working out” in her play gym.

Age rating: 0+ months | Material: N/A | Dimensions: 12" (L) x 2" (W) x 15" (H) | Care instructions: Machine wash and tumble dry low

According to Phillips-Walker, “rattles with colors and textures can help children with tracking and thus develop their vision.” And the pediatrician goes on to say that “items that play soft sounds can help encourage babies to make noise, which is critical in language development.” The SmartNoggin NogginStik checks both boxes as the light-up “face” and black and white base capture baby’s visual attention, while the gentle rattle sound engages baby’s sense of hearing. Product tester Vikki W. used the SmartNoggin with her newborn daughter when she was 2- to 4-weeks-old and gave it high scores across the board, earning it the coveted title of best multi-sensory newborn toy in this year’s Best of The Bump awards.

“Since my baby is just 4 weeks old, she is still not doing a lot of ‘playing’ or interacting yet,” explains Vikki. However, she notes that this toy was still engaging and intuitive to use: simply press the button to turn it on and shake the rattle to move through an array of glowing colors. “[The] rattle provides the typical maracas sound and has a light up fun face on one end and a small mirror on the other end with textured grip areas to stimulate baby's touch interest,” says Vikki. Our tester says her family—especially her older child—loved using the NogginStik to interact with their new arrival. “We do take the toy out with us quite often to stimulate her interest with it because it's one of our family's favorite toys,” she shares, adding that she can’t wait until her daughter is a few weeks older and can fully interact with it. Vikki also appreciated the size and shape of this rattle toy. “The dumbbell shape makes the toy look easy to grasp/hold,” explains Vikki, adding that its light weight means she has no concerns about her child dropping it when she lets go.

In terms of its developmental benefits, Vikki says “the NogginStik has the potential to stimulate visual tracking as well as spatial sound for her to follow.” Suskind agrees, explaining that newborns are able to follow gentle movements. “When playing with a toy that encourages visual tracking—like a mobile, a rattle or even your own face—slow and steady is the name of the game,” says Suskind. “Because newborns are still developing their ability to follow moving objects, gentle, deliberate movements give them the best chance to succeed,” she continues. Her advice when using a toy like this is to slowly move it across baby’s field of vision and narrate the whole process. For example, you might say, “here comes the rattle… now it’s over here!” Aside from visual tracking, this toy can be used to stimulate baby’s auditory senses via the rattle sound as well as encouraging them to practice their grasping skills. In fact, this newborn toy was designed by an early childhood development therapist and comes with a guide for parents, which lists baby’s milestones from birth to the one year mark, so you can use the toy to work towards those developmental landmarks.

Age rating: 0+ months | Material: Plastic | Dimensions: 6" (L) x 2.5" (W) x 9" (H) | Care instructions: Wipe clean

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All four of our experts recommend using an activity gym for tummy time fun in the newborn stage. Why? An activity gym offers your baby a soft, safe space to strengthen core motor skills—like lifting their head, pushing themselves up and reaching for things—and the addition of dangling toys will distract them and keep them engaged for longer. (This is important as not all babies are fans of tummy time.) We’ve tested many activity gyms and play mats, but this monochromatic Gymini by Tiny Love emerged as the best newborn toy for strength-building, due to its high engagement level for very young babies. Samantha A., who tested the Gymini with her 2-month-old baby, loved it so much she gave it a 10 out of 10 score for every category.

Samantha loved the size of the mat coupled with the variety of toys on offer. “[The] Gymini allowed her to play about five different ways,” gushes Samantha, noting that it kept her newborn entertained for up to 30 minutes. Frankly, we’re not surprised by this as the Gymini offers 20 engaging toys and activities for baby, including a toy arch, flash cards, textured stuffed animals and even a child-safe mirror. “She loved the mirror and it’s great since she can continue to play with it laying on either her back or her tummy,” shares Samantha.

Our tester was most impressed by this item's ability to hold her baby’s attention and thus prolong tummy time workouts. “During our first use she was only able to hold her head up for about a minute,” says Samantha. “Now she can go up to 8 minutes at a time and I feel it is due to the way there’s a good variety of toys to keep her distracted,” she continues. After using the Gymini for a week, Samantha felt that their play sessions had already improved her daughter’s neck strength a lot.

