The 19 Best Activities for Six-Month-Old Baby (Not the Predictable Ones)

Playing with your toddler is a beautiful experience. Once you’ve learned how to entertain your six-month-old, the experience becomes a hobby you simply can’t get enough of.

But the challenge comes when you’re a new parent and don’t know what activities you can have with your six-month-old baby.

So, if you’re a mom or dad searching for activities for a six-month-old, you’re about to get a complete list.

Today, I will tell you about some of the best activities for six-month-olds that will entertain your baby and strengthen the skills they’re developing at this age. 

The paid and free activities I’ve put together in this list are those I used to have with my toddler when she was six months old.

The idea is not to bombard you with too many options that it almost becomes overwhelming for you to choose an activity for your six-month-old but to give you some valuable advice on how to entertain your six-month-old with or without toys.

I ensured that the things to do with your six-month-old on this list are safe and not tiring or messy because I know most parents have their jobs or businesses to look after.

Maintaining a loving and playful environment at home can be challenging right after you’ve come from work because that requires a lot more energy.

We’ve also got a list of 3 – 4 months old activities that follow the approach mentioned above, so be sure to check that out too.

So, without any further ado – let’s start by understanding the skill set your six-month-old is developing.

The Skills That Your Six-Month-Old Is Developing Right Now

Communication, emotional, social, cognitive, crawling, walking, and speaking skills are the ones that your little one is developing right now. To put it right, these skills are called developmental milestones that babies achieve as they grow. 

Pediatricians and parents tend to analyze the development of these skills to measure their baby’s progress.

But I would say that every baby has a different growth pattern, so not seeing any of the skills being developed in your baby at six-month-old isn’t a big deal.

But you should inform your pediatrician about any red flags you notice because a pediatrician’s advice is much more valuable and insightful than the information you find online.

Depending on the skills developed, you can streamline the six-month-old activities for your little baby.

So, here’s an in-depth overview of the skills that your baby may or may not have developed after crossing the half-year mark:

Emotional & Social Skills

• The baby recognizes familiar faces and strangers
• Starts smiling, laughing, and playing with their parent and grandparents
• Looks in the mirror a lot (my baby used to do this a lot)

Communication Skills

• Starts uttering different words that do or don’t make sense
• Babbling becomes common
• Recognize their name and respond to someone who takes it

Cognitive Skills

• Hitting objects with objects
• Banging on surfaces
• Passing objects to others

Motion Skills

• Learns to roll over or crawl
• Can sit without assistance
• May start jumping in excitement

Now let’s get onto the six-month-old activities that’ll enhance the skills mentioned above, let alone give rise to some new ones.

The 13 Activities for Your Six-Month-Old Baby (The Paid Ones)

1.  Chewable Books

Given that your baby is six months old, they’re obviously in their teething phase.

Babies become fussy and cranky during this time as their new teeth emerge. 

My daughter entered her teething phase when she was 5 months old.

It was a painful experience for her as the new teeth were coming out, so I got these seemingly indestructible chewable books to help her relieve herself.

Made from non-toxic material and having reusable properties, the rip-proof chewable books proved to be the best six-month-old activity for my daughter.

Along with rhymes and stories, the books comes with a durable and washable fabric. The books are also great for visuals and language development.

In addition, the beautiful pictorial representation of stories in these chewable books that were telling tales of mommies and their babies was mesmerizing for us as parents and my little baby.

2.  Playful Play Mats for six-month-old baby

This is one of the most essential six-month baby activities as it helps your little one to improve their muscles and navigation skills and learn to crawl efficiently.

The compact size of the play mat makes it highly portable. You can take it to the beach, park or anywhere you want.

With plenty of space to play, thicker cushions that protect your baby’s knees, a fence that provides 360° visibility and countless other safety features makes this playful mat a perfect way to let your baby play in a safe and secure environment.

The mat’s texture is fun and engaging for six months old babies. The material is soft and comfortable and will allow your infant to roll around easily, eliminating the risk of an injury.

My personal opinion would be to get this instead of letting your baby develop motor skills on a hard surface.

I bought it for my daughter when she was six-month-old, and we used to play with her on the mat, and it quickly became her favorite.

The material of the playful mat is non-toxic, BPA-free and there are no gaps in between. But there was one concern that I came across while using this product.

