Watch out, world, baby's on the move! When your little one starts to pull themselves up to walk around, having toys that encourage them to do so can be an engaging, lively way to introduce them to moving those chubby little stems. For years, the standard walking toy — the walker — was thought to be your only option. But since those have proven to be an unsafe and unwise choice, parents are left to wonder which walking toys are best and which are actually safe?
What to Consider
First and foremost, make sure that your child is in a secure area when they're using their walking toys. In other words, make sure they're not near stairs, pets, or the stove when using these toys. And as already mentioned, sit-in walkers with wheels are a recipe for disaster. In fact, they should never be employed, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
You want a walking toy that does not elevate your child near anything they could pull down on themselves, one that encourages movement but doesn’t put them at risk for falls, and ideally, one that has safeties built-in to keep them protected, like a parent’s involvement, or slow-moving parts. Thankfully, there are a ton on the market, and we found several walking toys that aren’t just fun — they’re functional too!
This wildly popular learning walking toy will bring hours of entertainment along wherever your baby goes. The activity center on the front of the toy includes piano keys, a telephone, shape sorters, light-up buttons, sing-along songs, and more. It's available in blue, lavender, orange, or pink.
We sifted through plenty of the 11,000 raving reviews, and it looks like this gadget truly doubles as a fully immersive entertainment toy. It's like buying two products in one.
This push toy by Melissa & Doug features three chomping, wooden alligators that snap with every step! The gentle clacking noise the toy makes as it moves will keep your baby motivated to keep strolling forward. The wheels are slow-moving and require a lot of effort, so your little one isn't going to be winning any races.
3
Best Jumper
Jolly Jumper — The Original Baby Exerciser with Stand
Our executive director, Christine Anderson, said her son went absolutely bananas for this toy. She wrote, “Babies are exhausting. If you need 10 to 15 minutes of hands-free time and your baby needs to get some wiggles out, we highly recommend the Jolly Jumper. We took it on vacation and hung it from a bathroom doorway. We took it camping and hung it over a tree limb. I’m dreading the day we have to pack it away! On that note, you should retire your Jolly Jumper when baby starts to walk.”
Sold.
4
Great Design
Bright Starts Giggling Gourmet 4-in-1 Shop ’n Cook Walker
This super cute baby-walking toy includes quirky features, like freshly popped popcorn. Every time the walker is in motion, your baby will get a kick out of the crackling popcorn that looks like it's popping right off of the cob. Lock the cart legs in place to turn it into a stationary activity center. Kids tend to just roll this one back and forth to get the popcorn popping, which helps them stand and position without encouraging them to take off.
This baby-walking toy has hundreds of positive reviews, and reviewers like that it can grow with your baby, which means if you have a babe who is brand-new at walking, she'll get plenty of use out of it until she's a seasoned walker.
Your little baby shark will feel encouraged to hop up and start walking with this interactive activity toy. When your baby starts to push the baby shark, the lights and tunes will be activated and when they stop, so do the jams. It's basically a baby party on wheels, so your little one will feel encouraged to get moving and grooving.
These wheels don't provide a ton of traction, so they aren't the easiest to get going — but that's actually a good thing.
This smooth-rolling shopping cart is the perfect walking toy for little ones who are starting to get the hang of strutting around. With thousands of positive reviews across the web, this sturdy toy is perfect for tots through the early childhood years.
And see those little legs by the wheels? They slow down your tot.
This baby-walking toy has built-in obstacles in the form of blocks, which means there's a great chance that your kid will build a wall of blocks just to ram through it. It's really teaching them so much, right?
Plus, storage is a part of the toy. Will they end up just being tossed in a pile on the adorable baby fox? Of course. It's a win all around.
Your child will truly believe they're going places with this walking toy. The walking equivalent of a fake iPhone, this spinning activity center allows your child a great amount of movement while also providing them with plenty to do.
My neighbor has this very toy on their porch, and I can tell you that the joy that this brings to their almost-toddler is a thing to behold. It's just so much fun to watch him play with the keyboard, chew on the leaves, and spin around all evening.
Who gave this walking toy the right to be so chic? Just look at her — she's a stunner with that black, white, and natural wood color scheme. It looks like someone opened up a Scandinavian toy company with a crew of fancy designers just to make this activity center.
Plus, the little bouncing balls in the front? They are the same sort of action as the popcorn toy. Back-and-forth motion works best with this baby-walking toy, and kids love it.
Cat BowenParenting EditorCat Bowen is the parenting editor at BestProducts.com where she researches all of the best products for families from pre-conception through their teen years, focusing on matching scientific evidence with real-life needs.
Latifah MilesParenting EditorLatifah is the former parenting editor at BestProducts.com where she spent her time researching and testing the latest, greatest, and coolest products created to make parenting a breeze; her work has been featured on Cosmopolitan, Romper, and Elite Daily.
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