Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months Old

This time in your toddler's life is characterized by movement...lots of it. If she hasn't started walking by a year old (around half of babies walk by 13 months), this is the time where she'll take those monumental first steps. By 18 months, you'll be chasing her as she runs down the sidewalk. Toddler-sized play structures will be a thrill for her as she starts to explore and climb, and you'll probably see her dancing and prancing too.

Hand and finger skills are becoming more coordinated; by 18 months she'll be able to pick up small objects with her thumb and forefinger, build taller block towers and scribble. She's into experimenting with cause and effect with her toys, like "What happens when I push this button?" or "What happens if I turn this knob?" to figure out how things work. Imitation is a large part of a toddler's cognitive development at this stage, so you'll see her doing things like holding a toy phone to her ear and 'reading' to you from a book.

Her hands are becoming more coordinated, too, and she can now use toy sorters more efficiently, build even greater block towers, and scribble a drawing. Her play involves lots of experimentation, like "What happens if I drop this ball?" or "What happens if pull this lever?" She's very interested in the consequences of her actions, and because her memory isn't well developed she won't tire of repetition. Toddlers also like to try out what they see adults doing, so look for toys that imitate daily life.

Language development is rapid during this stage; all of a sudden you'll realize that your toddler understands a lot of what you're talking about. He'll probably be able to say between 10-15 words, mostly having to do with objects like 'dog' or 'ball' and can follow simple directions. Books where he can point to familiar objects when you tell him the name for them, i.e. "Where is the duck?" will be fun for him, as well as good for building his language skills and vocabulary.