100+ Popular Gifts for Infants and Toddlers (Ages 0 – 3 Years Old)

Buying gifts for my kids, nieces, nephews and my kids’ friends is something I both love absolutely and dread fiercely…

My problem is, I get sucked into hopping from one popular toy to another and looking at the reviews forever.

If you don’t want to go down that path this holiday season, we’ve done the work for you!

Here are the most popular gifts for your little ones, their friends, nieces, nephews, grandkids and more.

And the best part?

They are all from Amazon, they all have a 4+ rating from tons of reviews and most are available through Prime shipping, so even if you are shopping at the very last minute, you might still be able to get them in time!

Many of these I gave to my own children. A lot of them I specifically picked because we use them in the toddler room at my Montessori Preschool (the ones for ages 3+ are used with supervision). Some of these are “classic” enough that you may have played with them when you were a toddler!

Alright, here we go –

Toys for Infants

Servin’ Up Food Truck

Of ALL the toys I have ever owned (and there have been many), this is by far the most fun my kids and I have ever had. From infancy, the food items are fun to let your baby grasp and slobber on. As they start to stand, this is a sturdy enough platform to pull themselves up. Then there’s ALL the amazing learning to be done: the sorting cookie trash bin, the food items, the colors of the smoothies, the sizes, the open/closed sign! And the music is amazing; it’s super fun to dance and sing along. Also excellent for sibling play or parent/child connection because one can order while one eats. Truly endless joy.

White Hot Duck Bath Set

This set is great from the time of your baby’s first bath. The white-hot duck tells you if your bath water is over 104 degrees, and the little boats and toy are a great addition to bath time for infants and toddlers.

Fisher Price Stack & Sort Set

Here are two classics combined into one package! Great for dexterity development, motor skills, shape and color recognition. The rings are great to bang, chew and throw too (as well as stacking of course).

Softscape Foam Climber Set

If your little one is crawling, this is a fun set that is soft and low to the ground–it’s so much fun to do baby obstacle courses! Great for developing those little muscles.

Oball

Easy to grasp and throw, the Oball is a great bendy toy for babies to interact with. It can squish easily and is super lightweight; the 32 holes make it very easy for little fingers to hang on!

Glow Light Bar

If you’re okay with lights and sound, this three-language light up bar may be a fun addition to baby’s tummy time! There are animal sounds as well as classical tunes and full songs in Spanish, French and English.

Fun Baby Toothbrush

Brushing teeth is an everyday affair, so why not make it even more fun? These are training toothbrushes for babies and there are some cute options including a unicorn, dragon, shark, octopus and the classic banana! Because it’s a teether, you don’t have to be afraid to just let your baby chew on it as well. You can even freeze it to help numb teething pain.

• Development of healthy habits
• Development of fine motor control
• Development of hand-eye coordination

Caterpillar Toy

This is fun for a little music and some different textures for a baby to explore. A simple toy with some crinkly, musical fun!

Floor Mirror & Contrast Art Book

Give your baby something amazing to look at during tummy time — him or herself! It also comes with a high-contrast flip book of fun images to keep baby engaged.

• Supports cognitive development
• Encourage curiosity
• Develops eye-tracking skills

Stacking Cups

Stacking cups are great for baths and playtime. With a modern color scheme and fun-shaped various holes in the bottom of each cup, these will delight any play area or bathtub.

• Promote hand-eye coordination
• Develop motor skills
• Introduce shapes and colors

Stacking Rings

This stacking set offers more than the norm — each ring is different, providing a range of tactile development opportunities! There’s a squishy ring, a rattling one and many different bright colors and textures.

Musical Egg Shakers

These cute little eggs are easy for babies to hold and they make a pleasing sound when shaken. It’s a classic Baby’s First musical instrument.

• Develop a sense of cause and effect
• Develop rhythm if shaken with music
• Build gross motor skills

Teethers

Baby’s first instinct is to put things in their mouths. Which is why Baby’s first gift is usually a teething toy. This bundle of teethers has different grips, textures, and sounds to keep your little one interested all during that dinner out.

