by Rita Onyx
Your child’s life is not all about eating and sleeping. Playtime plays a major role in the first few years of your little one’s life. For physical and emotional growth it is necessary to introduce your toddler to new things every now and then.
Exploring toys with vibrant colors and visuals helps the child learn about themselves and the world around them. Playing also helps develop their brain, encourage language development and teach them emotional and social skills. It’s always a good idea to have uninterrupted playtime though you can also join in on the fun with your little one while playing with one of the toys listed below.
Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit
“I bought the Osmo little genius starter kit for my four year old to have some educational learning opportunities that were still fun. It helps him work on a lot of age appropriate skills. He is learning how to write so the masterpiece game is a great fun way to help him build his fine motor skills. The costume party game allows him to be creative while also figuring out his spatial reasoning. My only concern is that you are supposed to take the cover off the ipad. I have a two year old that likes to play along with whatever the four year old does. I need to maintain parental supervision to make sure the kids don’t knock over the iPad during a spat, but probably not an issue for folks with older kids.” — Customer
Soft Baby Books
“This book is developmental appropriate for newborns and appears to be very well made. I love that it’s made with a young baby’s vision and concentration levels in mind instead of trying to be cutesy/entertaining for, let’s face it, the adult’s benefit. It took me a while to find this book and I really didn’t see any other soft books that were similar enough to serve as a replacement. So glad I was able to get one when they restocked!” — Shari
LeapFrog Learning Friends 100 Words Book
“This is one of the best toy that i ever purchased for my son, it does attract kids a lot, specially if they are in the stage that they wanna start talking. My son is not really playing with his toys a lot, but he loves this one, and he grabs it everywhere with him, it does have a lots of words and things to teach kids, all the colors and sounds of the toy is also attracting them.” — Tony
VTech Busy Learners Activity Cube
“We purchased this for our 9-month-old and have been very happy with the purchase. It has lots of little activities on 5 sides and the songs aren’t horrendous to listen to :). There are 2 options for volume, softer and louder plus off. I enjoy the colors, there are a lot of pinks and purples but it would be fine for either gender. It seems pretty well made as ours has been dropped more than a few times already and no signs of wear and tear on appearance and/or function.” — Amber
Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube
“This shape box is everything you need to help on the cognitive development of your child. It is not just a practice of math skills such as shape recognition, but also problem solving skills. My son was having difficulty in the beginning to play with this shape box and find the correct fit for each shape. He didn’t stress but he enjoyed the fact that he could try each spot. He would try and try and he found the appropriate fit for all. The next time he needed just few prompts and he was getting most of them right. It is age appropriate and it keeps your child entertained. I highly recommend it.” — Jona
Learning Resources Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog
“Love this product. It says 18+ months but it was fun for both of my kids (11 months and 3). It’s meant to help with fine motor skills. The spikes are rubber with different colors and you can put them in and take them out of the holes in the hedgehog. The best part is that when they’re done playing the hedgehog opens and you can store all the spikes in there so they don’t get lost. Definitely recommend this product #learningresources” — Tony
Melissa & Doug See & Spell Wooden Educational Toy
“My daughter is 2 1/2 and she already recognizes the letters and places them where they go. She reads me what each wooden card says because the picture next to it really helps me. I find that using one wooden card at a time is better than letting her play with all of them at once because she can get overwhelmed with all the letter scattered around. I select a few extra letters to have her figure things out on her own. I can see her self-esteem just rise whenever she completes a puzzle on her own. All the wooden cards were perfect, just be careful with the letters because they are a bit fragile and the wood can easily start to peel off. Overall, great toy for those parents who want their children to be ahead of the curve and have their children have fun while learning.” — Fabikuma
VTech Touch and Learn Activity Desk
“I’ve had this for over a year and my son still plays with it. The key is to get the expansion pack to rotate the different activities. My son was a late talker (he’s starting to pick it up), but one day he was playing with the desk and it would ask him to pick number x and he chose the number. He was consistently picking the right number. He wasn’t talking yet but knew numbers one through nine. I was a little shocked because this was before we had to send him to daycare. Having the extra cards to change out keeps him interested and it helps reinforce what he’s learning in school. It’s the first thing he plays with when he gets home.” — Customer
Dreampark Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles
“This set is perfect for toddlers! There aren’t a lot of pieces involved, they have vibrant colors, the puzzles are simple enough, and the perfect size for little hands. It encourages them without frustrating them. These puzzles also withstand messy hands well and are easy to wipe off without damaging the product.” — Sarah
Coogam Numbers and Alphabets Flash Cards Set
“I actually highly recommend this set. Probably ideal for like 3 and up. The letters and numbers are colored and made of wood. The colors match the color on the cards which I like as well. Allows you to give color clues when kids are searching for the matching letters. The cards are decently sturdy and the letters and number fit nicely within the cards. The overall design of the cards is great and I really like the neat clean artwork. I love that is comes with a sturdy box to store everything into as well. Nice job, great product!” — Elsa