I am the mom of a very active 18-month-old little boy, who admittedly has had the opportunity to play with far too many toys. Despite having a house full of practically every variety of age appropriate toy he always seems to resort back to a few favorites. He plays with all of his toys at some point but this is going to be a list of toys that he has played with daily, without fail. So, if you are shopping for a new toy for a toddler in your life these are perfect.
- 1) Blocks- My son has three varieties of blocks and we typically play with all three every day. The first are simple wooden blocks. We have the Melissa and Doug 100 piece colorful wooden block set. We also have a set of Mega Bloks First Builders. Last, we have a set of B. Bristle Block Stackadoos. All three sets are great. The Mega Bloks and the Bristle Blocks both come in containers that you can use for ongoing storage which is a plus. For younger infants and the One Two Squeeze Blocks by B. great. My son has played with these since he was about 5 months old and still enjoys them today!
- 2) Hammer, Peg Toy- My son just got this toy for Christmas and he loves it! He plays with this toy every day. I am not sure what brand our version of the toy is but after looking online there are a few popular varieties. Ours looks like this one manufactured by MULA and sold by IKEA for only $5.99 it has a wooden frame and hammer but has plastic pegs. Melissa and Doug makes an all wooden version which retails for $9.99.
- 3) Fisher Price Little People Toys- Honestly, I could just leave it at that because I haven’t found one of these toys that my son and other toddlers I know don’t like. We have the Little People® Wheelies™ Loops ‘n Swoops Amusement Park™ this one is a favorite of my son but it is difficult for him to play with on his own. He can’t quite reach to see the top of the toy and the button to release the cars from one part of the track is too stiff for him to push. We also have the Little People® Animal Sounds Farm™ which my son got for his first birthday and still loves today. Every child that comes to our house has played with the Animal Sounds Farm. Last, we have the Little People® Spin ‘n Fly Helicopter™. The Little People, Animals and Cars that come with these sets seem to be the perfect size for little hands.
- 4) Instrument Set- We have the Melissa and Doug Band-in-a-Box set which is greatly adored by my son. He loves each instrument that came with this set. The recommended age on this set is 3+ and I can see why; but, my son is able to manage them fine and with supervision I think he is more than safe. There are many other varieties of instrument sets on the market and I am sure any of them would be loved!
These last toys may surprise you but sometimes simplicity is appreciated. Often times my son receives many electronic toys as gifts and, there are some of them that he does enjoy playing with but, his favorite things to play with are the simple classic toys that children have enjoyed for years.
- 5) Cars- Any toy car, big or small, wooden, plastic, or medal, he loves them all.
- 6) Balls- He loves any ball that he gets his hands on. I have found however, that the ones made of the foam material can be bad as younger toddlers may decide to take a bite out of them. So I would suggest sticking to hard plastic or rubber balls.
- 7) Dolls- My son doesn’t particularly like playing with dolls despite having a few but I don’t want to leave dolls off the list for the many little girls and boys that do enjoy playing with them.
- 8) Tea sets/toy cookware- My nephew, niece, and my son all love playing with toy pots, pans, dishes, and silverware. I have seen time and time again that this is one of the first toys that children pretend with and pretending is such an important part of development. I would recommend some type of toy dishes for all toddlers. They love serving and eating pretend food.
Obviously, there are many other awesome toys that out there that a toddler would enjoy but this is a list of our favorites as reviewed by a real 18-month-old.