The Gymini was an immediate hit with our tester’s newborn from day one and it quickly became a daily favorite. “As soon as my baby was laid under the bar she was entertained,” shares Samantha. “She was very calm at first as there’s a few things she can stare at. But now she gets excited while laying in the Gymini and being reintroduced to the toys,” she continues. Thanks to its large size and endless entertainment options, Samantha says “I see my baby playing with this Gymini for up to 6 months, maybe even more!”

Age rating: 0 to 36 months | Material: Wood/fabric/plastic | Dimensions: 36" (L) x 36" (W) x 18" (H) | Care instructions: Machine-washable mat

Even in a life full of firsts, it’s possible for newborns to get bored, so don’t be surprised if your little one cries in complaint if you’re in transit or stuck in traffic. One of the best ways to avoid this is by supplying a distraction, such as a travel toy you can hook onto their car seat or stroller. Our recommendation is the Sensory Hanging Squares by Etta Love, which received a rave tester review–due to its effective design and safe, ease of use–nd the title of best on-the-go newborn toy in our annual Best of The Bump awards.

“I mainly use the Etta Loves Sensory Hanging Squares while my baby is on his back, in my arms, or during car rides” explains mom of a 5-week-old, Katelyn D. “There was no setup needed, and they were very easy to attach and remove from different items like the car seat and stroller due to the adjustable velcro fabric loops,” she adds, awarding the hanging squares a top score for ease of use.

Designed in collaboration with an orthoptist and scientific research partners, these hanging squares feature carefully crafted patterns that aim to engage and mesmerize newborns. The black, white and red colors effectively capture baby’s attention and help bolster visual development. “The high-contrast patterns really catch his attention and keep him engaged for 5 to 10 minutes at a time,” says Katelyn. “He loves tracking the squares with his eyes as I move them side to side, but his favorite spot to play with them is in the car. He’ll stare at them the entire ride when they’re clipped to his car seat bar.” She goes on to say that “right now this is one of the only toys that truly holds his attention, and I think it’s a great option for early sensory and visual development.”

Katelyn also praised the Hanging Squares for being well made and easy to care for. “The fabric is soft and I’ve been able to throw them in the diaper bag, wipe them down, and they still look great,” explains Katelyn. As an added bonus, the squares are reversible. One side is aimed at 0 to 4-month-old babies, while the reverse features more intricate designs and a child-safe mirror that'll continue to captivate slightly older infants.

Age rating: 0+ months | Material: Cotton/polyester/plastic | Dimensions: 5" (H) x 5" (W) per square | Care instructions: Wipe clean

Suskind suggests placing a high-contrast mobile above baby’s play area or changing station as they can help with visual development and tracking. Unfortunately, finding a mobile that serves baby’s needs can be a tricky task. That’s where the Flensted Flying Swallows Mobile comes in. Selected as the best newborn overhead toy for the second year in a row, this mobile uses bold colors that baby can actually distinguish and is designed to be viewed from below.

Product tester Niki A-G. has a background in interior design and was blown away by the beauty and functionality of this mobile. “This mobile features black and white swallows with red detailing. It’s exactly the sort of high contrast imagery that’s recommended for newborns to gaze at to stimulate their eyesight and curiosity,” says Niki. And, unlike many nursery mobiles that are best viewed in profile, this one reveals its magic when you look up at it from below. The swallows themselves are made from thick cardboard, and Niki says “just the breeze generated by walking by it is sufficient to keep the birds lazily circling for hours on end.” She certainly paints a pretty picture!

Of course, the most important reviewer of this newborn toy was Niki’s 10-week-old daughter. “My daughter is obsessed with this mobile,” says Niki, who told us that she’s content to watch it almost indefinitely. “She tracks the swallows with her eyes and will turn her head to look for it when we move her around the room. It has interrupted meltdowns and provided much needed entertainment when doing household chores. We call it ‘baby TV’ in our house,” shares Niki. Our tester had the mobile positioned over her child’s crib, but it was so engaging that she considered moving it to a different location, as her newborn would often watch it rather than take a nap.

At $55 this mobile is expensive and it’s certainly not the most robust baby item on this list—but Niki still felt it offered good value for money as her child got so much enjoyment from it. “This mobile is truly beautiful and has brought so much joy and magic into our lives,” gushes Niki. Our tester rounded out her review by saying: “I love looking at it almost as much as I love watching my daughter look at it, and I feel good knowing that she’s enchanted by something that’s developmentally appropriate.”

Age rating: N/A | Material: Cardboard | Dimensions: 21" (L) x 5" (W) x 2.5" (H) | Care instructions: Wipe with dry cloth