Seeking Advice for Toys

If you have the book, What to Expect the Toddler Years, or if you can look at one, there is a chart that has what toys are best for what kind of development. They suggest one toy of each type. Example: Musical, Large motor, etc.

From personal experience, my daughter really liked this small toy tractor (Little People size) with the animals. Big plastic blocks are another long-term favorite of hers. Anything that imitates mom and dad will be popular at this age too!

One silly thing my daughter loves is a bucket full of easter eggs. I have wanted to throw them out but she plays with them every day! And now that she's a bit older, she puts the bucket on her head as a helmet and scores touchdowns with the eggs!

My son(now 10)at that age loved:

* Push and go cars
* Little people
* Any Pushing/walk along toy

When he's a bit older try Rescue Heroes-those where huge with my son for years!!!

When my daughter turned one, my mom gave her a Gloworm--HUGE hit! She also received a Put-N-Peek Birdhouse that she really likes and still plays with now that she's almost three. The Baby McDonald on the Farm book was something that she really liked also. It's a large board book with lots of different textures. Any of the Little People items from Fisher Price have been good toys for her also. Happy shopping!
S.

We gave our daughter the "Busy Ball Popper" (I think it's by Playskool or Fisher-Price) for her first birthday and she loved it then and loves it now. Even her older brother, now 4.5, loves it. Totally worth the money ($15-$20).

As for my kid when she turned one I got her that zebra that they sit on and it bounces and spins. That is by far the best toy to date for us...not just for my kid but when her cousins come over sadly it's the one toy they fight over. We just recently (she's 22 months now - and still plays with it) added on the catapillar that they sit on and it bounces and rolls along - that's a big hit as well, but the stationary zebra is still the favorite. Hope this helped! Oh, I might mention my daughter was tall for her age, so I'd check the height requirements??..

i found this great toy by the maker of parents magazine well any way it a clear plastic drum filled with a bunch of music toy give it a try you will love it and so will he

Hi K.,
We've always enjoyed the Fisher Price/Little People play sets. There is a barn set, zoo, house, garage, pirate ship, etc. They are pretty durable and older children still seem to like them as well. I am also very partial to Discovery Toys as I am a rep. Check out Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes or Put Your Left Paw In CDs and books for music and movement. There is also a Ride2Roll Scooter that is fun and will grow with your son. He may also enjoy Hammer Away. It's a ship with four balls on top, that your toddler hits with a play hammer, and then can watch them "appear" at the bottom of the ship. Nice and noisy :-) and will use some of his energy. Story Time Felts has some pretty durable story sets that are washable and good for quiet time.
~D.

My son turned one in August and his favorite toys to play with are the Tonka trucks that are soft. They come in a couple of different sizes and aren't too expensive. Also he really likes this pig that comes with large plastic coins to put inside. It counts or plays music. I believe Fisher Price is the manufacture. He really likes this Leap Frog car wash that he received as a gift. I hope this helps.

Playskool, makes Weebles, My daugter got them on her first b-day and still plays with them she is 2 1/2. We have the tree house, and a motercycle and car. Each toy comes w/ it's own weeble(s)...that reminds me I wanted to go to the store and look for the giant weeble set, they were BIG weebles.
"Weebles wobble but the won't fall down"
She also love the big Legos. But not as much as the weebles.
A huge yoga ball is another good idea.

My little guy who is 17 months old got for his 1st birthday a tonka truck. You know the type that has the big legos in the back of it. Also any thing that they can walk behind or pull. Funny as it sounds my little guy finds any thing with a cord and drags it. Like we had a extra keyboard in a box and he saw the cord. He took it and pulled it around the house for a few days. He liked it so much we decided to just give it to him without the cord of course. A simple ball works tooo. I know teaching them to throw balls in the house an't good but....... my little guy loves his sisters soccer ball. He has one of the little cheap balls from walmart that he has learned to kick and throw around. Just think it helps with motor skills. Hmmmmm Books is a good thing too. Yes they are a little young but my girls love reading to their brother. He espeically likes the ones that makes the sounds when u push a button. It teaches them how to take care of books and yeah some do try to eat them lol but if they have someone older to read to them its a great calm down time activity like right before bed. Hope this gives you some ideas and no matter what u get them.... They love it cause it came from mom and dad.

We got my son the ride on Mater (from Cars the Movie). ITs small enough that he can push/ride it around the house. Its musical/sound features are great!! My son will be @ in December and he still loves it. Also he got the fisher price Zebra. Its bounces , plays music and can go in circles. He still plays with that too ( ans so does his big sister and she's 3 1/2). I can email you pictures if you would like, just message me you email!

Good Luck!!
W.
www.ubah.com/P2249

I would suggest blocks not only will they love them now but they will grow with them. We also got a walk behind/ride on toy for our little one at that age.

i got my daughter the baby grand piano from toys r us. she is now 19 months old and still loves it! she played with it for 2 hours straight the day i bought it!

both of my boys started out with hot wheels cars. Also little people houses and cars and trains.

Hi K.-
May I suggest Discovery Toys? They are kid tested and a ton of fun! My daughter loved the chew toys and now plays with the ball tower-
Also, I let my child play with the toy at the stores - if they lose interest before I'm out of the store...it goes back on the shelf! (of course I don't let them open it or chew on it...and if they accidently damage it -well then I'm stuck with it)
1 year olds like to put, dump, shake, and push (developmentally speaking) so you can go from that, too.
Just an idea...good luck
H.

