Our Favourite Toys for the New Toddler

With our baby turning into a toddler soon, we are trying to be very mindful about what toys enter our home. We've had lots of flashing toys that our baby enjoys, but its more than time to move away from these and into more 'open ended' play. Play that isn't just one hit of a button, and toys that he can grow into and use his imagination to use in different ways and will provide lots of hours of play before he gets bored of them. We are also interested in toys that can also help with language development.

What is open-ended play? These are toys that don't have a single "correct" way to be used. They don't have batteries, they don't give a pre-programmed reward, and they require the child to use their own imagination to make them go. When you reduce the toy clutter and focus on open-ended items, you give your toddler the space to problem-solve, build fine motor skills, and stay engaged for much longer stretches.

This is what is on our wishlist:

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1) High quality board books. We especially are looking for books that build his vocabulary and help with object recognition, so this "First Library" collection of board books focusing on colours, numbers, and naming animals are perfect for his language development and will keep his interest when learning.

See the link here:

2) Blocks. Blocks are a classic open-ended staple, and is the exception to the rule of 'less is more'. Lots of blocks can lead to even bigger creations, although for a 1 year old you can really start with a small collection and perhaps add to the blocks as they grow up. Blocks can one day be a tower, and the next they become a road or a zoo.

They can help with spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, and learning about gravity.

We have our eye on this duplo set:

3) Something musical (but without the flashing lights and crazy sounds). A classic xylophone is also on our list for something that ticks the noise making our son craves without the flashing lights and batteries. This will help with cause and effect and helps with fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and sensory processing. We can also later use it to help with naming colours.

Here is the one we want:

4) Busy books. This will be an early gift before a long haul flight we are taking. Our son has this busy book which has provided a lot of help with previous flights:

We are now looking at this busy board bag:

Given how much he likes to inspect objects that twist and turn, this is surely to be a winner. The quiet, tactile learning experiences keep him regulated and can explore at his own pace with learning fine motor coordination and cognitive problem-solving. This is likely to be a go to for quiet moments or when we need to regulate at a dinner out.

Just because its baby's birthday, it doesn't mean you need to go nuts on getting every single toy, burn your budget and overwhelm your child with options. Picking a few select toys to focus on will feel easier to navigate and more enjoyable in the long run.