Wondering what to buy that new little one to promote fine motor and gross motor development? Here is a list of the top toys that Leslie Cordero, physical therapist, suggests to parents for 8-13 month-olds:

To practice walking behind a push toy, try the VTech Sit to Stand Learning Walker.  It is a great educational tool as well as push toy. 

To practice standing and cruising side to side, try the Leap Frog Activity Table.  It also allows the child to explore opening, pressing buttons and turning a page which are great fine motor activities.

Working on placing objects in a bucket or sorting shapes is a great skill for an 8-13 month old as well.  Leslie has two favorite shape sorters, including Fisher-Price Baby‚Äôs First Blocks and Melissa and Doug Shape Sorting Cube, as shown below.  For a younger child, it is nice to take the top off and have the child practice placing objects in or dumping them out.  Once the child is a little older, you can use the toy for shape sorting and learning shapes.

Crawling typically occurs between 8 and 13 months as well.  A great tool to encourage or completely master crawling is the Playhut 6 foot Play Tunnel.

Read more gift ideas here.

Occupational therapists and physical therapists at Child and Family Development always recommend products and activities to use at home. Happy Playtime!