the 12 toys my toddler loves right now
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Osk recently turned 16 months old.
Before he arrived, we had such great plans for him to have a mostly plastic and screen free childhood. Back in those idealistic days, I spent a lot of time researching toys that would be safe, open ended, and enable him to learn through play. As a consequence, we have quite a few beautiful wooden toys, but they just don’t seem to catch his attention lately.
We’ve bought a few toys online in the last few weeks it has been hit and miss as to whether he wants to play with them. At the moment, I don’t really mind what he plays with once he finds something safe that he is happy to play with independently for a little while.
If you are trying to decide which toy will be a success, I’ve compiled a list of the toys he is obsessed with right now, organised by price:
less than €10
Fisher-Price Lil' Snoopy Pull Along Dog
I remember playing with one of these as a kid and this is the modern version. The little dog moves his head from side to side and yaps as it is pulled along behind him. It was a gift from my aunt and is a firm favourite with Osk. The poor thing spends its days getting dragged from one end of the room to the next and having his eyes, nose, tail, tongue etc. pointed to.
Verdict - cheap and cheerful
lil’ snoopy pull along dog
IKEA Mula Stacking Rings
These were a random purchase when I had lost all willpower towards the end of the IKEA showroom. It turns out that they have been a nice upgrade from the plastic ones he had when he was younger; both because the wood is a much nicer thing to play with, but also as they are bit more challenging to stack back on the stalk correctly. He will happily play with these for a good while solo.
Verdict - if you buy nothing else, buy these.
Mula Stacking Rings
€10 - €30
Fisher-Price Little People Helpful Neighbor's Garage
This was a lockdown purchase by my husband who saw it and felt all nostalgic for his own childhood. My first impression was that it was a bit boring and fairly limited, but Osk has spent hours playing with it independently so I stand corrected. The lift clicks and dings as it goes up and the cars whizz down the ramp, resulting in lots of vroom vroom noises - good shout Daddy!
Verdict - pleasantly surprised but still waiting for him to lose interest
little people helpful neighbor’s garage
Doll
I always thought people only bought dolls when they were introducing the idea of baby number two. I can guarantee that is not the situation here! We found a doll on sale and picked it up because it came with a bottle so we thought he might get a kick out of it. It worked, the dolly has had lots of playtime and is regularly fed bottles and tucked into her cardboard box bed. (The doll in the link is similar but not quite the same).
Verdict - great value and lots of imaginative play possibilities
doll
Foam Football
This is probably the most simple toy we own but it is always off the shelf. We use it for kicking, rolling, bowling down skittles, bouncing etc. It is soft enough for indoor play but still has enough bounce to be fun.
Verdict - endless options, you can’t go wrong with a foam ball
Foam Football
€30 - €50
Animal Sounds Noah’s Ark
This is one of those toys that you love to hate. It makes really annoying loud noises, the pieces are always disappearing and there are loads of nooks and crannies that make it really difficult to clean. I also dislike how cartoony the animals are. But he loves it, so it stays. I have seen it at a few different play centres and the kids there are always mad about it too.
Verdict - not my favourite, but he loves it
Animal Sounds Noah’s Ark
Little Tikes Big Car Carrier
This is another inherited toy. It is really 3 toys in 1. The loader is huge, big enough to ride on and the two plastic cars are really solid. They roll really smoothly with just a small push and are great to play with independently of the loader. There are lots of play possibilities with this toy, you can drive the cars in and out of the loader, open and close the door at the back or scoot around (dangerously) on top of the transporter.
Verdict - great value choice that will last for years
Little Tikes Big Car Carrier
€50 - €100
Little Tikes Cosy Coupe
We just added this to the collection a few weeks ago and since then it has moved up the toy ranks pretty quickly. It lives in the garden and last weekend he spent two full hours absolutely entranced by it. He climbed in and out, beeping the horn, turning the key, pushing it around and opening and closing the door etc. He is not yet scooting it around by himself, but I think that might be because I need to cut the grass to make it a bit easier!
Verdict - brilliant long lasting outdoor toy
Little Tikes Cosy Coupe
Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Crawl Around Car
I could have sworn that I wrote about this toy in the Gift Ideas for a One Year Old post. This is possible the BEST TOY EVER. It is another hand me down from his cousins and he LOVES it. It has been in the playpen or the middle of our living room floor for months and still gets played with everyday. He does not seem to get bored of it, but that might be because the interactive noises have three difficulty levels which we have been moving through. It’s also the toy of choice for every single kid that has ever come to our house to play from 9 months through 5 years.
Verdict - this is the best toy that we own.
Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Crawl Around Car
€100+
Little Tikes Junior Activity Gym
We inherited this from my sister just before lockdown. Holy moly what an incredible thing to be gifted! This is a brilliant item for the garden for climbing, sliding, hiding in and dancing on! The only drawback is that he will grow out of it relatively quickly, but it is a godsend right now.
Verdict - great right now, but will be too small soon
Little Tikes Junior Activity Gym
Pikler triangle
This was a panic purchase when it looked like crèche was going to be closed for a few weeks and the weather was still awful. Osk has always been a physically active kid and I wanted a way for him to burn off steam and continue to work on his gross motor development indoors. He loves climbing and sliding on this. We keep ours on this extra thick playmat just in case!
Verdict - fantastic if you have the space.
pikler triangle
iPad
We had the best intentions for a screen free toddler, but then Covid 19 happened. I appreciate that this is not an ideal toy, but with two of us trying to work from home, we definitely use it to pick up our parenting slack. A padded case like this with a screen protector is an absolute must for a toddler.
Verdict - guilt inducing but life saving
iPad with padded case
Verdict
Writing this has made me realise that playing alone with toys represents a very small part of his day. The rest of his time is spent actively playing with mum and dad, helping us around the house (he loves hoovering), watching us prepare food (standing in his learning tower), bird spotting in the garden, waving to people walking past, investigating random things around the house, video calling with family and friends and reading stories. Although small, that independent play time is crucial, both for his development and my sanity!
I hope that these toy suggestions are helpful for you!
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