Six Fun Toys You Can Make at Home

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Place your baby on his or her back and hold the tracking toy 8 to 10 inches from his or her face. Move the toy side to side, making sure your baby follows the toy with both eyes.

5 1/2 to 8 months

At 5 1/2 to 8 months, your child is learning to move and understand his or her world in different ways. Objects that make noise when hit or kicked encourage children to develop motor skills. At this time, hide-and-seek and peek-a-boo games help children problem-solve and understand object permanence, that just because he or she can’t see something, doesn’t mean it has disappeared forever. 

Kick the Can

• Empty can (preferably Pringles Potato Chip can)
• Jingle bells (2-3)
• Lanyard (2 pieces, 18 inches long)
• Hot glue gun
• Stickers
• Contact paper (bright color)
• Book tape or clear contact paper
• Hammer and thick nail

1. Punch a hole in each end of the can with a hammer and a nail.
2. String lanyard through each hole and tie a knot to secure.
3. Put two to three jingle bells inside the can.
4. Secure lid with hot glue gun.
5. Cover can with color contact paper and decorate with stickers.
6. Cover decorated can with clear contact paper or book tape to keep baby from picking stickers off.

Tie the can between two chair legs or across a crib. Place the baby underneath and show him or her how to raise his or her legs to kick at the can. Use this several times to a day to exercise the baby’s muscles, which will later be used for crawling and walking.

Peek-A-Boo Animal

• Animal Face paper plates made by Hefty (if you can’t find these, a big picture of an animal or a baby would work too)
• Paper towel tube
• Hot glue gun or duct tape

1. Attach animal face to tube using hot glue gun.

Play peek-a-boo with the toy by putting the animal face in front of yours and removing it. It’s also a good idea to say your baby’s name and sound excited to evoke a response to inflection and tone.

1 year

Though your child may not be walking yet, around one year you can start introducing the concept of pull toys. These can be basic — made from Pringles cans or plastic tennis ball containers — or more advanced, like these three wooden pull toys. You can also experiment by placing different materials inside the can to make noises when your child pulls the toy around the home. Just be sure to secure the toy and always have an adult present. These toys are meant to foster development and interaction, so the best results come when a parent or adult plays with the child, rather than watching them while attending to other things.

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