Eco-Friendly Baby Toys that Boost Development Naturally

This list of natural toys for infants, babies, and toddlers is perfect for baby shower gifts and Christmas gifts!

Non-toxic baby toys made of wood and other natural, organic materials, along with non-toxic paints and dyes, provide a rich sensory experience for a developing newborn. Baby toys like these can also help new mothers feel confident about the safety of the toys their baby touches and puts in their mouth. Eco-friendly baby toys can do more than entertain our most precious little ones. They can help babies learn, grow, play, and experience the world around them in safe and meaningful ways.

When made from natural, sustainable, and non-toxic materials such as wood, organic cotton, natural rubber, and food-grade silicone, these thoughtfully designed toys support healthy development while reducing waste and limiting exposure to harmful chemicals and other toxins. This list of natural baby toys includes everything from soft fabric rattles and teething toys to sensory balls and wooden stacking toys.

Eco-friendly baby toys, such as those on the list below, encourage hands-on learning through simple, open-ended play. With recommendations from experienced parents, caregivers, and Waldorf and Montessori educators, these natural, eco-friendly baby toys can nurture the skills an infant needs to become a healthy toddler. You might also enjoy this list of Eco-Friendly Toddler Toys.

Best eco baby toys - "Play is our brain's favorite way of learning."

The Best Natural Baby Toys for Infants to Toddlers

When I was pregnant, I was overwhelmed by the sheer abundance of baby toys available down long aisles and on supermarket shelves. Even though I had worked as a nanny for many years, I struggled to choose the best eco-friendly baby toys to support my infant’s development in all areas.

Babies learn through their senses. The textures, sounds, colors, and shapes of natural toys can help them build essential developmental skills in simple and safe ways. Eco-friendly toys inspire creativity, fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, and sensory exploration without overstimulating their sensitive systems. Babies don’t need flashing lights, loud sounds, and other forms of overstimulation any more than the caregivers who support them do.

Sustainable Baby Toys Protect Your Baby’s Health and Our Future

Most parents and caregivers in modern times appreciate that sustainable toys are built to last, making them ideal to pass on to siblings, friends, classrooms, or future generations as family heirlooms. In this helpful guide, you’ll discover some of the best eco-friendly baby toys that naturally support learning and development while helping care for the planet and protecting our children’s future.

There are several baby toys on the market today filled with chemicals I don’t want my baby putting in her mouth or damaging our environment. I wanted baby toys I felt safe giving to my newborn, and that were okay for her to put in her mouth, because every baby toy she could reach ended up there, just like any other baby.

Natural Baby Toys Inspired by Waldorf and Montessori Education

Toys that are inspired by Waldorf and Montessori education are crafted with healthy child development in mind. Although the two schools differ in their educational philosophies, they both believe that there is nothing better for a baby’s development than toys made from natural materials. You might also enjoy these Parenting Books for raising children from ages 0 to 5.

While not every toy on this list is perfectly natural, I didn’t want to leave out toys that stimulate development in ways Montessori education deems essential, such as a mobile and a child-safe mirror. I hope this list of eco-friendly baby toys for infants and 18-month-olds can help you and your loved ones choose high-quality, developmentally appropriate toys your baby will LOVE!

Best natural baby toys for infants to toddlers

20 Eco-Friendly Baby Toys: Best Toys for Newborn Infants and Babies:

This gift guide contains many of the top toys recommended by Waldorf and Montessori educators and parents. These must-have educational baby toys are fantastic for infants to toddlers. Each natural toy for babies provides a stimulating experience for the developing child.

Eco-friendly toys made of wood and other natural materials provide a rich learning environment for the developing newborn. We have listed these natural baby toys in order from infants to toddlers. In other words, toys for newborns and infants can be found at the top of the list, while toys for babies and toddlers are at the bottom.

Whether you are looking for a fantastic baby shower gift, shopping for a newborn, creating a natural play space for infants, or the perfect gift for your baby, you have come to the right place! A few key types of toys are all you need to keep your baby happy and developing normally.

1. Mobile (For a Baby’s Eyes, Not Hands):

Mobiles are one of the first Montessori items used to help babies develop from birth. Mobiles are a great tool for a baby’s visual development in infancy. First, hang black-and-white photos (or visual stimulation cards), and later add color photos or other items.

You can also hang pom-poms, small handmade crafts, or anything else that this mobile can support. There are small parts, so make sure the baby cannot get hold of the mobile or any items hanging from it. This baby toy for infants is for the eyes to enjoy, not the hands! Get this simple toy for newborns HERE.