The plastic connectors that are used to hold the metal bars together aren’t strong enough, leading to several buyers replacing this product.

Plus, once your baby starts pulling the net to stand up, the whole fence starts to make a cranking noise, so these are some concerns that I wanted you to be aware of before you buy this product.

3.  Multipurpose Stacking Rings/Toys

Another motor skill-developing activity for your six-month-old is the colorful and textured stacking rings.

Also known as a sensory toy, your little one can use these rings for different purposes, i.e., chewing, playing, or building something.

You can easily entertain your six-month-old by placing the rings on top of each other or by letting them hold them all by themselves and see what they’ll do with them.

Playing peek-a-boo with them by using the bigger rings to hide your face is another activity you can teach your six-month-old.

Moreover, the rings enhance hand-eye coordination, spark curiosity in your six-month-old, and help them learn by experiencing nature-inspired lightweight rings.

4.  Refreshing Bubble Bath for Babies

A gentle, comfy, nourishing, and calming bath is just the activity your six-month-old babies need to regain their refreshing look.

Bubble bath activity just takes the whole maintaining a healthy and loving environment to a different level.

Choose the best baby bubble bath products to ensure a great bubble bath experience. I’ve got a comprehensive list here on BabiesRead that you can read to choose the best for your six-month-old.

Bubble bath products with amazing fragrances and ingredients created especially for infants will do wonders for your six-month-old baby’s skin.

Just make sure you choose the one that won’t hurt your baby’s eyes or cause rough skin or irritation.

Also, add some of the best hair care products for your baby, and voila, you’ve got silky, aromatic, and smooth hair right after you’re done having a refreshing bubble bath with your baby.

5.  Bathing Toys For Your Six-Month Old

What will add even more fun and excitement during the bubble bath activity with your six-month-old?

That’s right, bath toys!

Floatable bath toys are super fun to play with, and I’m pretty sure your baby will love them once they’re dropped in the bathtub.

Instantly the toy will garner your baby’s attention, and he or she will pick it up and start interacting with it.

This will improve your baby’s grip, and since the bath toy that I’m directing you towards is BPA or Phthalate free, you’ll get a piece of mind that there’s no need to worry even if your little captain is chewing on them but make sure your baby doesn’t swallow the bubbling water. 

6.  The Super-Fun Portable Activity Center

Do you know what will entertain your six months old even more?

An entire activity center filled washable toys will surely catch your six-month-old baby’s attention. This is a literally a hub of activities for your six-month-old.

This activity for a six-month-old will keep your toddler engaged for an extensive period and it is super portable which means you can use it indoor and outdoor.

For outdoor specifically, the activity center comes with a removable canopy that provides shade to your six month old baby from the harmful UV-rays. And then using it outdoor provides an advantage which is enabling your toddler to experience nature in a safe and secure way.

Speaking of nature, the lightweight and portable nature of the activity center just adds more appeal to the toy.

With features like height adjustment, innovative pop and fold design, and engaging art printed all over and canopy to keep sunlight from touching the gentle skin of your six-month-old, the portable activity center becomes the perfect activity for parents and babies to enjoy together.

7.  Teether Toys For Teething Activity

Developmental teether toys are classic and one of my daughter’s favorites.

There are pretty good reasons why she linked them so much.

For starters, teether toys were BPA-free, and their complex design caught my daughter’s curiosity. It’s the rattling, colors and softness of the toy that does all the magic.

Next, since six-month-old babies are in their teething phase, a teething toy acts as their best friend as it helps them to lessen the pain or irritation that they’re experiencing.

So, the next time you think of playing with your six-month-old, get this lightweight and colorful toy. For added relief, you can put the toy in the freezer.

Lastly, teething toys also improve two-hand coordination, another plus point and a reason to have this activity with your six-month-old.

8.  Musical Instruments for Six-Months-Old

Who doesn’t love music? I mean, amid all of the activities for six-month-old’s mentioned on this list, I think this one goes for babies and parents.

Therefore, this activity for a six-month-old will surely give your baby tons of entertainment and all that when they’re just six-month-old. As they grow up and reach the one year old mark, they’ll be even more fascinated with what they can do with the musical toy above.

