Eco-Friendly Baby Toys that Boost Development Naturally

When I was pregnant I was overwhelmed by the massive abundance of toys for babies to choose from. Even though I had worked as a nanny for many years, I struggled with choosing the best eco-friendly baby toys to benefit my child’s development in all areas.

I love toys that are inspired by Waldorf and Montessori education. Although they differ in their educational philosophies, they both believe that there is nothing better for a baby’s development than toys made from natural materials.

While not every toy on this list is perfectly natural, I didn’t want to leave out toys that stimulate development in areas in line with Montessori education, such as the mobile and child-safe mirror.

I hope this list of eco-friendly baby toys for infants to 18 months old will provide assistance in choosing high quality developmentally appropriate toys that your baby will love.

If you are looking for eco-friendly toddler toys and eco-friendly preschool toys click on the links!

 

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Eco-Friendly Baby Toys that Boost Development Naturally

Related: 7 Teething Tips to Naturally Soothe your Baby

22 Eco-Friendly Baby Toys

This list of educational eco-friendly baby toys is for children from infants to toddlers. Each toy provides a stimulating environment for the developing child.

1.  Photo Mobile

Mobiles are the Montessori go-to item for baby’s visual development in infancy. First, hang black and white photos (or cards sold separately) and later in baby’s development you can add color. You can also hang pom-pom’s, small handmade crafts, or anything else that this mobile can support. There are small parts so make sure baby can’t actually get a hold of it–it’s for eyes to enjoy not hands

2. Wooden Baby Play Gym

The perfect gift for a baby boy or girl! This wooden play gym is easy to assemble and fold away for storing or transportation. It has a basic A-frame construction with a fixing rope which ensures STABILITY while a baby is playing and can fold flat and stored when not in use. Free of chemicals and 100% safe for baby.

Use it with a REAL sheepskin rug to help baby’s developing sensory system!

Wooden Play Gym with Hanging Sets

• Play gym with 5 toys (Flamingo, Panda, Pineapple, Watermelon, Wooden teether.)
• Woodland baby play gym with 6 toys. (Bear and bees, Mountain, Star, Wooden teether.)

Separate Play Gym Hanging Sets:

• Set of 5 Hanging fruits
• Gym ball beach baby teething beads
• Make your own with this DIY wooden accessory set!

3.  12″ X 24″ Acrylic Mirror Sheet

A child-safe unbreakable acrylic mirror with mylar backing to hang on a wall low enough for baby to stare into and play. Maria Montessori considered a mirror to be one of the most important items to have in a home with a baby. From tummy time antics to playing with toys in front of it and learning to walk, a mirror has many developmental opportunities for the young child, including the eventual realization, “Hey, that baby is me!” Amust-havee!

4. Calmies Natural Teether and/or Banana Toothbrush

CALMIES is an all natural rubber infant teething toy made out of the sap that comes from the hevea tree which smells like natural rubber. Safe, soothing, sustainable, & multi sensory. Easy to grasp ball shape is a functional toy and developed by a doctor to provide relief while teething.

Banana Toothbrush – This ‘a-peel-ing’ toothbrush gently massages little teeth and gums with soft silicone bristles, which helps develop good oral hygiene habits early. It has easy-to-grasp banana peel handles and is made of 100% flexible silicone to prevent mouth injuries.

5.  Green Tones / Sparrow Shaker

This beautiful toy has vegetable pellets in it that makes it sound like a rain stick. A perfectly sized animal shaker for little hands to grasp and shake that provides a rich sensory experience for a baby of both sound and touch.

There are many other cute animal shapes available–baby bear, dog, dolphin, elephant, llama, polar bear, porcupine, ram, rhino, swallow, whale or get a set of 10 animal shakers or the endangered animals set. Click through to see them all!

You can also make your own see-through rainstick for baby to enjoy. Click on the link to learn how to make your own!

6.  Infant Development Toys Gift Bundle – Black, White & Red

Developmentally this set provides a treasure trove of benefits. This set contains four Black, White & Red, Infant Developmental Toys to Stimulate visual activity, and early motor skills. A double-sided infant crib mirror, sounds & textures soft blocks, double-sided book & bumper panel, and baby’s first photo album. 

7.  Soft Organic Rainbow Ball with Gentle Rattle – stripey duck egg blue

This ball provides a rich multi-sensory experience for baby with the textures, colors, and sounds. Playing with them helps baby develop grasp and hand-eye coordination.

8.  Organic Cotton Baby Plush Toys

These cute little teething plush toys are easy for baby to grasp, hold and chew. There are many other plush animals and toys available. Click through to see the other options!

9. Rainbow Chime Rattle

Made with formaldehyde-free, organic cotton with azo-free dyes for your child’s health and well-being. It is soft, flexible, and easy for baby to hold and shake to make a playful rattle sound. The textured, crocheted organic cotton yarn offers relief on teething gums. This Chime Rattle stimulates baby’s sensory, movement, interactive, cognitive, and creative learning pathways for early, whole development.

