Age-Appropriate Toys to Keep Your 12-18 Month Old Toddler Playing, Learning and Having Fun
To give you some ideas, I've compiled a list of 'top pick' toys in some general categories of playthings recommended for toddlers 12-18 months old.
Here's what makes a toy a top pick:
- Holds child's interest
- Fun
- Durable/Quality Construction
- Age and Developmentally Appropriate
Have fun!
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mojodenbowsphotostudio/3411058526/
Large building bricks
Melissa & Doug 24-pc. Cardboard Brick Block Set
These Melissa and Doug bricks are sturdy enough to take a beating from rough and tumble toddler play. Different sizes and colors stimulate creative building and sorting. The set in my church's toddler childcare area gets heavy use each week with kids delightedly building and knocking down, and the blocks still look great.
Amazon Price: $29.14 (as of 01/07/2010) 
Deluxe Jumbo Cardboard Blocks
These Melissa and Doug bricks are sturdy enough to take a beating from rough and tumble toddler play. Different sizes and colors stimulate creative building and sorting. The set in my church's toddler childcare area gets heavy use each week with kids delightedly building and knocking down, and the blocks still look great.
Amazon Price: $48.00 (as of 01/07/2010)
What toys does your 12 - 18 month-old like to play with?
Brag about your child's favorite toys and tell us why they're a great purchase for other parents of toddlers
Balls
Original Oball
It's easy for little hands to grasp, easy to catch, and safe to throw. Made out of flexible, durable plastic, my daughter loves squooshing it in her hands and carrying it around. My husband and I like playing around with it too. Very addictive to throw around. This toy can easily be enjoyed by any age.
Amazon Price: $8.99 (as of 01/08/2010)
Edushape 7" See Me Sensory Ball, Colors May Vary
Toddlers can squeeze, roll, throw or kick this colorful and textured ball. Its bumpy surface offers tremendous sensory play value and helps develop gross motor skills. These balls are a favorite with many of my daughter's friends.
Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 01/08/2010)
Sorting and Nesting Toys
Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Baby's First Blocks
The word 'baby' in the title can throw you off. While this is a toy that can be purchased for your child earlier, but our 18-month old still plays with this almost daily. She loves sorting the shapes and it can be easily used to start to teach shapes and colors. An inexpensive toy that is fun through multiple developmental stages.
Amazon Price: $10.29 (as of 01/07/2010)
Fisher Price Peek-A-Blocks: Shape Sorter
Your child is rewarded with fun sound effects and music when they sort any of the 4 shapes, or if they just drop the shapes through the generous open top of the cube. Each shape has a spinning or rattling object inside, and the handle makes it easy to carry around. I personally appreciate the volume control on the sounds. :)
Amazon Price: $49.95 (as of 01/07/2010)
Munchkin Bath Toy - Caterpillar
An Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award Winner, 2009, this cute caterpillar is a nesting, stacking and pouring toy all in one. The different openings and spinner are great for water or sand play, and the pieces link together to make the caterpillar. My daughter likes the smiley caterpillar face on the largest cup.
Amazon Price: $10.00 (as of 01/07/2010)
Picture Books
It's Only Me! (Pip the Penguin)
Toddlers revel in opening the sturdy flaps to find the different animals who are playing musical instruments in Pip the Penguin's house. It's a smaller board book that entertains Samantha very well in the car.
Amazon Price: (as of 01/08/2010)
Skip to My Lou
A delightful adaptation of the familiar whimsical song. It's easy to sing as you read along to this story of a boy being left in charge of a farm and the animal antics that ensue.
Amazon Price: (as of 01/08/2010)
The Going-To-Bed Book
Sandra Boynton puts a funny spin on a familiar going to bed routine. My daughter loves the rhymes, pointing at the animals, and it wraps up our day in a fun but relaxing way. The toothbrushing lines from the book have made it into our own bedtime routine.
Amazon Price: $5.99 (as of 01/08/2010)
Z is for Zoo (Touch and Feel (Priddy Books))
Lots of big colorful animal photos, textures and peekaboo fold-out pages make this book a big favorite. Plus, kids get to learn how to unfold and lift big pages in different directions. It's been fun and skill-building.