• Bright primary colors young babies can see
• The grips encourage fine motor development
• Patterns on the toys give them practice with eye tracking

Pop-Up Surprise Toy

This is a classic that even I remember being in my childhood toy bin. You turn the keys, put the buttons, flip the switch, and *POP* out comes the smiling face of an animal friend.

• Encourages fine motor development
• Helps with learning cause-and-effect
• Develops problem solving abilities

Crinkle Books

My kids LOVED crinkle books. They loved hearing the crackle and then feeling it crinkle in their mouths as they teethed on it. Plus it was a way they could interact with a book without it being destroyed in four minutes.

• Encourages auditory and tactile sense development
• Encourages fine motor control
• Encourages a love for books

Lamaze Cloth Books

Another book that is perfect for introducing babies to reading. The book has flaps to move to reveal the answer to the questions posed in the book. Mom and Dad can read while allowing baby to interact with the book.

• Encourages a love for reading
• Develops fine motor control
• Builds the concentration and focus muscles of the brain

Rocking Seat

It seems like no nursery is complete without an infant seat. This particular model promises to grow with your child and becomes a toddler rocking chair. I used mine when I needed to cook and my boys needed to play.

• Exercises gross motor control muscles
• Stimulates hand-eye reflexes
• Helps with learning cause-and-effect

Infant and Toddler Swing

Who doesn’t love a swing?? It’s often the favorite place to be on the playground. Swings are perfect for encouraging your child to get outdoors and work off a lot of pent-up energy.

• Encourages gross motor skills
• Helps to develop coordination

Bath Toys

Bath time is a great way to connect with your child. Bath toys can help with building that connection. This one can become a game for baby and parent to play together!

• Helps with hand-eye coordination
• Allows the baby to develop imagination
• Helps to build connection between parent and child

Puppets

Puppets are so much fun for kids and their parents! They allow for imaginations to flow and connections to develop.

• Encourages imaginative play
• Builds the connection between parent and child

Kick n’ Play Piano Gym

Another essential for any nursery is a play mat. They are great for babies just learning how to kick and move and for baby’s tummy time. The piano at the end encourages kicking and leg muscle movement. And it’s great for parents who need both their hands for a couple of minutes.

• Encourages neck muscle development during tummy time
• Develops hand-eye coordination
• Stimulates visual brain receptors

Activity Mat

This play mat is great for even the littlest babies. The enticingly colored toys hanging overhead encourage baby to reach up and touch them. The ball pit and the end is great for when your baby becomes a crawler and wants to interact more with the world around them.

• Encourages arm muscle development
• Develops hand-eye coordination
• Develops gross motor control

Crib Mobile

Crib Mobiles are ubiquitous because they help babies develop the eye muscles that help them focus. The bright colors and different shapes are attractive to them and the musical mobiles help to stimulate the development of cognitive skills.

• Develops cognition skills
• Stimulates eye coordination and development

Rattle and Sensory Teether

Not your typical teething toy. It encourages the baby to hold it with two hands instead of just one. There is also a mixture of textures – the smooth plastic loops and a cloth rattle in the middle. It’s also brightly colored and attractive to babies of all ages.

• Development of fine motor coordination
• Stimulates hand-eye reflex coordination
• Teaches cause-and-effect

Book Teething Toy

This book is so delightful! It has crinkle pages, silky tags, and soft fabrics for your baby to touch, rub, and chew on. The black, white, and red colors of the book are especially attractive to young babies who are still developing their sight and focus muscles.

• Development of fine motor skills
• Development of optic muscles
• Development of sense of touch

Developmental Bumpy Ball

Part rattle, part ball. This toy has big chunky arms on it that your baby can grasp easily. The arms are different, brightly colored fabrics and textures making each touch as new sensation.

• Development of fine motor skills
• Development of sense of touch
• Stimulates auditory development

Take Along Musical Toy Set

Numerous articles have been written about how great music is for babies. These toys help expose your baby to different classical music pieces. And they’re all conveniently sized so you can pop them in your bag and hand any of them to your child while they are in the stroller.

