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Whether you're looking for the perfect gift or a need to keep your own toddler entertained at home, you can't go wrong with an educational toy. Learning and play at the same time? Yes, please!
To help you navigate the many choices out there, we’ve compiled a list of the best educational toys for toddlers. Learning toys — toys that are research-based and designed to help kids meet their developmental milestones, are one way to ensure that your toddler stays engaged while reaping all of the educational benefits.
So browse through these toys that will help your kids grow cognitively, emotionally, socially, and physically — but will still fill that fun quotient, too.
What to look for when buying early childhood education toys
Encourage open-ended and pretend play
“Look for toys that have infinite uses and encourage interaction while practicing various schemas,” Julia Yi, speech-language pathologist and mother of two, shared with Mom.com. “Blocks, doctors’ kits, a bin of costumes — these types of toys are beneficial for cognitive and language development, socialization, and exploration. They will also be played with longer than specific-use toys, such as electronics.”
Choose baby-powered toys over battery-powered toys
Speaking of electronics… most experts agree that we should ditch the “smart toys." “When a child engages with a battery-powered toy, they will press a button as they wait to be entertained, Stacy Keane, head of learning at Monti Kids, told Forbes.com. “Baby-powered toys offer opportunities for growth, problem solving, challenge, and achieving goals.”
Get kids moving!
For physical development, look for toys that encourage the movement of both fine and gross motor skills. Fine motor skills are movements that involve the small muscles in your hands and wrists, such as pulling, picking up, placing, stringing, molding, drawing, and hand-eye coordination. Gross motor skills involve your core, arm, and leg muscles.
Pick age-appropriate gifts
Familiarize yourself with developmental milestones, so you can pick gifts that will challenge but not discourage kids. The toy selections that follow are based on milestones as identified by the Westby Playscale, CDC’s Milestone Tracker, and the American Academy of Pediatrics’ report on The Power of Play.
Best education toys for 1-2 year olds
These toys meet all the criteria above and will continue to please beyond their minimum recommended age. Bonus for parents: Each toy comes with a storage box or bag for easy clean-up!
1. Block Set by Lovery (18-48+ months)
Building blocks facilitate creativity, problem-solving, and language acquisition, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. This comprehensive set accomplishes all that and more through over 20 ways to play, and includes shape sorting, threading, and early STEM concepts. For 1+, check out First Builders Mega Bloks by Fisher-Price, and for another great STEM education toy, check out Magnatiles (3+).
2. Wooden Musical Set by LOOIKOOS (6 mos+)
Music education toys are recommended by pediatricians starting at one year old, and this top-rated, non-toxic, durable toy introduces kids to 10 wooden instruments. Not only will it spark a love for music, it will promote family bonding, creativity, coordination, and teamwork.
3. Books
This one may seem obvious, but if we’re listing the best here, then it has to be included. Kids can practice fine motor skills with lift-the-flap books like Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell, and autosymbolic play as parents introduce each word of First 100 Words by Priddy Baby. A set of board books like this Dr. Seuss Bright and Early set makes for a great toy (little ones love to pack and transport things!) as well as a fun way to cultivate an appreciation for rhythm and rhyme.
Best education toys for 3+ year olds
These toys will expand your toddler’s understanding of the world through pretend play, art, sensory exploration, and science education.
4. Lego Duplo sets
This toy has withstood the test of time for a reason. Each set encourages pretend play within a specific theme, and gets kids practicing both fine and gross motor skills.
5. All-Around Easel for Two by Step 2
This art center was rated “Best for Toddlers” by lifestyle blog The Spruce, and features a white board, chalk board, and magnetic letters, numbers, and shapes. Little artists can get creative and practice role-play while enhancing their fine motor skills.
6. Career-based Costumes by Melissa and Doug
Encourage pretend-play and schema building with costume sets such as a chef, construction worker, astronaut, and more!
7. Make-believe sets
Provide opportunities to create make-believe situations with toys like the Fun With Friends Kitchen by Step 2, or the Scoop and Serve Ice Cream Counter by Melissa and Doug
Kids can re-enact what they see in real life, build customer orders, and pay with play money.
8. Tactile play toys
Toys like Sensory Bins and Kinetic Sand are a great way to engage your child in tactile play and STEM learning. “Sensory exploration helps children build the basic science skills of observing what is happening and using words to describe what they sense,” according to the Boston Children’s Museum. Kids can explore, learn, and create within specific themes such as Outer Space or Bake Shoppe.
9. Cook books
Engage toddlers in a deliciously fun STEM activity through cooking! Elements of math, science and technology are incorporated in even the simplest of recipes, and Kids in the Kitchen by Amanda Grant has 50 healthy recipes, accompanied by step-by-step photos of real kids cooking. Most importantly, cooking involves parent-child interaction, and no learning toy can beat that!