One toy that we got for our son at Christmas last year was the Fisher Price learning house. He was 8 months at the time, he's now 18 months and he still plays with it every day. They also have a learning kitchen now that I really want to get this year for Christmas. He also likes basic stacking cups, if you don't have those already. Good luck.

At 12 months, my now 14 month old, was really into:
-Emptying draws and boxes- he loved opening a drawer and finding what he could pull out so there was a drawer in the kitchen we put different things in that are baby friendly and he could pull out.
-Started liking those wood puzzles- especially with pieces that he could fit easily in his hand, one puzzle had a snake and man, he carried that snake around until the picture wore off of it and he still carries it around.
- Loved this Little people fire truck that came with a fireman and dalmation with a fireman's hat on- he still carries the dalmation everywhere.
-He also loves a cell phone- we had an old one with several keys that no longer worked- but it still lights up and most of the buttons make noise when pressed.
-A friend gave me this wallet- just one of the velcro wallets but then she added fake credit cards (old used gift cards), piece of felt the size of dollar bills, different textured materials, and a couple of new keys (hadn't be cut yet) and everything was attached to the wallet so he could pull the pieces out of the pockets but they are all still tethered to the wallet so you don't lose the pieces- he really liked and still likes that- it keeps him busy for a while.
-Really into board books but especially with pictures of machines like tractors and trucks and bulldozers- but other favorites are Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see, Machines at Work, I love you through and through, Moo Baa La La La, My first Alphabet Book.
-Likes the spice rack in the kitchen- it's just one of those generic wood revolving ones with all the matching spice containers with screw on lids. He likes to take all of the spices out of the rack, stack the spices on top then spin it a watch the spices fall off, etc
-Nesting cups- now with these, there are tons of brands and they can get expensive, but we just got one of the super basic sets for $5- I think it's made by The first years or something like that- he really liked those and still does.
And Happy Birthday!

My boys love all the "Little People" toys they are classics and really encourage children to make believe. We have a 2&1/2 year old and a 15 month old. I bought the barn and the garage for my oldest last year for Christmas and now they both play with them together and show no signs of getting burned out of them. Plus, there are plenty of peices to go around so when friends come over to play there aren't many squables over toys. Hope this helps.

I have your same question. My younest and only boy will be one in Jan. and I am not sure what to get a boy. My son loves blocks. He is only 9 months old, but he loves my older girls (2 and 5) wood blocks and the mega blocks. I have been looking at the bouncing zebra that a few people have mentioned. Let me know if you get it and how it works out. My girls have all the Little people sets and love them. My middle girl got the F.P. preschool set and hasn't really played with it, but the anilmal sets both my girls love. My 5yo plays with the A-Z animal zoo everyday and my 2 yo does too. My baby is starting to hold them and eat them, so I know they are a good choice. Good Luck!

At this age they could care less about the price, quantity, or even WHAT they get. I joking told my brother to get my son an empty box and lots of paper to rattle. He bought a toy and wrapped in a LARGE box filled with packing paper. My son pushed that box up and down the hallway for weeks! Never touched the toy. Even finding some used toys and cleaning them up is perfectly fine. With three boys we have a lot of hand me downs and with my little one I plan to clean up some of the boxed up Little People sets for Christmas. You can also look at plates/bowls, pajamas, or some of the personalized items you can get like stools, chairs, rockers, etc. Each on of my kids has a HUGE teddy bear and a rocking chair. They also have their own collection of books, my oldest got Blues Clues, the next got Clifford and the last is getting Dr Suess. Christmas gifts don't just mean TOYS.

I know you asked this a little while ago, but I was looking through the responses to see what people said and it reminded me of a huge favorite that my son has! He was 10 months last Christmas and we got him a fire engine/winnie the pooh ride-on toy ($30). He still loves it very much! It has lots of buttons to push, blows bubbles, plays songs, and he can push or ride or store things in the seat. It was the best gift we got him last year for Christmas and he still loves it!!

My son seems to be very musically interested, so all the musical toys (the baby piano, a drum) he played with right away and still plays with(he's almmost 2). Then we got he that sit and spin zebra thing, I think by fisher price, and he really got into that toy at about 18 months.

well the toys i have seen that went over the best with my step son and nieces and nephew's were the toys that they could walk behind and that had compartments to put things also any toy that makes noise

My son (now 14 mos.) loves those little ride-on cars. Make sure it has lots of buttons to push with music, talking, etc.. He rides it, pushes it, fills the "trunk" with toys, dances to the music. Definitely his favorite.

We love the musical table by leap frog. They can sit on the floor with it, or w/ the legs on they can stand and walk around it. It playes all kinds of music, and then when they turn the page, it will do numbers, colors, shapes and the alphabet. There is also a little "compartment" for cheerios that our little girl loves, because she knows where to find a "num num". It also has a spanish version on it. Our little girl is now 14 months, but we've had the table since last Christmas and she still loves to play and dance to it. It is cute to watch her with it.

Hi K. i got my daughter a v-smile baby and she loves it cause it teaches them numbers,colors and sing langues,and shapes and more it is about 40.00 and works great they can play with it by them self or you can play along with them.hope this helps.