• Development of cognition skills
• Stimulates auditory development
• Helps to promote music appreciation

Take Along Stroller Clip on Toy

This toy is great for keeping your baby occupied while they are strapped into their stroller. It has multiple textures, colors, and sounds packed into one little toy.

• Development of fine motor skills
• Promotion of eye focusing muscles
• Development of sense of touch

Tummy Time Mat

Tummy time is the one thing I clearly remember my doctor advising me to do for my infant. But it could get so frustrating for him! The toys would roll away and holding your neck muscles up like that is hard work! This toy helps with all of that. Plus it’s got a mirror in it, which also helps with eye tracking development.

• Development of the neck muscles
• Development of eye tracking
• Development of sense of touch

Sit-Me-Up Floor Seat

This is great for babies that want to sit up, but don’t have the stomach muscles or balance necessary to do it successfully all the time. I can see using this on the floor next to the dining room table if they are rejecting the high chair. Plus it has several differently textured rings and toys connected to it, plus some of those great crinkle pages.

• Development of gross motor skills
• Development of fine motor skills
• Processing texture and auditory stimulation

Walker

This is more than just a walker. It’s also an activity center, complete with a 5-key piano on it. There is also a shape sorter and all kinds of buttons on it just waiting to be pushed! Walkers are great during that awkward learning to walk phase of toddler development. They keep the child stable and encourage walking practice.

• Development of gross motor skills
• Processing auditory stimulation
• Development of cognitive abilities

Learning Table

As soon as my boys were standing this toy dominated our playroom. They would cruise around it, pushing buttons and flicking levers. It’s a toy that encourages the development of both fine and gross motor skills. It also allows them to delve deeper into learning with sounds, pictures, color buttons, and letters.

• Development of cognitive abilities
• Development of gross motor skills
• Development of fine motor skills
• Development of hand-eye coordination

Wonder Wheel Activity Center

A deceptively simple toy that will keep a baby entertained for an absurdly long time. It can suction cup on to any surface so it’s great for keeping them occupied in their high chair while you finish your meal. And it’s little spinner encourage fine motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination to develop.

• Development of fine motor skills
• Development of hand-eye coordination
• Teaches cause and effect

Baby Jumper Activity Center

Babies love to jump! From the time you lay them on their backs they are kicking with their little legs. And when they start to stand they naturally start to move them to jump. This jumper helps to support their weight while they are giving their quads and calves a workout. Plus there is plenty to do! The seat is also an activity center with a rattle, spinner drum, and lots of animals to grab.

• Development of gross motor skills
• Development of muscles they need later for crawling and walking
• Teaches cause and effect

Folding Wagon with Canopy

Wagons are so great! They can haul everything you need for a picnic or a day at the beach. I also see them every time our town is having a parade. The kids have a place to sit and play in the shade while they wait. Plus there are no tired legs just when the fun is going to get started!

• Development of parent-child bond
• Encouragement of connection with world outside the family

Toys for Toddlers

Toys that Encourage Creativity

Spike the Hedgehog

Spike is an amazing toy for sorting, color recognition, counting and especially fine motor skills. He even acts as a storage for his own quills when you’re done playing so you don’t have pieces roaming around!

Fisher Price Little People Sets

There are many different little sets and all of the Little People are interchangeable. These are sturdy for little hands, and they can take the brunt of a toddler’s play.

Toy Vacuum

Kids love to imitate adults, and this vacuum is a great way to let your toddler join in the cleaning fun!

Squishy Blocks

A different kind of block that’s fun to squeeze, squish, stack and throw — these make for fun stacking toys that don’t hurt if they fall on your toes!

Play Together Piano

A baby piano that can connect to other Baby Einstein Together in Tune instruments so you can have a family jam session…or your toddler can play it alone! Rock out to the beats or play your own on the sensitive wooden “keys” this piano sports!

Green Toys Ferry Boat

Of all the bath toys I own, this has been the running favorite for 6 years. (And it’s also fun out of the bath!) Green Toys uses recycled milk jugs to create their simple and sturdy toys, and this ferry boat with a pull-out ramp and two little cars has provided hours of fun for my kids.