2. Wooden Baby Play Gym with Hanging Toys and Teethers:

A wooden baby play gym is the perfect first toy and gift for a baby boy or girl. This baby toy encourages early motor skills while giving infants something to hold, manipulate, and chew on. These natural toys can help develop vision, senses, and so much more. Wooden play gyms are typically easy to assemble and fold away for storage or transportation.

They usually have a basic A-frame construction that ensures STABILITY while a baby is playing, and it can fold flat for storage when not in use. Place a REAL sheepskin rug underneath for the baby to lie on, for added sensory stimulation and development as they play. Both are chemical-free and 100% safe for babies. Get a fantastic wooden baby play gym with hanging toys and teethers HERE.

3. A Child-Safe Mirror:

A child-safe, unbreakable acrylic mirror to hang on a wall low enough for a baby to stare into and play in front of is an essential toy for a young child. Maria Montessori considered a mirror to be an essential developmental aid for infants, babies, and toddlers.

From tummy-time antics to playing with toys in front of it and learning to walk, a mirror offers many developmental opportunities for the young child, including the eventual realization, “Hey, that baby is me!” A must-have! Find this toy for babies HERE!

4. Calmies Natural Teether and/or Banana Toothbrush:

CALMIES is an all-natural rubber infant teething toy made out of the sap from the Hevea tree, which smells like natural rubber. Natural rubber toys are safe, soothing, sustainable, and multi-sensory. The easy-to-grasp ball shape is a functional toy developed by a doctor to provide relief while teething.

This Banana Toothbrush is fun and ‘a-peel-ing’ to babies and children. It can gently massage little teeth and gums with soft silicone bristles, helping develop good oral hygiene habits early on. It has easy-to-grasp banana peel handles and is made of 100% flexible silicone to prevent mouth injuries. The perfect toy for teething babies! Let them chew and brush to their hearts’ content!

5. Egg Shakers and Wooden Musical Instrument Set:

Natural wooden egg shakers like THESE are fantastic baby toys. Music toys for babies made with natural materials, such as wood, can provide a rich sensory experience of both sound and touch for the developing infant. Another option is to create a DIY see-through rainstick for your baby to enjoy. Click on the link to learn how to make your own rainstick from recycled materials!

As your baby approaches toddlerhood, you can begin to introduce simple wooden musical instruments such as THESE. This set includes a tambourine, a castanet, a hand drum, two handbells, one maraca, one flute, one wooden block with a stick, one wood sounder with a rod, and one chime bar. This natural collection of wooden toy musical instruments is a fun, hands-on way to introduce babies and toddlers to music!

6. Soft Plush Rainbow Ball with Gentle Rattle:

This soft rainbow ball is the ideal gift for a newborn, as it offers a rich multisensory experience of textures, colors, and sounds. Organic toys like these are perfect for an infant’s first experiences with grasping, throwing, rolling, and catching! Playing with a ball with your infant can help your baby develop their grasp and begin to build hand-eye coordination. Get this soft and colorful rainbow ball with a rattle for baby HERE.

7. Organic Cotton Baby Plush Toys:

Organic teething plush toys are easy and safe for a baby to grasp, hold, and chew. There are many plush animals and toys available, but I recommend purchasing those made with organic cotton whenever possible. Remember, everything ends in a baby’s mouth. Make sure you feel safe knowing what your baby is playing with. Get a cute set of soft, organic plush toys for your baby, your newborn, that they will be sure to LOVE. Here is a cute plush rattle toy that your baby might enjoy.

8. Rainbow Chime Rattle:

Here’s a set of natural toys for babies made with wood and organic cotton for your child’s health and well-being. The textured, crocheted organic cotton yarn offers relief for teething gums, while the natural wood and rattles stimulate the baby’s sensory system and support movement, interactive, cognitive, and creative learning pathways for his or her overall development. Get an excellent set of organic and wooden baby rattles HERE.

9. Playsilks for Babies:

Silk is a natural fabric that provides a rich sensory experience for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Play silks are perfect for little hands to hold and early games of play peek-a-boo with parents and caregivers. My favorite play silks are made by Sarah’s Silks because they are made with 100% silk instead of polyester.

Alternatively, you can get miniature play silks for babies HERE. The available play silk colors are always changing and going in and out of stock. Poke around a bit and be patient while the color(s) you need return. Sarah’s Silks are the best because the natural fabric can help provide a sensory experience for the developing infant.