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 01/08/2010)
Playtime Learning: My Little Word Book
This book transitions easily from the parent pointing out and saying the words all the way to asking your child 'what's this?' and 'where's the motorcycle?' type questions. You may be surprised at what your child likes to point to and say. I've seen versions of this book in US English and UK English.
Amazon Price: (as of 01/08/2010)
Best toy ever for 12-18 month olds
Vote for the toy you think is the 'must have' item for a child in this age group. Please feel free to add your favorite if it's not on the list already.
Fisher Price Learning Home
Baby loves crawling through the big blue front doo more...0 points
Original Oball Jellies
It Sparkles! A ball full of finger holes that is i more...0 points
Fisher Price Little People School Bus Ride on w/English Generic Sound Chip
The ever-popular Fisher-Price Little People School more...0 points
Playsets
Little People Animal Sounds Zoo
The buttons are easy for this age group to push, and the sounds are very entertaining. The elephant, seal and monkey sounds are fairly realistic, but the lion and polar bear sound like some guy saying 'rowr'. That being said, my daughter still likes them and I'd rather have the sounds be hokey than scary. She likes playing with the animals separately too, and she likes to 'feed' her charges like a zookeeper.
Amazon Price: (as of 01/08/2010)
Fisher Price Learning Home
This home is an activity-fest for all stages of an 12-18 month old toddler's development and interests. There are buttons to push, shapes to sort, things to spin, songs, doors to open and shut, and words that go along with actions. My daughter has found hours and hours of fun with this toy, and different parts of it have appealed to her at different ages. This is a toy that'll last beyond the 18 month mark too; it's still a popular one at our house.
Amazon Price: $61.00 (as of 01/08/2010)
Fisher-Price Little People Animal Sounds Farm
Fun animal sounds and places for the animals to 'live' make this toy popular with toddlers. The silo chute and door are great entertainment; our daughter loved stuffing all the animals down the silo then opening the door for them to spill out. The age range for the toy says 2 - 4 years, but younger toddlers can still play with it well.
Amazon Price: $44.99 (as of 01/08/2010)
Washable Crayons and Paper
Your child's first scribbles! Hand your toddler just a few crayons at a time so she isn't overwhelmed. Taping the paper down can help so it doesn't get away from your child.
Crayola 3ct. Washable TaDoodles Crayon Buddies
Cute creatures help your littlest artist get a good grip on a crayon for their first drawings.
Amazon Price: $7.40 (as of 01/08/2010)
TaDoodles First Markers (set of 6)
Cute creatures help your littlest artist get a good grip on a washable marker for their first drawings.
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 01/08/2010)
Crayola Beginnings Washable Triangular Crayons 8 ea
These triangular crayons are easily grippable for many kids near the 17-18 month mark. The triangle shape helps children develop a writing grip more easily.
Amazon Price: $2.88 (as of 01/08/2010)
Communicate with Your Toddler Through Sign Language
Learning sign language with your child reduces communication frustration for both parents and children. These national award-winning videos make it easy and fun for children 6-36 months to learn signs for helpful words in their world.
How an 12-18 Month Old is Developing and Playing
As told by BabyCenter.com, here's a short explanation of how toddlers in this age range are developing, and how it affects their play
Your toddler is really taking off these days - and as you chase her little body down the street, you may miss the days before she learned to use her legs so well. "Active" is an apt way to describe her now, and she likes any toy or game that allows her to throw her whole self into it - balls, swings, and tiny climbing sets, to name a few.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.
* By 13 months, about half of all babies walk, but most still fall over if they lose momentum.
* At 15 months, he is beginning to twist his wrist so that his hand turns independently of his arm.
* He is more purposeful in the way he explores objects.
* He can put two ideas together to make a plan and his behavior begins to flow.
* He starts to treat objects in appropriate ways: he cuddles teddy bears and presses the button on his jack-in-the-box.
* He says his first word (any time after 8 months). First words generally relate to objects: cats, dogs and buses are popular, as are sounds associated with food such as "Yummm."
More Resources to Find Great Toys
- Oppenheim Toy Portfolio
- The Oppenheim Toy Portfolio was founded in 1989 as the only independent consumer review of children's media. They test and review products for children the year-round-only we get to do what most parents wish they could do before they buy; open the toys, run the videos, read the books, play the music, and boot up the software. They send the best of these products on to our families of testers for further evaluation.
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