Because a six-month-old baby loves to make noise or bang on the surface with an object, giving them a plastic musical instrument like a xylophone, piano, drum, or maraca to bang on or maybe getting a toy like in the image above would surely do much more than simply entertain the six-month-old.

Moreover, the toy I’ve just shown you have a motorized bouncing feature. As babies play with it, they quickly adapt to what the entertaining musical toy is doing.

Also, there are 75+ songs, sounds and phrases the beauty of which is enhanced with multi-color lights and bouncing action that the toy performs.

In short, you’ll see your baby curious for a while and then smiling or looking to grab the toy after some time.

9.  Toddler Convertible Activity Center

Infants can really create a mess with their toys, but what if toys were attached to a place – that would solve the cluttering problem, right?

So, one of the best ways to keep your six-month-old busy while keeping the house clean is by getting one of these fantastic convertible activity centers.

Let it be tummy time, sitting, spinning, or standing and exploring the environment or seeing what mommy or daddy are doing, the Fisher Price 3-in-1 Sit-to-Stand Activity Center offers all activities to your six-month-old baby that they can enjoy.

Not only do the activity centers provide a steep learning curve, but tons of different toys are attached to the activity center that keeps your six-month-old busy.

It can be stored easily, has got height adjustment feature, and is an overall great activity that improves agility, entertains your six-month-old, and keeps them busy.

10.     100 Words Padded Board Book

The 100 words padded book is an activity for your six-month-old baby that combines learning with visuals and helps your baby develop verbal and image identification skills.

The book is a great way to entertain your six-month-old. It has bright colors and intuitive art. The material is super durable and soft, so your six-month-old can easily hold it.

11.     Music Cube/Ball

Entertaining or playing with your six-month-old will become super easy once you have this music cube.

When I first got it for my daughter, she immediately started hitting it, pressing buttons, and enjoying the music coming out of it, so for me – it was a pretty great addition to my daughter’s toys collection.

Furthermore, there are different options in the cube, like Orchestra, which plays all the musical instruments in a rhythmic tone, the cube has flashy lights, and there are pushy buttons too.

12.     Inflatable Shaded Baby Pool For Summers

Summers can be a little too hot for your toddler. Having activities indoors may tire them up, let alone having activities out in the open underneath the hot sun.

So, to protect your little ones from sunlight and help them beat the heat, you only need a shaded baby pool like the one I’ve shown you above.

The shade is removable so you can always remove it if your baby’s having bath time in the evening or when there’s low sunlight outside.

With high-quality material, a soft and safety-focused shelter, and a padded bottom, this shaded baby pool is a great way to let your baby enjoy the outdoors and indoors in the water without worrying about protecting their delicate skin from sunlight.

But do keep in mind that you have to be there all the time while your baby is having this six-month-old activity to take care of them.

13.     Floor Mirror Activity for Your Six-Month-Old

Self-discovery is yet another skill that babies develop after reaching the six-month mark. To improve this skill, you just need to add a ‘Floor Mirror.’

Simply placing the floor mirror in front of them during their tummy time will improve their focus, enhance self-discovery, help them recognize themselves, see what they can do, and much more.

The colorful fabric and design of the product also seem to attract your little one and keep them busy for a while – till then, you can do something else – maybe even plan another activity for your six-month-old.

Moreover, the rich colors, interaction activity for your six-month-old, flippable pages and a mirror that is safe makes this the perfect low-budget activity toy that you can get for your six-month-old.

14.     Rattle & Teether Activity Toy

Like the teething toy mentioned above, the Rattle and Teether activity toy has a colorful built that sparks curiosity.

The curiosity quickly converts into actions as the baby starts grasping and reaching for the Rattle and Teether toy. This activity enhances motor skills.

In addition, the baby can chew the toy in their teething phase, and no matter what happens to it, it always returns back to its original form.

The toy makes a pretty pleasant sound for the rattling part while the toddler shakes it or plays with it.

It is also safe for newborns or toddlers to chew on the toy because the material used to build the toy is lead-free.

The smooth texture, water-based acrylics, and overall build quality of the product are great.

Hence, it is one of the best six-month-old activities that your little one can engage with.

15.     Building & Teething Blocks

Another awesome thing to do with a six-month-oldis to give them these soft, durable, and development-centric building blocks for playing and teething.

You’re probably thinking, “Will a six-month-old even play with these blocks or bite them for relief?”