As children get older, play silks are an essential ingredient in their imaginative play. With play silks, children can create elaborate costumes, build forts, make landscapes and water features for boats and animals, provide blankets for baby dolls, and so much more. I think they are well worth the investment, and you probably will, too. You can also make yourself by cutting a section of fabric and sewing the edges to make small to medium silk squares or rectangles, two to four feet long.

10. Mini Bell Rolling Rattle:

A super cute little wooden roller with a bell that hits the wood as it rolls, creating a lovely sound. This rolling rattle with a bell can stimulate a baby’s vision, hearing, and hand-eye coordination. These natural, eco-friendly toys are fun to roll back and forth with a baby when they begin to sit. My daughter also loved to try to roll over or crawl after to go get it.

Get a cylindrical mini rolling rattle with a bell for baby HERE. Alternatively, you can get a stationary spinning drum rattle similar to the rolling rattle that stays in place for tummy time HERE.

11. Manhattan Toy Skwish Classic Rattle and Teether Grasping Activity Toy

Skwish is a perfect, eco-friendly, clutching toy for developing gross motor skills. The beads slide back and forth along the dowels when shaken, producing a very pleasing rattle and allowing the baby to explore sound and learn cause and effect. Get the colorful version of this interactive toy for baby HERE or the natural wooden version HERE.

12. Montessori Object Permanence Box:

This set consists of a box with two holes, a tray, and a white plastic ball, which is great for helping your child develop object permanence while playing with a ball. First, show your baby how to drop the little ball into the hole in the box.

The ball will then roll out of the box and into the attached tray, allowing your baby to experience object permanence and “see” that the ball did not “disappear” because it soon comes rolling back into view.

Using this wooden baby toy allows children to practice precise hand movements that develop hand, wrist, and finger control. These are known in Montessori education as “refined hand movements.” Get a Montessori Object Permanence Box HERE.

13. Wooden Stacking Rings:

This set of eco-friendly stacking rings is made of wood and includes graduated colored rings. Based on a classic design, this natural toy for babies and toddlers promotes a child’s understanding of color, shape, and size. I like THIS stacking ring set because of the added challenge of the top sphere. Stacking the rings is a challenge all its own, while the ball on top adds an even greater challenge to the developing child.

Babies first enjoy grasping, teething, and banging the wooden rings together to make music. Later, they spend endless amounts of time stacking them well into toddlerhood. Stackable baby toys like this set of wooden stacking rings are known to improve creative and logical thinking, as well as hand-eye coordination.

With repeated use, the child learns what it feels like to succeed when he achieves a goal on his own. When they discover how to put the ball on top, they feel even more accomplished and ready to take on bigger, better challenges.

14. Wooden Pop-Up Toys:

A pop-up toy with hardwood construction and spring-loaded action can provide hours of entertainment for a developing baby. The recommended age is 12 months and up, but our daughter enjoyed this wonderful toy as soon as she could sit.

This classic toy is ideal for developing hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and color recognition for babies. It is also a fabulous toy for pretend play for the older child. We have found that it can be used for many years before passing it down to the next generation.

You can choose to buy the classic version of this pop-up toy, a school bus, or a fire truck. We had all three of these classic toys, and they have always been among the most popular in our home childcare because they were constantly fought over by the toddlers in our care.

15. Wooden Blocks:

Here’s a set of wooden baby blocks that is soft, flexible, small enough for your infant to grab and stack, gentle on gums, large enough to prevent choking, and designed for safe touching, chewing, and exploration. Made with food-grade, BPA-, PVC-, and phthalate-free materials, these first blocks for babies are safe for little hands and mouths.

This Montessori-inspired early learning toy is designed to encourage stacking, balancing, color recognition, and animal awareness. Playing with this wooden toy for babies also helps develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination through simple, open-ended play.

A beautiful and practical gift for birthdays, baby showers, or everyday play, wooden block sets for babies are perfect for little hands and growing fingers. Wooden blocks are ideal for parents who value safety and natural, sustainable materials.

A few more building-block ideas, perfect for babies and older children, can be found in the best natural toddler and preschool toys. You can also make your own! Try any of these DIY Building Blocks for Kids.

16. Shape Sorting Cube:

In addition to color and shape recognition, this eco-friendly toy helps babies and toddlers develop hand-eye coordination and object permanence, learn matching skills, and begin developing problem-solving skills by discovering that the square fits in the square hole.