Cocomelon Singalong with Microphone

Microphones are made to amplify the fun! Here’s a little Cocomelon, 5-song speaker for toddlers to rock out with. Enjoy the lights and sounds that your kid can carry around anyhere they went to belt out a tune.

Mega Blocks

These chunky blocks are great for little hands. Building blocks are a classic toy that allows kids to express their creativity. These blocks are sized so that toddlers can easily fit them together and take them apart with a minimum of frustration.

Wooden Building Blocks

I don’t know of a toy box that doesn’t have wooden blocks in it. These blocks are brightly colored and have multiple shapes for maximum creative building and construction. I love that these blocks are neutrally colored as to be attractive for boys and girls.

Stuffed Animal Rocker and Rocking Horse

We are featuring two different kinds of rocking horses here. One has more of a chair shaped seat, complete with safety belt, and the other is a classic rocking horse meant for older toddlers. Both are wonderful for fantasy play. Who doesn’t love pretending they are a jockey or a cowhand? Kids can also pretend to care and feed the horses, giving them a chance to exercise their more nurturing instincts.

Plush Rocker

Here’s another rocker with great reviews and lots of different options! Choose from characters or other plushies in different colors to match your decor.

Xylophone (or Glockenspiel)

Music is a great way of tapping into inner creativity. A xylophone is one of the simplest instruments there is to use. They can bang out patterns they’ve heard and come up with new patterns, which helps with cognition and the development of math skills. The mallets allow the child to satisfyingly whack at the metal bars while producing a delightful ringing tone.

Lacing Beads

We use these lacing beads in our Montessori Preschool. They are used under supervision, as they are technically for 3 year olds. Besides being awesome for making creative necklaces and other designs, these beads are great for building concentration, dexterity, and find motor skills.

Percussion Instruments

Like the xylophone, all these percussion instruments are great for creating rhythm for their musical compositions. Beside creativity, it helps to develop their hand-eye coordination and concentration. There is no wrong way to play them and they can shake and bang on them to their heart’s content.

Jumbo Triangle Crayons and Natural Beeswax Crayons

Crayons are magical. I kept a baggie of them in my purse and in the diaper bag with a thin notebook of paper. Those crayons got me out many a jam when appointments and waiting times went to long. Or even trips in the car. The triangular crayons help to train the hand to hold a pencil confidently. The beeswax crayons are thick and chunky and all natural. But any of these will help your child unlock their inner artist.

Toddler Coloring Book

Coloring books are so much fun! And now with all the adult coloring books available you and your toddler can color together! Coloring books are great practice for hand control and pencil grip that are needed when children start writing. Plus there is no right or wrong when it comes to the colors they choose so they can be free to be as creative as they want!

Baby Piano

Another great creative musical instrument is the baby piano. It allows children to experiment with tone and pitch as well as developing patterns and early math sense. Plus it’s just plain fun to bang on the keys and have different sounds come out!

Tent

This is a cute tent that can be used inside or outdoors for anything your toddler can dream up. Toddlers often like cozy places to crawl into and play. And with their imaginations this tent can be anything and anywhere they can dream up!

Kids Playhouse Jungle Gym w/ Pop Up Tents, Tunnels, and Basketball Pit

This is the ultimate play area for toddlers. There are tunnels and tents and a ball pit! It gives the toddlers a large area to move around in and work on those gross motor skills they are developing. It’s great for crawlers and new walkers!

Kinetic Sand

Kinetic sand is like regular sand, but better! You can mold it like Play-Doh, yet it still has the texture of damp sand. Toddlers can squeeze it and squish it through their fingers giving them an important sensory experience.

Drop & Go Dump Truck

This dump truck is so much fun! It has bright colors that kids love and it comes with “boulders” for kid to load and then dump into the truck. This toy is good for fine motor skills training as well as imaginative play.

Toys that Encourage Learning

Our Little Adventures Board Book Set

Created by a speech therapist, these beautiful books encourage your child’s budding vocabulary while also teaching us about friendship and kindness.