And the answer is, Yes! That’s precisely what they’ll plan to do once they see these blocks – let me explain why.

The reflexes of your toddler in the first eight weeks are involuntary, which means your baby has no control over them, but when he or she is around five or six months old, the reflexes are no longer involuntary.

This means they can intentionally perform various actions, let alone hold things. And this is why getting your baby these chewable building blocks is a great idea to entertain them all while enhancing their motor skills.

With the paid activities for six months old out of the way – let’s get down to the free activities for six-month-old.

The Top 4 Six-Month-Old Activities (The Free Ones)

1.  Splash Activity for Six-Month-Old

Items Required: Bathtub

Skills Improved: Motor and Muscle Strength

What you’re going to do

• Get your six-month-old baby in the bathtub and drop some toys in the tub.
• Let them guide their hand toward the toys and let them splash while doing so.
• Continue dropping a set of toys, and your baby will learn how to hold the toy, splash, and enjoy.

Note: Six-month-old babies need a little support while sitting; therefore, once they’re in the tub, you’ll need to provide support to ensure they don’t slide.

In addition, babies love playing in the water, and this activity would also improve their lower back muscles and strengthen their balancing capabilities.

2.  Dance-to-the-rhythm Activity

What you need: You & Your Baby

Skills Improved: Creativity, Social Bonding and Motor

What you’re going to do

• Six-month-old baby is mature enough to understand colors, music, and nursery rhymes, so all you need to do is add dance to the equation.
• Make your baby sit on your lap while you’re lying down.
• Start singing nursery rhymes or playing them on your speakers, and start moving your hands according to the rhythm. 
• Gently grab your baby’s hand and start moving it to the rhythm so that he or she can grasp what exactly is going on.

See the list of the best nursery rhymes for babies here .

3.  Peek-a-boo with A Blanket

Items Required: Blanket, Towel, Bedsheet

Skill Improved: Object Permanence. (Most infants develop this concept when they’re not more than 6 months old)

What you’re going to do

• Make the little guy or girl sit. Place a cushion behind the baby to provide back support.
• Hold any one of the items mentioned above and cover your head.
• Once covered, grab the baby’s attention by saying, “Where’s mama” or “Where’s daddy.”
• Once you’ve got their full attention – pull down the blanket or bed sheet and say, “Peek-a-boo!”
• Suppose you’re doing it for the first time. In that case, you can expect your baby to look slightly surprised, but repeating the action will help your baby understand the game, and your house will be full of chuckles.

4.  Bubble Activity

What you need: Bubblemaker and your partner

Skills Improved: Motor, Eyesight, and Sensory

What you’re going to do

• Blow bubbles with the bubble maker while your baby is watching.
• Sit with your little one and get him or her to see the bubbles in the air.
• Grab the baby’s hand and make it pop the bubble.
• Blow a few bubbles within your baby’s line of sight – intentionally letting him track it until it bursts.

Over To You

I know you may have heard a few of the six-month-old baby activities before, but the point of sharing them, along with other valuable information, is that these activities enhance your toddler’s skill development.

You can entertain your six-month-old, play with them, make them laugh, and try to streamline the activities that engage your toddler the most.

Once you know what makes your toddler super duper happy, it’s a simple process of eating, having the activity for six months, and repeating. 

Let me know what you think of the paid and free activities for six months old mentioned in this blog.

And if there are any that I missed, send them to me here, [2] and I’ll happily include them in this list.

FAQs

1.   How to entertain my six-month-old baby?

Several interactive games and skill-enhancing activities for six months old, including peekaboo, tummy time, bubble blowing, dancing, and listening to nursery rhymes, will entertain your six-month-old and boost their skill development.

2.   What do six-month-old babies play with?

Babies love toys that make a rattling sound, nursery poems, teething activities, and musical instruments.

Six-month-old babies are developing grabbing skills and identifying the environment around them, so enhancing their experience with the abovementioned activities is always better.

3.   Is exercising a good activity for my six-month-old baby?

Incorporating healthy exercise in your activity for the 3-month-old schedule is an excellent move but do concern your pediatrician before planning a workout activity for your six-month-old.

Moreover, activities for six-month-old in this list will help your baby learn how to move, walk, talk, improve hand-eye coordination, and more.