The small blocks included with this natural wooden shape sorting cube can also be used for beginning patterning activities or combined with the block sets listed above for open-ended play. Get this interactive wooden toy for babies filled with playful shapes HERE.

17. Hape Double Bubble:

Bead mazes like this wooden toy provide hours of simulated sensory exploration for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers — helping them improve their focus, hand-eye coordination, and thinking skills.

This colorful bead maze for babies will also introduce little ones to shape, colors, spatial thinking, problem-solving, and fine motor skills. And, best of all, four sturdy suction cups secure the solid wooden base to virtually any smooth surface. It’s a great size for travel, and we found it outstanding in restaurants! Get this award-winning natural wooden toy for babies by Hape HERE.

18. Wooden Baby Walker:

Pull-and-push toys are great for babies’ development as they transition from crawling to walking. They exercise the large muscles and help maintain an upright posture as infants learn to walk. When your child begins to walk, holding a push toy will give him/her something to guide him/her naturally into the habit of looking ahead, avoiding obstacles, and maneuvering.

Here’s an adjustable baby walker with a unique wooden push-walker design that lets you adjust height and speed. The cart lets babies put their plush animals and other toys into it to take with them, which is an activity all in itself. The selection and placement of toys takes time and energy and helps build strong minds and bodies.

The height can be adjusted in two stages: 45cm and 50cm, allowing you to select the appropriate height for the baby’s age. There is also a speed adjuster that prevents the baby from moving too fast and getting hurt. Most doctors and other experts recommend a walker with a deceleration function, which this one has, making it safer and easier for babies to learn to walk.

19. Walk-A-Long Puppy:

Once your child begins to walk, push-and-pull toys are a must-have. Developmentally, using a pull toy is more complicated than using a push toy. Because instead of just looking and moving forward, the toddler now has to hold her arm back and look back to make sure her toy is still there. Meanwhile, she’ll also be moving forward and looking for an exact route to cue even more brain development.

This wooden pull toy, like the other natural baby toys provided on this list, has the potential for many years of use, unlike other cheap plastic single-use toys that end up in the garbage bin before they ever make it to the toy chest. Toddlers will not only enjoy taking this friendly puppy for walks, but it will also eventually encourage imitative and imaginative play, as well as promote fantasy storytelling, role-playing, and creativity. Get this fantastic wooden pull toy for children from babies to preschoolers HERE.

20. Scoot Around Wooden Ride on Bike:

A four-wheel drive takes on a whole new meaning with this best-selling, foot-powered ride. Encourage lots of short rides to develop muscle strength and balance, and increase the wheel time and distance as your child gains more power and confidence.

This eco-friendly baby toy is perfect for older babies and toddlers who are beginning to test their mobility and develop active motor skills. We found it an easy transport toy for trips to the park, around the home, and more. Get this excellent natural toy that will grow with your baby HERE.

A few more of the best eco-friendly push, pull, and ride-on toy options for children can be found in this list of natural toddler toys.

The Best Natural Toys for Babies Make Great Baby Shower Gifts!

Choosing eco-friendly baby toys is a simple way to support both child development and a healthier planet. Toys made from natural, sustainable materials encourage babies to explore and engage with their world through meaningful play, giving parents peace of mind about what little hands touch and taste.

It can be challenging to find the ideal toys for your developing baby or the perfect gift for a newborn. Whether you are shopping for your own baby, creating a nature-inspired play space for your daycare, or searching for thoughtful gifts for a baby shower, eco-friendly toys made with natural materials offer timeless learning opportunities that grow with children. I hope you find this list of natural Waldorf and Montessori baby toys helpful in your search.

The best toys do not require batteries, screens, plastic, or endless noise to spark curiosity and imagination. The simplest toys are often the most beloved, because they leave room for creativity, movement, and discovery. Anyone who has ever witnessed children playing with boxes instead of their toys on Christmas morning or their birthday knows what I am talking about.

As your child grows, it is essential to buy quality toddler, preschool, and open-ended toys for pretend play that will continue to support their development naturally. Choosing durable, earth-friendly toys made from natural materials that nurture development can help families and child-care centers everywhere create playful childhood memories while reducing waste and caring for future generations. Visit the lists of eco-friendly kids’ toys below to see several more natural toy options for children of all ages.

Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author of Eco-Friendly Baby Toys That Boost Development Naturally HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!

More Natural Toys for Kids:

Click on the links for all of our favorite, most recommended toys for kids! You may also like our favorite parenting books for raising children from ages 0 to 5.

Natural baby toys for infants to toddlers

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