Toys for 1 yo

[migirl]

Jack is turning one this December, and we're thinking about what kinds of toys he might like for his birthday and for Christmas. I haven't had to buy him too many toys yet, as he got a lot from shower/gifts/hand-me-downs, but he's starting to get bored with his little baby toys.

Any suggestions for toys that your 12- to 18-month-old enjoys playing with? I've heard good things about the Fisher Price Little People toys, and will probably buy him some more board books to eat ... I mean read.

One of my kids loved the Little People school bus. That or some other bigger chunky car, truck, or train for toddler size hands would be good. Or a pull toy. For something bigger, a tunnel to crawl through might be fun.

This is probably more to the 18 month side (how can I not remember?) but the AquaDoodle is fun and not messy. Also a little older, megablocks are fun and, IMO, easier to manipulate than the Duplo blocks. Or any sort of a blockset would be good. Bryn was really into those cut-out puzzles around 12-18 months but Anna couldn't care less about them.

One of those really annoying musical toys or the music cube thing.

Or a Tickle Me Elmo. :> :!

[Flynn]

Love Little people toys!!!! The zoo, zoo train and school bus is a good start for a one year old.

My kids liked anything they could push at that age. Kid/doll strollers were a hit. Also the shopping carts were fun too. Most brands have "walking toys." As long as they could push it -- they loved it.

They also liked anything they could pull. We have a wooden dog with a cool red leash the kids still love. They "walk the dog."

Balls -- any kind really but beach balls were a hit because they can't wreck anything.

Blocks -- you can't have enough for tower building.



Books: (These are titles)

Jump Frog Jump

Stop Thief!

Peek a WHO?

any "character they like" such as Clifford, Nemo, Sesame Street characters

Anything by Jan Brett


That's a good start. If I think of anything more I'll chime in again.

[Flynn]

OH --- just remembered both kids' favorite gift on their first birthday --

My parents got them about two dozen "practic golf balls" that look like mini wiffle balls and three or four buckets. It sounds weird, but filling and dumping is big at this age so they LOVED filling the buckets and then dumping them. They work in the bath too. (of course they got other things from Grammy and Pop but this of course was the BIG deal. )

[mommax3]

I second the ball and block recommendations. My boys liked those balls that were textured on the outside.....they looked like porcupines. For blocks, at age 1, I looked for fairly big blocks that they could pile up. From my perspective, stuffed blocks are nice, but for the kids, you KNOW it is all about the noise they make when they fall. Chunky cars and trucks are fun, and something with a ramp for the car to go down is fun, too. My boys all loved having a little shopping cart.....they would load it up with toys or stuffed animals and push it around the house. They also liked board books with pictures of actual babies/toddlers in them.

Sally

At 12 months Matthew love:

Lego Duplo
VTech activity table
his 'truck' (one of the ones he could sit on and wheel about or push the handle at the back great for learning to walk and he still uses it now every day @ 2 1/2yrs) like this one:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.js ... age=search

[Cumberland]

MIne was obsessed with the leapfrog learning table. She would stand there dancing to it for hours.

[samssugarmomma]

We are digging anything that can be pushed or pulled in our house - a shopping cart among other push toys! We also enjoy the fisher price
Roll-a-Rounds Pull & Spin Caterpillar.

DD also likes to play with cookie cutters. They make fun "patterns" on the carpet and she wears some of them as bracelets. We bought one of those packages from Michaels/Hobby Lobby that was 100 cookies cutters and has numbers, letters, and designs for different holidays.

She also started coloring around 12 months - though it was (and still is) just lines and squiggles.

The little people are also a hit - we got the Ark and a mini van that has a button that plays music.

[planet]

Kids are so funny. They really do like different things. We gave away some toys that our first never liked only to find the second begging for them.

The balls are pretty reliable though!

For a 1 yr old I also think the shapes toys are good, where you stuff the shapes into matching slots. Those toys seem to capture attention over a wide age span and retain entertainment value.

For a 1 yr old I also think the shapes toys are good, where you stuff the shapes into matching slots. Those toys seem to capture attention over a wide age span and retain entertainment value.

Those shape things have been a hit with both kids.

[migirl]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! I think I'm going to get some type of push/pull toy (I told DH about the shopping cart idea last night and he said, "No shopping cart for my little boy! How about a lawnmower??" ), some blocks (Jack loves knocking down a tower of stacking cups), and something from the Little People line of toys.

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! I think I'm going to get some type of push/pull toy (I told DH about the shopping cart idea last night and he said, "No shopping cart for my little boy! How about a lawnmower??" ), some blocks (Jack loves knocking down a tower of stacking cups), and something from the Little People line of toys.

He's going to have to know how to push a shopping cart at Home Depot! Plus, the kids love being able to put stuff in it. They lose that w/the lawnmower.

May I send you EVERYTHING from the Little People line? (Seriously).

[migirl]

May I send you EVERYTHING from the Little People line? (Seriously).

Jenn, if you're really serious about this I'll definitely take you up on it! Let me know how much you want for everything and I'll PM you my address.

Radio Flyer makes a great push toy wagon. You can see it here: http://www.radioflyer.com/specialty/specialty_12.html.

It is perfect for new walkers, as it has stoppers on it to keep it from getting away from them. My 18 month old still loves to push it around.

I know that LL Bean carried these last winter.

[migirl]

Re: Toys for 1 yo

*bump* for Cheri...

This thread is a couple of years old, but I asked the same questions when DS#1 turned 1yo.

We have a bunch of the Fisher Price Little People stuff (thanks to JennP for the farm ... it's by FAR his favorite!!), and he's JUST getting interested in doing pretend play with them (he'll be 3 in December). Also, beware that all of the little figures and pieces that come with them may well drive you insane. :P

The ride-on toy we got him was a huge hit that year, and he actually still plays with it now. Books, puzzles, blocks are all great too.