Stimulating/Developmental Toys for Toddlers
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Anonymous
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I have a 14 month at home and am having trouble trying to figure out what type of toys are appropriate for this age. I feel like most of the things I find online would bore him. I'm looking for something stimulating, educational, or something that will help develop motor skills (or any other skills he should be developing at this age). I want him to be challenged and learning something new.
My mother-in-law recently made a piggy bank type thing out of a coffee can, and gave him poker chips to put in like coins, which he liked and was able to do, and I liked because it was working on motor skills and he actually had to think about what he was doing. Any suggestions for other home-made things like this that are appropriate for his age? I'm open to buying toys or making them, I just have a hard time finding anything that seems age appropriate and isn't too baby-ish. |
Anonymous
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My kid loves for me to fill up a dish pan and let her splash her hands in it. She likes to pour water into and out of cups. She also loves board books, books with lots of photographs (v. drawings), and her toy like this (http://www.amazon.com/Playskool-Busy-Poppin-Pals-Toy/dp/B00DSIQS6G/ref=sr_1_2?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1410888043&sr=1-2&keywords=boppin+activity+bugs) or this (http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Brilliant-Basics-Boppin-Activity/dp/B00FU2OUF4/ref=sr_1_3?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1410888043&sr=1-3&keywords=boppin+activity+bugs). A push/ride-on toy is great. Ours had a compartment under the seat, and she loved to put things in there and take them back out. Blocks. A big plastic box that she could put things into and out of. This (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002PAQIOU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) was a big hit, as was anything with buttons to push. Things that she could put on her head like a hat.
Don't worry so much about "stimulation" and "development" and "challenging." He's 14 months old, for crying out loud. Everything he does is stimulating and challenging and contributing to his development. |
Anonymous
| Check on pinterest for "sensory table" type of activities. I think this may be what you're looking for, though each activity is about a one day use. |
Anonymous
| My kids loved bags at this age. Reusable grocery bags, Ziplocs, gift bags, any type really. I avoided the plastic grocery bags for safety reasons and made sure to supervise with the Ziplocs. They loved to open and fill Ziplocks with toys or poker chips or grocery shop from their kitchen with a reusable grocery bag. |
Anonymous
| Duplos. Been a favorite in our house since her first birthday and just now at 4 is starting to want the smaller Legos. |
Anonymous
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Anything he could/open close - a box, a cupboard door with only safe things inside. Also stackable Tupperware/measuring cups and pots/pans with wooden spoons to "stir" the air inside. And definitely board books.
I don't think we bought he kid a toy until he was like 18 months old. He seems fine. Don't overthink it! |
Anonymous
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a stick
or 2 sticks and a leaf |
krokodil
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| Just let him wander around the house and play with anything that won't hurt him. Seriously! Make him a low cupboard or two in the kitchen full of safe kitchen gadgets (silicone spoons, plastic bowls, pots and pans) where he can open, reorganize, make noise, climb in, whatever he wants. |
krokodil
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| And I know you're looking for more ideas than that, but really it just comes down to the fact that they love "real" stuff that they see you use and are entertained by just about anything. |
Anonymous
We designated a bottom drawer as my daughter's, and I stocked it with extra measuring cups, spoons, silicone oven mitts, empty spice jars, etc., and let her play with anything in it. We also keep her plates and bowls in it. She knows it's her drawer and likes to rummage, re-arrange, empty and refill, etc. |
Anonymous
| I think 14 months is a little young for such structured activities BUT when he is a little older, water tables are great. This person gave a great review on Amazon with so many creative ideas for different activties: http://smile.amazon.com/review/R2B3OP7KDO7EE7/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B001PGTNK6&nodeID=165793011&store=toys-and-games |
Anonymous
| Thank you! I was certain I was over thinking this, I just need things to keep him occupied, say, when I'm cooking dinner. I love the idea of giving him a drawer or cabinet of his own with tupperware and such to play with. |
Anonymous
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That was a tough age for us, ds flitted from toy to toy, frustration was high, needed lots of attention. But I think that's normal (as opposed to my worry that he was bored). I remember feeling the same as you OP, but when I look back, ds didn't play with toys so much as just miscellaneous things around the house.
Along the same lines as you mentioned, I had a coffee can with a hole cut in the lid and I would put various size toys in it. DS liked to stick his hand in and pull out the toys. It was kind of a little surprise since he couldn't see what was in there, plus he had to figure out how to manipulate the toys to get them out of the hole (there was probably some frustrated screaming involved though). He also LOVED the Little People Stand and Play Rampway. He liked pushing around a laundry basket, playing with a can of tennis balls (and throwing them in a laundry basket), sitting on the kitchen floor with the silverware tray taking the silverware out and putting it back in haphazardly, pouring water from bowl to cup to plastic bin, climbing in and out of a large box, or crawling through a play tunnel. Making a fort by draping a blanket over a table; pulling cushions off the couch and stack for him to climb. I remember all these activities because I was just looking through pictures on my computer today. These are the things he was doing around that age 
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Anonymous
Yes, we did the same. And this is really messy, but DS once pulled out a box of Qtips when I was trying to do my hair and get dressed one morning. It occupied him for a looong time, pulling the qtips out of the box, putting them back in, shaking the box to get them out, etc etc. I let him do that many mornings. So, there's another idea. |
Anonymous
Have you taken a peek at http://www.naeyc.org/ecp/resources/goodtoys ? I was trying to find a link to Denver Developmental, which has a 6 month by 6 month breakdown of types of toys that are age appropriate (with a handful of homemade recommendations per set); but it seems they're behind an expensive paywall. ... DC has had a lot of professional intervention with tips regarding developmentally/age appropriate toys - let me underline that I'm a layperson repeating what I recall, so this may be worse than nothing. Take it or leave it - At about that age, it's important to limit the number of toys that are out at a time. Not severely, but I think we're around 10 or so - over the course of a year, it turns out you kind of accumulate a lot. He was easily frustrated and bored when we had a floor full of toys; within days of restricting the options, he's paying a lot more attention to individual toys and staying longer before switching. Before I sound like a monster, there's also a basket he can reach into with more toys - but one comes out, one goes in (I'll concede this is more a "best effort" than a realized ideal). It's mostly to make sure each toy looks like a distinct item rather than part of an indistinct pile. Cause-effect (manipulate a switch/button and an animal pops up) and single form puzzles (a picture of a farm where a 1 piece cow fits in the cow space, a 1 piece pig fits in the pig space...) are two of the unmentioned categories of toys for this age. I'll also nod to the drawer full of things to play with - especially if you want to do some like work with "organizing" - two cups that fit one inside the other seems to be fascinating every day to DC. Or pretend cooking (a small skillet and a safe spoon). |