100 Animals Book

Here’s an interactive book that has six double sided pages with animals split into their respective habitats. It not only introduces animals and the sounds they make, but also science concepts and the book is fully bilingual and has songs as well!

Shape Sorter

Along with first words comes learning first shapes. This shape sorter has a cloth exterior and a tough, durable face where the holes for the shapes are. It also has a nice handle so you can toss it into your diaper bag for them to play with on the go. This toy combines fine motor skills work with cognitive and matching abilities for hours of fun.

Peg and Shape Board

This toy is a great combination of a shape sorter and a peg board. The foam sides can be taken apart to create a large board or it can be fitted together made a box. The pegs are chunky and brightly colored. Plus you can stack them together allowing some creativity and pattern building to happen. This toy teaches children their shapes and colors as well as helps them develop better fine motor control.

Wooden Shape and Counting Board

This toy is incledibly fun: a sflip-top barn with shape-sorting pieces that can also be played with as farm animals. The pieces are wooden and they are chunky for little hands. This helps develop hand-eye coordination as well as fine motor skills.

Stack and Sort Board

This is a similar board to the one above, but this one is set up for the shapes and quantities to be displayed in a linear fashion, which helps with pattern recognition. With only 1 dowel to have to thread through the shapes it is a little easier for younger children to manipulate. This is also great for the development of fine motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination.

Wooden Block Puzzles

Kids love these! They are puzzles, but without the frustrating interlocking pieces of more advanced puzzles. Children take the wooden shapes and match them to their correct spaces in the puzzle picture. This is a wonderful toy for beginning problem solving, fine motor control, and for learning their shapes.

Speaking Alphabet Toy

This is a fun electronic toy that helps introduce your child to the phonics of the alphabet. There are big buttons to push and seven different game settings to continually challenge them. There is even a clock at the top they can interact with to start experimenting with time.

Beehive Toy

I love this toy so much I bought it for my Montessori school! Not only does it help to strengthen the child’s hand through the use of the bee-moving tongs, it also introduces them to the concept of how hexagons fit together to form a honeycomb. Children match the colors of the bees to their hive home and work on the hand muscles they will use for writing by using the tongs or their pincer grasp.

Toys that Encourage Reading

Alphabet Letters

One of the first things we teach our children is the alphabet. These soft, cloth cards each have the letter with a word that starts with that letter on one side and a picture of that word on the back. They allow the toddler to make cognitive connections by physically interact with the letter while they also connect with you.

Teach my Baby Learning Kit

Talk about the whole kit and kaboodle! This set has everything you need to teach your toddler the parts of their body, numbers, letters, sight words, and the sounds that animals and cars make. It also comes with puppets, mirrors, blocks, and flash cards to help reinforce the books from the kit.

Busy Noisy Farm: Interactive Children’s Sound Book by Julia Lobo

This book tells the story of a typical day on the farm and has a panel of buttons that play animal noises on the side. Your child can follow along with a story and then add in the animal noises where their icon appears in the book. It makes it fun for them and gives them a chance to participate in the telling of the story.

First 100 Words by Roger Priddy

You can buy this as either a board book or as a traditional paper book. These first 100 words are boldly printed and illustrated with color photos. It can carry your toddler through from spoken vocabulary enrichment to basic reading word acquisition.

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes by Annie Kubler

A book that is also a fun and energetic song! It teaches the parts of the body with cute illustrations and the music and lyrics to the song are printed on the back cover. We sing this song when it’s too rainy to go outside, yet they really need to work their muscles!

ABCs of Science by Chris Ferrie

Don’t be daunted by the words in this book. They are complex, but I’ve learned that children will soak up anything you will teach them! Plus each word is illustrated to demonstrate its meaning.

Classic Board Books

There is no better way to instill a love of reading in your children than by reading some really wonderful books to them. The books listed below are five-star classics in the beginning reading book world that bring them into the world of reading. All of these books are fun to read, but also teach children about colors, foods, life lessons, and the beauty of words.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

One in a series of creative collage books from Eric Carle. This one teaches kids not only about animals, but also the colors in nature.

