Quick! What Was/is Your One and a Half Year Old Toddler's Favorite Toy?

Updated on September 02, 2010
S.V. asks from Plano, TX
24 answers

Hello! I have an 18 month old son! He is bored with his current toys.
Tonight my husband and I are going to either Wal Mart or Target to pick out a toy. So far he has toys such as puzzles, play-doh, colors, watercolors, bubbles, and other little toys, and books..oh and a guitar.

I want to get him a toy that he will learn from, but have fun with at the same time.

And preferably a price up to about 40$

Thank you!
(I forgot to mention he loves watching his Daddy play video games...)

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A.H.

answers from New York on

Hands down blocks. He has a bag of mega blocks he plays with all the time. Also a seperate set of blocks for the shape sorter box.
And books...we blocks blocks, then read two stories, then blocks etc. :)

3 moms found this helpful

E.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

some kind of car. my son loves hot wheels. When i was little I loved them too. i saved all of mine and so my son has a few of the hundreds i have. I plan on giving both my boys the rest of them when my youngest is old enough, at Christmas..

3 moms found this helpful
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S.H.

answers from San Antonio on

My kids never cared for toys. Still don't. They'd much rather just play imaginative games with me. At that age, it was mind-numbingly boring repetitions of peek-a-boo, ball rolling, and more active stair climbing practice, "watch me I'm going to jump" sort of stuff, I'm Gonna Getcha and the like. LOTS of playing the same thing over and over. I tried and tried with the first to find educational toys that would engage her. With the second, I realized it was futile and gave up. I just play with them. Sand is fun. Water is fun. Balls rolling are fun. Experience is educational.

I think there's a lot of push to buy buy buy buy, when really, kids that age don't care for that stuff. They're much happier banging a wooden spoon on a frying pan.

3 moms found this helpful

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M.N.

answers from Pocatello on

LOL - Anything belonging to his 5 year old sister he is not supposed to touch!
He has a little car track, he has been really into that. He likes to play with cars alone too. He will be 2 in Jan, I am thinking, if he is still into this track I will get him a better one.
Good luck. I will have to read your answers to get ideas for my own son.

4 moms found this helpful

R.H.

answers from Dallas on

THOMAS THE TRAIN!! My 2 yr old is hooked and has been for some time now. Make sure you get the ones that are battery operated and drive around the tracks,$8-9 at Walmart. My house is now covered in Thomas, LOL.

3 moms found this helpful
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J.P.

answers from Chicago on

I have girls, and at that age they liked toys they can push, like strollers, shopping cart, etc. It's a great age for "pretend play", so maybe get a shopping cart with play food. Then when he's a bit older, maybe get a play cash register and you can play store with him. My kids also liked (and still do at ages 5.5 and 2.5) Little People toys. What about cars, trucks, trains, etc? Maybe he should go with to the store and see what he seems to be the most interested in.

3 moms found this helpful
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S.M.

answers from Washington DC on

Not a toy exactly - any bag and little things to put in it. My toddlers loved to get a purse, wallet, shopping bag and repeatedly load it and unload it with scarves, little people blocks, cards, etc. For a gift for that age, I will frequently go to target and by a discount purse and load it with toy sunglasses, a little change purse, a box of flash cards, a cereal bar, toy key and tools, etc. Kids love it.

On the more prepackaged toy list - toy laptop or kids digital camera like leap frog migh make, puzzles like melissa and doug, paints (yes, I know, but he'll love it), legos (there are a couple good sizes available for that age), tool set, toy cash register, toy kitchen and cookware

3 moms found this helpful
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J.R.

answers from Miami on

Books, blocks, balls, toy animals, puzzles, crayons and paper. also. tupperware!

3 moms found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

People have some great ideas for you already, my daughter is now 21 months, but at that age she LOVED balls! She also loved, and still loves all sorts of ride on toys, she has a ride on scooter thing that she can also push (important at the beginning because it's hard to learn how to ride them) and a tricycle. She also actually loves her rocking horse. oh and musical instruments (she has a zylephone (SP) and some shake rattlers and we all make a band with those and banging on something for a drum. She loves pushing her babies around in the stroller, maybe you could get a shopping cart or something... they really do love pushing things.

It seems like once kids are about 1.5 they are not so interested in toys anymore, instead they like playing with real things. some of my daughter's favorite things to do: wash dishes at the sink, play with water in a tub out side with her sand toys. Read books herself, and listen me reading books, draw with a real pen on mama's work stuff..haha. (but she does love her easel) putting things inside bags or baskets or boxes and carrying them around,

2 moms found this helpful
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J.D.

answers from Dallas on

I would say to hold off on the guitar until he's 3+. Musical instruments are great for kids coordination and brain development, but he's a little young for a guitar. It could be a safety hazard since strings can pop and do have sharp ends. At that age, I bought my daughter a full set of musical instruments by Melissa and Doug, duplo blocks, Little People toys (she loves action figures), a shopping cart with food, and a vacuum that makes noise to push around. Those were her favorites.

Good luck... such a fun age!

2 moms found this helpful
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N.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

Mega blocks, Elefun game and any of the Melissa & Doug pretend food combined with toy pots/pans, plates, cups, cash register, fisher price play kitchen, etc.

