Top Toys for Toddlers 12-18 Months Old
Ranked #145 in Hobbies, Games & Toys, #2,051 overall
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!
Hottest New Toys on the list are highlighted in yellow
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicafm/2850362223/

Contents at a Glance
Large building bricks
Jumbo size cardboard bricks are light and easily stack into huge towers, walls, forts or whatever your little one's heart desires. Smaller wooden ones provide a gratifying building experience too. Still, knocking them down is usually the best part.
Balls
Toddlers can start playing 'catch', and any easily grasp-able ball will do....cloth balls, vinyl balls, etc. Skip the foam/nerf balls -- they're choking hazards. Go slow with the back & forth rhythm to help your child learn more easily.
A Ball Toy That Gets Rave Reviews From Toddlers
Playskool/Hasbro's Busy Ball Popper
Playskool Explore and Grow Busy Ball Popper
Amazon Price: $19.49 (as of 05/30/2012)![]()
Five colorful balls that 'fountain' out of the top, roll down a chute, go back through a see-thru pipe to do it all again...and with music. What's there for a toddler not to love? The toddler childcare room at my church where I volunteer has a Busy Ball Popper, and every child is fascinated with it. I know of many families who've bought one after their son or daughter enjoyed it in the toddler room because they enjoyed it so much. Grabbing for the balls as a gentle stream of air pushes them out is great fun, and 12-18 month olds can easily see how pushing the plunger gets the toy started. Lots and lots of fun, even for kids older than 18 months.
Granted, the balls can scatter as a result, but children who are newly walking can also get great delight out of chasing the balls. Even if they don't naturally seek out the wayward balls, it can be a good teaching moment to help your child learn to bring a toy back to keep the fun going. Some parents note that the music is a bit on the loud side, but in my experience it's not as loud as some other toys can be. Personal preference, I guess. If you strongly prefer quiet toys, then this one may not be for you.
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
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rachelscott
May 9, 2012 @ 12:28 am | delete
- Well video games
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dannystaple Mar 29, 2012 @ 2:50 pm | delete
- Oh - this is topical. I've now got a 2/3 year old, and a 7 month old - so I am always looking for nice toys. Our favourite is Lego - we have a lot of Lego! The OBall looks nice. The other one we like is a shape sorter - although the one we bought is from Argos (a Brit catalogue shop), and suffered some quality issues - it's not fallen apart, but the shapes are a very tight fit with some being difficult even for me to push through let along the little ones.
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whodiesinthenewharrypotterbook
Dec 23, 2011 @ 8:48 am | delete
- Thank you for ideas!
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KathyT
Dec 22, 2011 @ 6:47 pm | delete
- Well, it's actually my stepdaughter's little 14-month old. He loves doing the "Hokey Pokey" with "Elmo" and lights... sound... Anything with action it seems!
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TopToysForKids
Dec 5, 2011 @ 10:16 pm | delete
- Well, it's been a while. But, toys that have flashing lights and music. Or, toys that offer a reward for pressing buttons seem to be a favorite.
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Playsets
A themed playset brings the great big world down to size for your toddler, giving her the opportunity to make the decisions, control the action, use her developing imagination and gain self-confidence along the way.
Best New Playset
This most recently introduced version of Fisher Price's Animal Sounds Zoo has some upgraded features from previous models.
Fisher Price Little People Zoo Talkers Animal Sounds Zoo
Fisher-Price Little People Zoo Talkers Animal Sounds Zoo
Amazon Price: $28.28 (as of 05/31/2012)![]()
My daughter has played with each upgrade of the Animal Sounds Zoos and found each to be delightful. This version gives even more expression to the features that she and so many other kids love about this line of playsets. First of all, the slide is longer, goes around the back and the animal (or whatever else your child chooses to slide down there) actually stays on the slide and lands in the playset. There's a swing for the animals to go into, which is always a big hit with my daughter, and the animals make fairly realistic sounds. One nice thing is that whichever animal you put on the paw at the base of the toy, it'll recognize the animal and make its correct sound. There are other sounds to discover too.
For parents, the set assembles easily and it has a handle to move it easily. It's big enough for two kids to play with at the same time, which is a nice bonus. However, I wish this came with more animals; only the lion, gorilla and polar bear are included. You have to buy the other ones separately.
Sorting and Nesting Toys
Give your toddler a chance to develop his problem-solving skills via the joys of sorting, stacking, unsorting, and unstacking. He'll love the opportunity to organize and re-organize on his own level. Dumping stuff out is fun too!
Picture Books
Your toddler may start requesting favorite books for you to read. She can now take more enjoyment out of picture books that show familiar objects and activities and that have a bit more of a story line.
More Favorite Toddler Picture Books
These were in heavy rotation in the childcare room in which I volunteered, and are favorites of many other families as well.