Goodnight Moon

A wonderful bedtime story that you will be reciting long after they have left toddlerhood. It makes me want to cuddle just thinking about every night I read it my kids.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Another masterpiece by Eric Carle. Walk through the life cycle of a caterpillar and watch it turn into a butterfly. Plus you and your child will giggle reading about all the absurd foods this Very Hungry Caterpillar eats!

Bright and Early Board Books by Dr. Seuss

This is a great collection of stories by Dr. Seuss. It has everything you need to start a wonderful library for your child.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

A funny story about little Peter Rabbit who decided to disobey his mother and go into Farmer McGregor’s garden anyway. My children loved to read all about Peter’s exciting adventure.

The Napping House

Another bedtime classic. It’s a book that makes we want to snuggle with my kids under the blankets while we giggle about the unexpected visitor that shows up.

The Little Engine That Could

The original book on Grit. Soon your children will be reciting “I think I can! I think I can!” as they try to overcome their own obstacles.

Toys that Encourage Independent Play

Sing Along Bluey

These Bluey (and Bingo) little plush babies say a handful of different phrases. If you have a Bluey fan, these seem to be a big hit with the toddlers and kids!

Bubble Pop-its

Honestly, the toddler and everyone else in the family enjoys these bubble poppers — it’s like endless bubble wrap and could pass as a fidget, but it’s also incredibly satisfying for toddlers to poke and pop each little bubble!

5 Layer Ball Drop and Roll

The ball drop is a 5 layer cake of platforms where you drop the ball into the hole at the top and watch it roll around the layer and drop through the holes in the lower layers. Children can practice their fine motor control and their problem solving abilities.

Push Toy

Toddlers love to walk. And as soon as they can get to their feet they want to push things. This is a fun walking push toy as the crocodiles chomp their big mouths open and shut as it is pushed forward. They can practice their walking and then pretty soon they are running!

Toy Pull-Back Cars

Cars are something every child looks to play with. These are made of soft cloth which is good for little hands to be able to grasp. Plus you can pull them back to wind up the motor on the inside and then let them shoot forward across the floor. This encourages problem solving skills to develop as well as fine and gross motor skills.

Interactive Musical Toy

Children love music. A toy that plays music can keep a toddler busy for at least the length of time it takes you to throw in a load of laundry. Music can help children make pattern connections that prepare them for math concepts when they are older. This particular singing duck has several buttons that make other noises as well, including a cute, “uh oh!” and a baby duck that quacks.

Sit and Spin

Boy, do I remember this toy! I even remember my cousin had one for her kids and they would sit and crank themselves around while they sang to a kids’ music CD. This is great for a toddler that needs to work off some energy in small spaces.

Ride-On Toy

We had at least two of these ride-on toys – one for outside and one for indoors. Both my sons would whip through the house or down the block while laughing their heads off. This is a great toy for gross motor coordination, body-eye coordination, and balance.

Corn Popper Push Toy

Who else had one of these? They are a classic toy for a reason. The piston on the inside of a clear dome is worked up and down as the wheels are moved which makes the colorful balls on the inside fly around with a distinct “popping” noise. Children can use one hand to run this around the room or they can pretend to vacuum alongside you, as my boys did.

Walk-A-Long Puppy Wooden Pull Toy

As much as toddlers love pushing things along with them they also love pulling toys behind them. Not only does this toy help kids develop gross motor skills, grasping the string also works on their fine motor skills. Figuring out how to turn the dog or get it around obstacles also encourages their problem solving skills.

Toys that Encourage Cooperative Play

Whack-A-Frog

What toddler doesn’t like hitting things? This Whack-a-frog is sure to delight with its soft hammers and music. Develop hand-eye coordination, cooperation and concentration while having an amazing time bludgeoning frogs with your giggling toddler.

Stacking and Nesting Cups

Did you know that stacking blocks is one of the first forms of geometry? The same is true of these stacking and nesting cups. It demonstrates the graduation of size. Parents can take turns stacking a cup on top of the other. They can also hide objects underneath the cups for the toddler to discover. This toy teaches problem solving skills and fine motor control.

