9 Best Montessori Toys For 3 Month Olds

montessori toys for 3 month olds

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These are the 9 best Montessori toys for 3 month olds that will nurture their overall development.

I know that sometimes we just want to get the cutest toys for our babies. But the truth is that you do not need to overstimulate your newborn with a load of toys. 

Instead, provide them with developmentally appropriate materials that will stimulate their senses.

When you look for Montessori toys for your 3-month-old, consider things like high-contrast flash cards and books, Montessori mobiles, baby mirrors, crinkle paper, and sensory balls.

These toys accelerated my daughter’s growth (in a good way) and she exceeded her developmental milestones.

What are the best Montessori toys for 3 month olds?

At this age, your baby does not need battery-operated toys with lots of lights and loud noises because these toys only overstimulate them.

The following are just some Montessori toys that can help improve your child’s development and stimulate their senses.

Image: Lovevery

1. Play Gym

Overall best toy for newborns to 12 months old.

This is by far our favorite activity gym that grows with your child and offers different activities for each stage of development. 

It has a wooden frame with detachable learning activities like a mirror, a teether, a crinkle toy, and a set of high-contrast cards. 

It also has a removable canopy that can be adjusted to create different sensory experiences. 

We love the Lovevery Play Gym because it helps your baby develop their vision, motor skills, cognitive abilities, and self-awareness all in one place.

The high-contrast cards stimulate your baby’s visual development because they can see the patterns and shapes more clearly than colors at this age.

The mirror helps your baby develop their self-recognition, facial expressions, and social skills because they can see their own reflection.

The crinkle toy helps your baby develop their tactile, auditory, and visual skills, as they can feel the texture, hear the sound, and see the colors of the toy.

The Play Gym also comes with a parents guide so you use it effectively for at least the first 12 months of life.

Image: Latinx Montessori

2. Black and white cards

Black and white cards help with sight and visual tracking.

I designed these simple high-contrast cards to show to your baby or hang near their crib or play area. 

Newborns can only see black and white and shades of gray so providing them with high-contrast cards will help your baby focus their attention and stimulate their visual development.

They also help your baby develop their visual acuity, which is the ability to see details and distinguish objects.

Another great benefit is that your baby will develop their visual tracking and visual discrimination so they learn to track objects and recognize different images.

Image: GrowGo Kids

3. Baby acrylic mirror

Great tool for tummy time and to practice walking.

A baby mirror is a must-have item to help your newborn strengthen their core and neck muscles. 

It is a safe and shatterproof mirror that you can place on the floor for tummy time or prop up for walking practice. We used these command strips to attach the mirror to the wall.

The mirror helps your baby develop their self-recognition, facial expressions, and social skills when they can see their reflection and interact with it.

We also added a pull-up bar so our daughter could practice standing and walking on her own. This is one of the reasons she walked independently at only 9 months!

Image: Montessori and Me

4. Spinning drum

This Montessori toy improves hand-eye coordination and cause and effect.

The spinning drum is a wooden drum that rotates when your baby pushes or pulls it. 

It helps your baby develop their hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and cause-and-effect understanding because they see the drum move and hear the sounds it makes.

From experience, your baby will naturally gravitate towards the spinning drum because they are attracted to the sounds and different colors as it spins.

It will help your baby improve their fine and gross motor skills as they spin it or crawl towards it.

Image: My Monte Home

5. Wooden rattles

Great toy to develop grasping and auditory skills.

As simple as they may seem, wooden rattles offer tremendous benefits for newborns. 

Your baby is going to improve their grasping, reaching, and auditory skills as they shake the rattles.

They will also feel the texture and weight of the rattle which offers a great sensory experience.

Your baby will also learn how to reach for the rattle and grasp it which will help them learn cause and effect and recognize different sounds.

Image: My Monte Home

6. Wooden mobile

This toy improves concentration and spatial awareness.

A great Lovevery Play Gym alternative is this wooden mobile. We like its simplicity and if you don’t need everything that Play Gym has, then this is a great learning tool to provide to your baby.

It comes with various figures that move with the breeze or your baby’s touch. 

It helps your baby develop their visual tracking, concentration, and spatial awareness as they watch the mobile move and follow its motion.

And as your baby watches the mobiles move, they will improve their focus and concentration which is important in the later years.

Image: Amazon

7. Crinkle paper

Develops tactile and auditory skills.

Babies are fascinated by sounds. This soft and colorful fabric makes a crinkly sound when your baby touches it. 

It helps your baby develop their tactile, auditory, and visual skills, as they can feel the texture and hear the sound of the paper.

Your baby will respond to sounds and textures when they play with the crinkle paper. This helps them improve their tactile and auditory senses.

You can start by providing two crinkle papers and then adding more of various textures so your baby continues to improve their auditory skills.

Image: Amazon

8. Sensory balls

Develop fine and gross motor skills and cognitive skills.

This is another of our favorite toys we provided our daughter.

These balls come in different sizes, shapes, colors, and textures that your baby can squeeze, roll, toss, or bounce. 

They help your baby develop their sensory, motor, and cognitive skills, as they can explore the different properties and functions of the balls.

Image: Amazon

9. High contrast books

Develop visual and language skills.

Similar to high-contrast black-and-white cards, these books have simple and bold illustrations in black and white that you can read to your baby or let them flip through. 

They help your baby develop their language, literacy, and visual skills, as they listen to the words and stories and see the images.

Should a 3-month-old be interested in toys?

Yes but as I mentioned earlier, it is about providing the right developmental toys. 

Your 3-month-old baby may start to show interest in toys but make sure that the toys you provide stimulate their senses. 

This is why I only listed Montessori toys that have a purpose and nurture your baby’s development.

At what age can you start Montessori toys?

You can give your baby Montessori toys as soon as they are born. Montessori toys can be used from birth to support your baby’s development. 

But again, and I can’t stress this enough, make sure to choose toys that are appropriate for your baby’s developmental stage and interests.

Are Montessori toys good for babies?

Yes, we only had Montessori toys because they provided a rich and stimulating environment that helped our daughter learn and grow. 

In general, Montessori toys can promote concentration, creativity, problem-solving, and self-confidence in your baby, and this is why I highly recommend them.

What to do next?

This is my list of the best Montessori toys for 3 month olds. I share this list with you because I’ve seen how these toys helped my daughter’s development.

I also have an extensive list of Montessori toys for various ages so make sure to check it out because it will complement your child’s play routine.

About Leslie - Latinx Montessori

Hello, I am Leslie. I am on a mission to help you support the growth and development of your child. With the right tools and proper guidance, you can navigate parenthood with confidence and assertion! My goal is to equip you with knowledge to help you construct a strong foundation for your child’s life.

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