10. Mini-Playsilks

Silk is a natural fabric that provides a rich sensory experience for wee ones. This set includes pink, purple, blue, red, green and yellow play scarves with cute storage bag for easy cleanup. They are perfect for little hands to hold and play peek-a-boo. 

When children get older play silks are a basic ingredient for children’s imaginative play. They can be used to create elaborate costumes, build forts, create landscapes and water for boats and animals, blankets for babies, and much much more.

11. PlanToys Roller

A super cute little wooden roller that contains a wooden ball that hits the panels as it rolls and creates a lovely sound. It stimulates vision, hearing, and hand-eye coordination. It’s fun to roll back and forth with a baby when they begin to sit. My baby also loved to try to roll over or crawl after to go get it.

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

Skwish is a perfect 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 baby to explore sound and learn cause and effect.

 13.  All Natural Wooden Baby Development and Discovery Set 

A wonderful set that includes Montessori style infant toy bag, organic wood toys, sensory, teething & grasping ring, rattle, peg family, and organic wood polish. These toys will help your child develop grasping, spatial reasoning, puzzle solving, and discovery learning skills.

14.  Kid Advance Montessori Object Permanence Box w/ Tray

The set consists of a box with two holes, a tray, and a white plastic ball great for helping your child develop object permanence while having fun. Using it allows baby to practice precise hand movements that develop hand, wrist and finger control–known in Montessori education as “refined hand movements.”

15.  Wonderworld New Stacking Rings

These Stacking Rings are made of wood and include graduated brightly colored rings.  It is based on a classic design that promotes a child’s understanding of color, shape, and size. I like this set because of the added challenge of the sphere on top.

Baby’s first love to grasp and bang these together to make music. Later they spend endless amounts of time stacking them. With repeated use, the child learns how it feels to succeed when he has achieved a goal on his own.

16.  The Original Toy Company Pop-Up School Bus

A pop-up toy that features hardwood construction and spring-loaded action that will provide hours of entertainment. The recommended age is 12 months and up but our daughter enjoyed this beginning at 6 months when she began sitting.

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

You can also choose the classic version of this pop-up toy, or a fire truck if you prefer. We had all three and they were the most popular toys in our home childcare! 

17.  Baby’s First Blocks & Discovery Blocks

These block sets are perfect for little one’s. Baby’s first blocks are wooden multi-colored blocks with 12 blocks in 6 different colors. They are small enough for your infant to grab and stack, but large enough to prevent choking.

There are six blocks with added surprises in the discovery blocks to engage your child’s mind and keep them entertained. Each block features a hidden surprise: a rattle, push button, mirror, rotating ball, colored plexiglass, and a kaleidoscope.

Together these two block sets provide lots of stimulation for the developing baby. They can help your child develop grasp, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, color recognition, and develop the sensory system the ability to stack. 

18.  Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube

In addition to color and shape recognition, this toy helps toddlers develop hand-eye coordination, object permanence, learn matching skills, and begin to develop problem-solving by discovering that the square shape fits in the square hole. The small blocks can also be used for beginning patterning activities and can be combined with the block sets above for open-ended play.

19.  Hape Double Bubble

Bead mazes bring hours of simulated sensory exploration for babies, toddlers and preschoolers improving their focus, eye-hand coordination, and thinking skills. This colorful bead maze for babies will introduce little ones to shape, colors, spacious thinking, problem-solving, and improve fine motor skills.

Four sturdy suction cups secure the solid wooden base to virtually any smooth surface. A great size for travel–we found it wonderful in restaurants!

20.  Plan Toys Van Walker, Yellow

Push toys are great for baby’s development as they go from crawling to walking. They exercise the large muscles and assist in maintaining an upright posture while learning to walk. When your child begins to walk, holding a push toy will give him/her something to guide and lead her naturally into the habit of looking ahead, avoiding obstacles, and maneuvering.

21.  Hape – 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. Instead of just looking and moving forward, your child 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 a clear route.

This toy, like most of the others I have provided here, also has the potential for many years of use unlike much of the competition. Toddlers will not only enjoy taking this friendly puppy for walks–it will also eventually encourage imitative and imaginary play, and promote fantasy story telling, role-playing, and creativity.

22. 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. Perfect for kids beginning to test their mobility and develop active motor skills, and is an easy transport toy for trips to the park, around the home, and more.

It can be hard to find the perfect toys for your developing baby. I hope you find this list of Waldorf and Montessori educational eco-friendly baby toys helpful in your search. For eco-friendly toddler toys and eco-friendly preschool toys click on the links!

 If you liked wooden eco-friendly baby toys you may also like:

• 7 Teething Tips to Naturally Soothe Your Baby
• 20 Eco-Friendly Toys for Toddlers
• 50+ Eco-Friendly Toys for Preschoolers
• 15 Open-Ended Toys for Pretend Play
• The Best Art Supplies for Kids