The best toddler toys help your child to develop. Mobility and new motor skills take to the fore, as well as the beginning of pretend play. I like to focus on kid-powered toys where possible for this age group. Though kids are drawn to flashing lights and toys with battery powered beeps and buzzers, parents often find these gimmicky and annoying. Only one toy on this list has batteries and it is a real stand-out.
Toddler Toys
Hape Pixel Piano ($44.99) Part musical instrument, part video game, kids and parents alike were mesmerized by this new take on the toy piano. The color keys trigger action on the chunky pixel display. At the simplest level pressing a color key will light up a color on the display. But there are other play-modes that show animal faces, or another that guides kids to play a song by showing the colored-keys to press. Lots of great design choices make this a winner: from its pleasant sound, the inviting wood veneered top, the volume control on the side, the magical display and the way it is integrated into developmentally appropriate play patterns, all distinguish this top pick.
Does tech improve the centuries-old toy piano? Keep in mind Mozart not only played piano but wrote his first pieces of music when he was just five, and as far as I know, he did not have an electric piano. This keyboard does omit the traditional black and white keyboard layout, so that early introduction to the gestalt of twelve-tone music making will have to be gleaned elsewhere; that type of music education is not the focus of this toy, which encourages exploration, learning about cause and effect, and color recognition.
Fat Brain Play Tab ($45.95) In a year where most toys look like things we've seen before, the new Play Tab system is easily one of the most creative, innovative products of the year. You get a base that holds up to six tiles, and then you can add more, a la carte. Each tile exercises different tactile skills. There are buttons, switches, and rollers to touch, press, and click. Parents will love the no battery, no annoying amplified sound. Your kids will love the variety of options to play with. What more could you ask for? Play Tab offers great design and is full of opportunities for kid-powered, open ended exploration. Smaller sets are also available. Marked 12 months & up, it will be enjoyed well into your child's 2s.
Fisher-Price Wooden Stacking Rainbow ($9.99) We love that Fisher-Price has introduced an extensive line of wooden toys this year. They are beautifully crafted with smooth wood and vibrant color. Wooden Stacking Rainbows are not new concepts but a welcome addition to mainstream toyland. They're ideal for exploring alone or with other blocks. You can talk about colors while stacking them. Also fun for having cars go underneath the two bigger pieces. Marked 18 months & up. Consider their new Wooden Ring Stacker as another option for toddlers.
Patch's Pockets ($19.95) I can hear Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger singing "Inch by inch, row by row" when I look at this matching game set in a garden. Looked at from above all the veggies in the garden have identical green carrot tops. But when you pull them out of the ground, they are different colors. Can you help the bunnies fill their pockets with coordinated color-matching carrots?
Ravensburger Rainy Ranch – A Cooperative Game for Toddlers ($19.99) In this cooperative board game the object is to get the farm animals in before the rain comes down. Players take turns rolling a big die that determines whether they retrieve a cow, sheep, pig or horse - or a raindrop, instead. Play continues until all the spaces on the raindrop board are filled in. It is marked 2&up.
Lego Duplo: First Time At The Airport ($27.95) This early plastic-block construction playset gives lots of pretend play possibilities to spark the imagination as they build run the airport and pilot the plane. In addition to the jet, you get a control tower and baggage claim area. If you’ve got a trip planned over the holidays, consider using this toy to help allay kids’ anxiety and pre-visualize the experience.
LEGO Duplo Bluey: Bluey's Ice Cream Trip ($24.95) If you have a youngster in the house I’m willing to bet you are harboring a Bluey fan. The PBS animated pooch and her dad enlivens this simple construction playset, featuring an ice cream stand and car as well as themed play-time props like a cash register and oversized ice cream cone. Creativity, role-playing, and language development all take center stage in addition to the dexterity-building skills of putting the pieces together.
MEGA BLOKS Fisher Price Sensory Building Toys Playset, Musical Farm Band with 45 Toddler Blocks and 6 Music Sheets ($23.49) Mega Bloks are building bricks for toddlers. This set comes with 40 bricks including fun animal shapes and 10 special bricks that belong in the percussion section. There are drum bricks, cymbal bricks, even a small xylophone. The set even includes color coded music sheets that work with the xylophone.
STACKIN' Fruit Cars ($17.99) Three different fruit shaped rolling toys, each with a distinctive feature. The watermellon has popping seeds, the banana has a pull-back action, and the orange makes a clack-clack sound. 1 year & up.