My son is 4 now but he still plays with the Mega Blocks and we STILL play pretend restaurant all the time!

Oh and that push toy lawn mover that blows out bubbles!

2 moms found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

my sons favorite toy was one made by either fisher price or playschool not sure which. it had these pieces you fit together and then a ball would roll down. (imagine a big twirly waterpark kind of slide type thing) there were different colors of balls and different colors of the track things. I think it might have been called marble works. we had a small one from discovery toys but it was for older kids. playskool or fisher price made one that was bigger (no marbles but same concept as the balls were bigger) the ball would roll down and make things spin or drop etc. he loved it. also loved the little people bus, and airport and farm. i would get some of those. they will inspire imaginationhe needs some things he can play with by himself without you being an active participant. to many kids don't know how to play without being entertained so go for some of the things like the bus, farm etc...

2 moms found this helpful

K.M.

answers from Redding on

My 17 mo is loving blocks, puzzles, locks (like the lock boxes), and playing store. I love the idea from a previous poster of getting a shopping cart and play food.

This is such a fun age!

2 moms found this helpful

T.K.

answers from Dallas on

Ball - boys love balls. Big ones, little ones. Colorful ones. Doesn't matter - just balls. Walmart has a big bag of ball pit balls for $9. 2 of those and a blow up 2 ring swimming pool and you've gotyourself a ball pit.

Cars - boys love cars. You can buy a whole bunch of matchbox cars and the rug that has roads all over it for $15 at Target or Walmart

Trains - boys love trains. Walmart and Target have a basic Thomas the Train starter set for around $20. You might as well start your collection now!

2 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Our child loved active toys. Her Tiny Tikes slide, her rocking pony, wagons, her small scoot toys, her swing. Then she loved blocks, balls (ALL sizes), baby carriage (never liked dolls, but loved her plush to act as children)... Her play kitchen with all of the pots, pans, fake food.. A small grocery cart..

She also liked empty big cardboard boxes.. Sometimes we left them open, sometimes, we connected them into tunnels and mazes and sometimes , we taped them up like GIANT blocks.. Amazing how many hours she and the neighbor kids spent with all of the cardboard boxes over the years.. They got bigger and bigger the older they got.. I was in retail so I would bring them home.. Then I would go and pick up appliance boxes and furniture boxes.. They painted them, they stomped on them to crush them (they were dinosaurs) , They made play houses, club houses, boats, trains, costumes.. .. It went on and on..

2 moms found this helpful

L.C.

answers from Kansas City on

my sons personal favorite at the moment are his baby babble dvd, and a stuffed bunny. he is really into bunnies right now.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.B.

answers from Dallas on

My 16 month old son LOVES pretend play with food. We have a few play pots, fruits, and veggies. He also loved wooden blocks and stickers.

2 moms found this helpful
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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

My daughter loved to push things around...shopping cart is a great one! Also, get some stuff to put in it, although I'm sure he'd find anything he can fit in there, food or not! Also ride on toys, like those small push/ride cars were a big hit with her and my now 11 month old. They both love the play kitchen and we just gave it to my daughter this past Christmas (she was 2) and I wished we would have gotten it sooner.

2 moms found this helpful
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D.H.

answers from Indianapolis on

Try getting him an educational toy, like leap frog that changes or something that plays music and teaches as well.........they used to have these things where you landed on an animal and it told you what it was and what sound it made, my son LOVED that until he got it all memorized and down pat.........

Wal-Mart is great for those types of toys and so is Kohls......just a thought......they have great educational toys out now for kids......look on the internet to get an idea of what you might want to look at when you get at the store....

Good Luck.....take care.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.A.

answers from New York on

A musical toy that I cant find right now because they all still play with it at ages 6,8,and 10! It is round and yellow with lights that are buttons. Each button is actually a different instrument in the orchestra. Children learn the correct sounds and tunes of classical music.It says Excalibur on it in small black letters.( I guess thats the brand or company that makes it) They call it their musical steering wheel. I have to admit it's my favorite toy as well! I'm sure your son will love it.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.C.

answers from Dayton on

The really simple stuff. The Little Tikes drum with the drum sticks attatched. The xylophone (we had a wooden one and a metal one). There was this little cube that was a miniature of the ones use see at the Dr.s office. We got it at Target. It has the bead maze at the top. One side has letters letters that turn over with the letter on side and corresponding picture on the other, another has doors that open that is good for small motor skills, another has animals that are cut in the middle and each half rotates so you can mix and match body parts. My youngest are now 3 and 4 and still play with it.

Hope this helps,

L.

1 mom found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

At that age my son had a Ty Pillow Pal leopard (Speckles) (I so loved Ty Pillow Pals!) that he took with him every where. We had a springy bouncy horse (it was mine when I was a baby) that he loved to ride but he would not put down his leopard so he could hold on to the horse properly. We have a picture of him riding the horse while he's holding the leopard by the tail in his mouth. It's so cute!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

My son had a set of heavy cardboard material blocks with 1-10 on them that he loved. He also liked play food, books, talking books and busy box type things.

1 mom found this helpful

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

Well my daughter (1.5) is going for three specific things recently. Ride on toys (she has a cozy coupe and a smaller one) books books and more books, and then her old favorite are her squishy pillows with microbeads inside. Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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