Great Toys for Toddlers + My 3 Favorites

With summer in full swing, shopping for toys is probably the last thing on your mind. More than likely back to school is on your brain far more than toys – ha! If you are in that camp, I totally get it.

But, you could also think about it this way – Christmas is in less than 6 months. It might just be time to start thinking about toys for the kids that may end up on your gift list. It’s never too early to start brainstorming. 🙂

I’m not a licensed child expert, so take everything I’m about to say about toddler toys with that in mind (I’m just an ordinary mom, after all). But since I love sharing what I am learning and what works for us and our family, I am sharing about things to look for in a great toddler toy!

And since you know that I love a good list, let’s jump right on in!

1. Toys that can be used a variety of ways

My mother (who is a preschool teacher) told me this years ago and she is totally right! Think about toys that are very “open ended” and can be used in a variety of ways. This helps your child to use their imagination and can also keep their attention for much longer than a single function toy. These might include: Blocks or nesting toys

2. Toys that can grow with your child

There’s nothing more frustrating than buying a toy for your child that only gets used for a couple of days, weeks, or months. I tend to be very practical by nature anyway, so I especially aim for toys that will last my children through numerous developmental stages. These include: Plastic figures and figurines or trains and cars

3. Toys that help develop numerous skills

Just as it’s nice to have “open ended” toys, I also love toys that can teach a variety of developmental skills. Experts say that children learn through play anyway, so why shouldn’t they learn sorting, stacking and fine motor skills while playing with toys? These include: blocks, sorting toys, or puzzles

4. Toys that require imagination

I have nothing against toys that make noises and have flashing lights (oh, the horror!), but there is something to be said for the toys that require the child to use their imagination when playing with them. If a child is entertained by a toy, then they have no incentive to work to figure it out for themselves. These include: blocks or dress up clothes

My Top 3 Toddler Toys

Now that you know what to look for in a great toddler toy, let’s get to the fun part. Most of these toys were gifts to us and they have been huge hits with all of my children. I will warn you that some of these toys can be a little pricey but I believe the cost is worth it in this case.

Color Discovery Boxes by Lakeshore Learning

My children play with this a TON! They love dumping them out and then putting them back in the correct color box. They can change things up and sort the items by category if they wish (birds in 1 box, crayons in another, etc.). Sometimes they also just play with the individual items in the boxes. There are so many options!

Another similar option:

Exploring Shapes Discovery Boxes by Lakeshore Learning*

Sorting Shape Cupcakes by Learning Resources*

Even if your child doesn’t care about baking, we love this toy. This one is great because it helps kids with fine motor skills as well as matching shapes. Kids can take them all apart and then work to put them back together, and then back into the cupcake pan. My kids love this one!

Tall-Stacker Pegs & Pegboard Set by Lauri*

These pegs are another popular one in our home. My kids love to use the pegs to make all sorts of designs or shapes on the pegboard, but also enjoy stacking them up (and then knocking them down!). Again, this toy has endless possibilities. I’ve seen my kids sit with this toy for large chunks of time, totally content.

I could probably list more than these three, but these are my absolute favorites. Since these toys are simple and educational, my children did not scream with excitement when they first opened them. But they have been hits nonetheless.

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