Bean Bag Game

Toddlers love throwing things. And isn’t it nice to have a toy designed specifically to catch what they throw? In this case, they can throw bean bags at a turtle-shaped target that catches the bean bags. This helps them hone their hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills. Playing with your child teaches them about taking turns and creates an opportunity for connection.

Bowling Game

Along with throwing, toddlers like rolling a ball back and forth. This little bowling game can be used indoors or out to help toddlers work on their gross and fine motor skills and hone their hand-eye coordination. And by playing with them you get to teach them about the patience needed to take turns.

Toys that Encourage Healthy Eating

Hungry Pelican

When we feed our children they naturally want to feed us in return. This toy gives your toddler the chance to feed someone else for a change. It comes with different foods the pelican can eat. Each of the pieces make a different noise, which stimulates their senses and encourages them to eat their own food – like a hungry pelican!

Play Food

In order to learn about healthy eating kids needs to interact with food. Play food is a great way for them to let what they eat inspire their creativity. This food set comes with 4 crates so toddlers can learn how foods sort into 4 different food groups.

Food Preparing Toy

This is another toy we use at the preschool. Toddlers see us cutting up fruit and vegetables and they want to help. But it’s not really safe to hand them a knife before they have mastered their fine motor coordination. Kids are more likely to eat what they help prepare. Having them work alongside you increases the chances they will be more receptive to trying new foods at dinner. It’s also great for releasing their creativity!

Play Kitchen

A play kitchen can be a magical place. You get to pretend you are the cook of the household and can whip up any dish you can dream up for your adoring family. This set comes with pots and pan and spoons and everything else a real kitchen has in it.

Pretend Food and Dishes Playset

With the pretend food and the dish set you can either use it to enhance your play kitchen experience or you can use it separately to imagine what healthy foods you might want to cook. Kids learn the different names of foods and what they look like. You can also have them set up their own grocery store and pretend to shop!

Kitchen Step Stool

This one is definitely Montessori approved. It’s not so much a step stool as it is a step tower. The sides help to keep your toddler from losing their balance or falling off when they get distracted. It has an adjustable height so it can grow with your family. Plus it stands right up against the counter so they can be right next to you and help you with the real cooking.

Toys that Encourage a Parent and Child Connection

Tea Set

What is sweeter than having a tea party with your child? Building connection means spending quality time with your child do what they want to do. You are making them feel so special by giving them this time. This tea set is perfect for a little tea party. It comes with everything except the cookies!

Bath Boats

Another great time to build connection with your child is bath time. Bath toys, especially boats, are a catalyst for this kind of connection. You can have an armada or make it into a boat train, whatever. The important thing is that it’s quality time with your toddler.

Bath Finger Puppet Book

Bath time is also a great time for connecting with books. This book is a puffy vinyl so it’s made to go in the water. You can read it and work the puppet to make your little one giggle while they get squeaky clean.

Peek-A-Boo Play Book

Reading a book at bedtime is also a great opportunity to connect with your child. This book comes with flaps to lift and peek under as you cuddle before they go to sleep.

Toys the Encourage Children to Play Outside

A Climber with Slide

Toddlers love to climb. And there is no better way to get down than by sliding! This toy has a small footprint so it’s good for the tiniest of yards. Climbing and then sliding helps them with gross motor development and problem solving skills.

Water Play Table

Kids love to play with water, but the sink or bathtub aren’t always available. A water table is the answer. It comes with buckets and cups and squirters that will inspire your toddler’s creativity. Plus it’s a great sensory experience!

Basketball Set

Like I said above, toddlers like to throw! Using this basketball set they can toss the ball over or underhanded and the basket can be adjusted as their skill improves. This uses both fine and gross motor skills and it encourages them to persevere until they manage to sink a shot.

Sand Table

I love this sand table for two reasons. It has a cover to keep out animals plus it allows your child to dig in the sand without sand getting into every pocket and cuff. Playing in sand is such a great sensory experience plus it allows them to be creative on a whole different scale.

