Kids
The Top Educational Toys For Toddlers
As a mom of three, I’ve seen my kids outgrow a lot of toys, but the right toys will last. When it comes to toys for toddlers, I tried to focus on wooden toys that teach different shapes and colors. Not all our toddler toys have been educational, but young children learn through play, so to toddlers, everything is educational. These are the best toys for one and two year olds.
The Best Educational Toys For Toddlers
The following toys promote development, learning, creativity, and fine motor skills, They are great for imaginative play, and give toddlers a strong foundation. Are these the only toys my kids played with? No. But if you’re looking for educational toys, these are the best toys that will help your children learn through play.
If you’re in the thick of the chaos of little kids, I write honestly about motherhood, anxiety, raising three kids, perimenopause and more on my Substack, Breakfast at Toast.
What are educational or learning toys?
Play is the best way for toddlers to learn. These are toys that are designed to teach your children new skills like problem solving, hand-eye coordination, cognitive skills, and letter (and color) recognition. Children learn through play, and toys that encourage them to learn new things or build new skills are good for their development.
Consider toy rotation
I love rotating toys. We have a Montessori shelf and playroom, but I like to put a few boxes away and rotate toys out every so often. When a toy disappears for even just a few weeks and then resurfaces, it’s fun and exciting to revisit this old “new” toy. And your child is likely to play with and engage with the toy in a new and different way. The other very obvious bonus is that this means less clutter in your home.
Here’s what I have in our family room
- Basket of magnatiles
- Toniebox and Tonies
- Basket of wooden blocks and animals
- A basket of figurines
So instead of having 20 toys out (even in a playroom), I have a few favorites that we keep out. When I notice the girls playing with a toy (or basket) less often, I switch things up. This minimizes a mess and helps kids focus because don’t we all do better when things feel less out of control?
The Best Educational Toys For Toddlers
Little People Farm
Learn about and take care of farm animals with the Little People farm. I don’t usually recommend musical, plastic toys, but all three of my kids played with this one for years. Pretend play sets are great for younger toddlers and preschoolers, too.
Wooden Alphabet Puzzle
Alphabet puzzles are a great way for your toddler to learn letters and hand-eye coordination. This wooden puzzle also teaches color recognition and is the perfect gift for toddlers. My oldest loved this puzzle and knew all her letters by 16 months.
Chunky Puzzles
We have a few of these. The pieces are large enough for babies & fun for toddlers to play with, too. Learn placement (fine motor skills) and have fun with the chunky pieces, too.
Foam Letters and Numbers
Early learning meets bath time with these foam letters that stick to your tub. Make bath time fun while learning the letters of the alphabet, numbers, and the bright colors.
Flash Cards
This set feels very much like a learning toy, but I promise you it’s fun. The box comes with over 100 flash cards that include animals, vehicles, household objects, etc. The back of each card has a game that will help teach colors or numbers – these are seriously the best! We use them all the time and my girls actually love playing with them.
Toniebox Audio Player
This is by far the best toddler toy. There are a few audio story players to choose from, but the Toniebox is great for toddlers. The tonie figurines are the perfect size for small hand. My kids started using this around age one, and it got regular use for years.
Duplo Alphabet Truck
Your toddlers will learn their ABCs, building, stacking, and imaginative play with this alphabet truck. Improve fine motor skills, letters, and colors while stacking blocks on to the truck. Duplo blocks are recommended for 18m+ and my 4 year old still loves them, so these are toys that will last.
Learning Friends 100 Words Book
Interactive books are great for car rides. Toddlers stay engaged while learning 100 words.
Counting Caterpillar
This is one of the best learning toys – and was a favorite toy at our house for years. The pieces are ideal for small hand. I got this before my oldest daughter turned 1, and the solid wood pieces the perfect way to learn important skills like stacking, learning colors, and counting. Highly recommend it, and it’s under $10!
Magnetic Building Blocks
I just love Magnatiles. They are one of my favorite toys for open-ended play. There are lots of themed sets to choose from, but the animals are especially cute, and are the perfect size for small hands. These are such good toys for toy for critical thinking – learn colors and stacking, and create castles and cities. I have found that my kids use Magnatiles more as the years go by.
Wooden Stacker
Simple toys like wooden stackers aren’t the most exciting, but they’re great for hand-eye coordination. Younger toddlers can learn to stack the simpler shapes, count, and learn colors.
Wooden Blocks
Wooden building sets are so much more than just blocks. They are the perfect size for little hands, and work with each other in more than 20 stage-based activities. It’s a car, shape sorter, ramp, and wooden string toy.
Wooden Train
Wooden trains are one of my favorite hands-on toys. My son got really into Brio trains at around two and-a-half, and this set is great for younger toddlers. Brio trains are made of natural materials and are built to last for years.
Stepping Stones
These are pricey but are one of my favorite open-ended toys to add to your toy collection. They’re waterproof and are perfect for pretend play and sensory play, too. The elements can be used as stepping stones, storage trays, or as bowls for collecting treasures on your outdoor adventures. Together with the Board you can build a mini stool or use the Board on its own to improve your balance by spinning and rocking
Monkey Around Game
Cards prompt your child to do simple movements like high fives and jumping. Children learn gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, imitation, vocabulary and social-emotional skills while playing this game. It’s a fun way to engage with your toddler through very simple play.
Ice Cream Play Set
This ice cram set is the perfect toy for young kids, and the smaller size is perfect for small spaces or when you’re on-the-go. My kids have this wooden play set, and it’s gotten regular use for five years.
Play Kitchen
Pretend kitchens are great for toddlers. You can purchase a smaller, toddler-sized kitchen, or invest in a larger kitchen that your toddler will grow into.
Water Table
Water tables are a fun way to keep kids engaged in outdoor play. This one folds up for easy storage, and the open layout offers room for multiple kids to play.
What kinds of toys should I look for?
Your toddler is ready to play, and this stage is all about getting their hands on everything, moving their bodies, and parallel play. I love a beautiful light wood and white toy more than anyone, but toddlers love (and need) toys with bright colors. They’re drawn to those colors and can start to learn them, too. Teach your child both fine and gross motor skills with simple puzzles and stacking toys. It’s amazing how fun a set of plastic cups can be. Look for toys that get them moving, too. Both my girls walked at 17/18 months, so I tried to introduce anything and everything that might get them moving around.
One of the biggest lessons learned when buying toys for my kids was to consider the life-span of the toy. We had so many toys that they outgrew so quickly. Or toys that seemed great but did one or two things, and weren’t open-ended, so they lost interest. Those things accumulate, and before you know it, there are toys everywhere. We still have a lot of toys, but fewer large plastic ones. And the one-function toys are long-gone. Consider those big plastic Little People sets. Instead of having the big nursery, keep the babies and accessories in a basket. They’ll play with it the same way, and might even create a nursery out of magnatiles or Duplo.
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something using my links, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.