Summertime Fun - Water Tables
All the toddlers I know love splashing around with water, so water tables are great for cool summer fun when a pool isn't an option
Step2 WaterWheel Activity Play Table
Step2 WaterWheel Activity Play Table
Amazon Price: $36.99 (as of 05/31/2012)![]()
My best friend got this table when her son turned 1 year old, and it's been something he and his older sister would play with every day if their mom let them. (We live in Florida, so it's almost like summer year-round. They get to play with it a lot) The water pouring wheel helps kids see how water can cause other things to move, and it shows them how water flows downhill too. Besides those educational features, the table is just plain fun. When I bring my daughter over to my friend's house to play, all three kids love getting anything that will scoop and pour water, and they all fit around it quite easily. The table is light enough for an adult to handle, but sturdy enough that three active kiddos have a hard time even tipping it. Right now the oldest one of our trio is 4 years old, and she's still really into this toy. It'll hold up well as your child grows.
Climbing Structures
With your child's large motor skills catching up with her desire to explore, small climbing and sliding play structures provide lots of fun.
Little Tikes Climb and Slide Castle
Amazon Price: $150.73 (as of 05/31/2012)![]()
One of the few climbing structures recommended for younger toddlers, this climber is immensely popular with the kids in my church's toddler play area. Even after my daughter 'graduated' from that play room, she would ask to come back. The 'stairs' are easy to clamber up, and while the wheel thing on top looks really simple, it's quite entertaining to twirl. It can shake a little bit, but the structure is very sturdy and holds together well. Another bonus is that it's small enough to be an indoor toy, but tough enough to withstand the outdoors.
Playing with the Fisher Price Learning Home
A sample of some of the Learning Home's features, as played with by my daughter.
Review of the Fisher Price Learning Home
- Toys That Grow With Your Child
- Full blog review of the Fisher Price Learning Home on AFewOfMommy'sFavoriteThings.com
Ride-on / Push Toys
Newbie or soon-to-be walkers love to practice their skills pushing around a toy big enough to lean into. They may not be ready to ride by themselves yet, but these vehicles will be ready for the next stage of development.
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.
What About Electronic Learning Toys?
There are certainly other ways for toddlers to learn cause and effect and learn vocabulary, but high-quality electronic learning toys can be quite mesmerizing for some toddlers and encourage them in learning.
LeapFrog My Pal Scout
Amazon Price: $23.43 (as of 05/30/2012)![]()
If you're going for an electronic learning toy for 12-18 month olds, you'd be hard-pressed to find one better than LeapFrog's Scout puppy, or the girl version, My Pal Violet. The songs are catchy, and if you hook Scout up to the internet via USB, you can input your child's name and some of his or her favorite things. I like that the songs play for more than just a few moments and that there's so much to do with this one pup. He's just so soft and cuddly too. Quite huggable for kids this age. If you're tempted to go for a competitor's 'learning dog', DON'T DO IT! The brown dog with colorful ears drove my husband and I up the wall and confused our daughter with how sensitive it was to the touch. Scout's much cuter, and a more toddler and parent-friendly pup.
How a 12-18 Month Old is Developing and Playing
Here's a short explanation of how toddlers in this age range are developing, and how it affects their play
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.
Videos
While it's recommended to keep toddlers' video viewing at a minimum, there are a few noteable exceptions.
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.
Tell me about it
Your comments, feedback, and suggestions for this lens/website
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biznardi
May 9, 2012 @ 1:01 am | delete
- You put out some great lenses regarding items for kids. Great lens.
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rachelscott
May 9, 2012 @ 12:28 am | delete
- No doubt lens is awesome remind me my childhood.
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dannystaple Mar 29, 2012 @ 3:30 pm | delete
- The zootalker and busy ball popper look like the kind of toys that would have me mesmerized for a while. We've got some nesting cups for our ones, and they are a bathtime hit because they can also be used for mess and pouring! I've other Fisher Price stuff that is similar to the peek-a-blocks, including a giraffe shape stacker that makes noises. Our favourite picture books are The Gruffalo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. A lovely lens anyway. I love playing with our kids.
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TTMall
Mar 4, 2012 @ 2:11 am | delete
- Great Lens with great resources!
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TTMall
Mar 4, 2012 @ 2:09 am | delete
- Beautiful and informative lens. Thanks for sharing.
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SquidooMBA
Feb 7, 2012 @ 8:27 pm | delete
- Another great lens from a great lensmaster. Keep up the great work.
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sheezie77
Jan 24, 2012 @ 3:35 am | delete
- nice nice lens!
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sheezie77
Jan 24, 2012 @ 3:34 am | delete
- another great lens! thumbs up
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hzwill
Jan 16, 2012 @ 9:27 pm | delete
- Nice lens.Thanks.
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KathyT
Dec 22, 2011 @ 6:49 pm | delete
- Now that John's daughter has a little boy, it's been a lot of fun looking for toys. John just bought "Baby Einstein" on dvds, and we got him a play rug recently... Just bought him a "phonics" and "song" type of helicopter toy... We're a little limited right now because we have to put all gifts in the mail since we're away for the winter. But oh, I love toys! :) Kath
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by BunnyFabulous
I'm a SAHM who knows her toddler toys. Through volunteering in toddler childcare and interacting with my daughter and her playgroup buddies, I've see... more »
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