Gardening Tools

Children want to do what we do. If we are in the garden digging, they also want to be right there with their hands in the dirt. These tools are just their size. And they are made out of metal which means they will be durable as they dig and rake.

Balance Bike

We saw balance bikes all over Europe. They love them because it lets kids practice their coordination and gross motor movements in a safe and fun way. With this kind of balance bike they more quickly adapted to the bigger pedal bikes when they were older.

Camping Gear

There is something magical about camping. Unfortunately, not every weekend can be a camping weekend. This gear lets them pretend they are in the big woods for a weekend of outdoor adventure!

Large Playground Balls

These balls are just the right size for kicking, throwing and catching. They have that classic outside ball texture that makes gripping the ball a little easier. And since they are big they are easier for toddlers to see and handle.

Scoot Car

Scoot cars are wonderful outdoor imagination toys. Your child can be anything they want to be! A race car driver. Someone going to get groceries. A police officer. Anyone they want to be. This car works their leg muscles and is good for hand-eye coordination a they steer the car around obstacles.

Patio with Canopy Playhouse

This patio has it all! There is a little sand table, a little water table, a play grill, and a picnic area for feeding their guests. And it’s nicely shaded so that the bright sun doesn’t have to end a brilliant imaginative play session. This will really spark their creativity!

Toys that Encourage Participation in Practical Life

Lacing Cards

Lacing cards are a fun activity that gives toddlers a chance to practice their fine motor control. It’s also helps them to learn to follow the outlines of a shape and gives them a chance to exercise their focus and concentration.

Cleaning Toys

Kids want to do what we do. And that includes cleaning. Parents often think toddlers are too young to help clean, but they are wrong. With the right tools they can actually help you! This set comes complete with a mop, broom, dust pan, and duster. If you start out following their inclinations to help you, getting them to do chores when they are older will be a snap.

Dressing Board

Doing up buttons and zippers are hard for toddlers. But what they need is practice. These dressing boards are very similar to the ones used in Montessori preschools. They allow children to develop the dexterity needed to manipulate a button through a button hole, tie some shoe laces, and zip up a coat.

Fastening Buckles

Buckles are another part of life for toddlers. This cute backpack is covered in buckles to click and unclick together. Working these buckles helps to build grit, develop fine motor control, and build their self esteem by feeling useful!

Latches Activity Board

We love this activity board in the toddler room. It has all sorts of buckles and latches and clasps that little fingers can open to reveal what is behind the door. This toy will require parent supervision, but it is so much fun to watch them figure out how everything moves.

Outdoor Tools

As I said before, children love to help us do our work. Having their own tools can help make that possible. The tool my kids loved the most in this set was the rake. Every time I went out to rake leaves they were right there beside me. It helped build their self-esteem, too, because they were doing real work that made a real contribution to the family.

Nuts and Bolts

This is also a winner in the Montessori toddler room. Toddlers don’t often get the chance to practice their twisting motion. It’s the same motion for opening doors and taking the lid off of jars! These nuts and bolts sets will help them practice that important motion and develop their manual dexterity.

Pounding Bench Wooden Toy With Mallet

A pounding bench is a classic toy. I think even my mom had one. Hammering in the little round dowels lets a toddler practice their hand-eye coordination, fine and gross motor control, and manual dexterity. Plus there is something really satisfying about pounding them all the way in!

Toy Shopping Cart

I bet you’ve seen little shopping carts like these in your grocery store. As your toddler gets older they are able to push around their toys with more dexterity and confidence. A shopping cart is not only gives them a bigger challenge, it also allows them to either make their own imaginary shopping experience or allows them to feel included in the family’s shopping experience.

So there you have it. It took us forever to get together this list of popular gifts for infants and toddlers. If you have a newborn, a 1 year old, a 2 year old or a 3 year old, these toys have been vetted out by thousands of parents as seen by the reviews on them… So when you are in a hurry, you can just pick one from this list in a pinch. Be sure to bookmark this page and pass it on to any other parents (and grandparents) you know as well!