Toy Recommendations for 1-Year Old

Hi! I'd recommend a doll stroller, nesting boxes, toys for the tub, and a kitchen would be great! But I'd recommend you get wooden toy foods, not plastic.

My "standard" gift for a 1 yr. old is a Busy Ball Popper ($20)..if you don't have one. Get one. They love them and so do all their friends.

I love toys as much as my kids do! (Maybe more!)
Check out www.forsmallhands.com--it's a Montessori supply store that has tons of educational items and tools that your child could use. Things like a child-sized snow shovel or rake or cooking tools can help her "help" you and learn symbolic play and hone fine motor skills. The little dustpan set has been a huge hit at my house and has helped me teach my kids to tidy up and help out--they think it's fun.
I also love the sites www.oompa.com, www.novanaturals.com, www.rosiehippo.com, www.magiccabin.com and www.hearthsong.com. I think www.gummylump.com and www.smartbraintoys.com have a search-by-age option. I know Oompa does. They have some wonderful things and you could get good ideas for local shopping if that's your preference. Some of these types of toys are more expensive that you'd expect, but they are typically made in Europe (higher safety standards), developmentally appropriate, and are of heirloom quality, so you won't be picking up the broken pieces next week. www.backtobasicstoys.com has cheaper toys, but the quality is not consistent so choose carefully. If you have a teacher supply store in your area you can often find excellent toys and puzzles there at reasonable prices and know you're not paying extra for a character's face. . . .
TRUCE (Teachers resisting Unhealthy children's Entertainment) generally publish suggestions of "shoebox gifts," which are things to put in a box with a theme, such as a gardening set or a water play set (funnels, cups, a turkey baster,etc.) Check out their web site.
I think *every* toddler should have a sand and water table. It makes so many projects possible when you have a place to wash a baby doll, make plastic animals walk through sand, scoop suds, play with play-doh, do finger painting, play with fake or real snow, etc. that does not require a mess in the bathroom. We have a Little Tykes plastic water table that we got for less than $40 at Target and it's lived a very useful life through two kids so far.
I also think every toddler *loves* a pounding toy, either the traditional hammer with pegs pounding table (less than $10 at Back to Basics) or a pounding ball set (I've seen both Plan Toys and Melissa and Doug brands out there--for sure M and D is at Gummylump.com). It's so fun and an essential developmental classic.
Consider a plain 'ol playground ball--it's good for so many kinds of play. They have the cutest Crocodile Creek brand balls at Oompa.
Any kind of work table with a child-sized chair is a good bet, because it makes it so much more comfortable to play with all the other toys--puzzles and art supplies take on new life when there's a good spot to sit to work with them. a table with some toy food and a plastic bin for a "sink" could be an awesome, budget-friendly "kitchen" that would be versatile and not feel in the way if your space is limited, because you could put it away easily. (Although a play kitchen is a good idea if you have the space--I found ours at a thrift store--it's all wood and I paid $3 for it and my three sons love all the cupboards.)
My kids have enjoyed using the vegetable chopping set from Melissa and Doug brand, which is about $20. At this age, wooden peg board puzzles are a sure hit. So are lots of board books--Sandra Boynton is great every time. Consider browsing the Web site of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, as they have suggestions of toys to avoid to limit the amount of marketing your child is exposed to at such a young age. Developmental experts also say the *child* should make the toy work, not simply push a button and watch the toy do its battery-operated thing, and toys that your grandparents probably played with are usually classic winners. Oh, and boys and girls should have similar play opportunities because their need for honing various motor skills is typically the same until age 5.
Good luck! You can hardly go wrong! (Can we come play?)

Hi T.,

My daughter, now 3, has the Fisher Price Grow-With-Me Kitchen. It's about $75. She has really enjoyed it because it starts out at a short height with fewer compartments and then when she gets older and taller you can raise it up and it is almost like a new toy. I like it because it's not too big. I just have it against one end of our island so it's like part of the real kitchen. The age it recommends is 1 1/2 - 5 years, but I think if your 1 year old likes to play pretend then it's worth it now. It doesn't have any small parts.
Good luck and have fun shopping! :-)

Ditto on the Leap Frog learning table. Huge hit at our house. I just got a Chicco (sp?) used from a friend and it's been a big hit w/ my 2-year-old. It's very small, so fits in our kitchen, which is great when I'm in there working. Because it is so small and light, it tips easily, so I don't know that it would be good for a younger walker. Might work leaned up against the wall, but she'll soon discover that there's stuff on the other side and want at it!

I second the Fisher Price Little People suggestion. They are good through many ages (my kids still play with them, and the youngest is 5).

In general, the toys that are best for young kids are ones that can be played with in different ways - things that encourage the imagination. A fancy play kitchen with all the bells and whistles has lots of opportunity for play, but my daughter was just as happy with a few small pans from our pan drawer (the lightweight ones) and kitchen bench. The pans also became hats, drums, and more. The bench turned over to be a train for her toys and a boat for her. My son loved building with the wooden blocks, but they also became a phone, a sword and (sigh) a gun (boys will be boys I guess....)

Imagination in young children is more strongly correlated with IQ/intelligence than almost anything else. So don't worry about spending a ton of money on all the fancy educational toys. For a 1-year-old, I'd buy some board books to read together (the touch and feel ones are great), a baby doll thats an easy-to-hold size and nice and soft, and maybe some Little People.

My son loves his Fisher Price Doodle Pro. It's kind of like an etch and sketch but you actually draw and erase with no ink. It's very cool. We have fun drawing on it too. It's small enough to fit in your diaper bag and it is a life saver when we got out (dinner, church, etc.) and need to keep him occupied. we got it as a gift so I'm not sure of the price but I can't imagine it being very expensive (less than $20).

Hello Tiny,
My daughters are 1 and 2 plus I have a 3.5 month old. Fisher Price has this plastic nursery rhyme book that sings the nursery rhymes for them like Pat-a-cake Pat-a-cake. Check it out at fisher price dot com. My oldest daughters love them a lot. They are also into dolls, ones that they have picked out on their own. I have the fridge phonics too but they need to be supervise in order to have fun with it. It can sing the ABC song. I kind of think that the play kitchen is too young for a 1 year old but a 2 year old would enjoy it.

I was 37 when my first turne one. :)

We got our son on his 1st birthday a Koala Climber from Toys R US. Best investment ever made. We have a large family room so it just sits in the corner. He is now 28 months old and still climbs and slides all the time.

Fridge Phonics!!!! It's great for dinner time prep too. All three of our kids love it. You can get several different kinds, too. They just changed them, so if you buy it used, it won't work with the newer items, so probably better to just go new. It's not too expensive. Our kids also love their LeapPads, although before 3 you really have to play with them. I got one once for $11 at Tuesday Morning. Those are our favorites.

We got the Fisher Price kitchen for my daughter a couple years ago. I think back then they were 60. It is the one that they can crawl through and the light turns on and sings, the front side has a stove and oven sink and refrigerator and the backside has a fish bowl, a cookbook and a radio. She is almost 3 and is still playing with it. She absolutely loves it!

We got the laugh and learn fisher price kitchen when my daughter was ten months she is now two and still loves it. I think it was only like sixty bucks at walmart.

Our daughter turned one in December. She loves her "Little People" Noah's Ark with the cute animals. Any kind of ball that you can roll back and forth. One of the toys that she can push and it makes noise (remember the old popcorn rollers?). My hubby works for a cell phone company, so our daughter has a toy phone from "Parents" that she wants to talk on all the time... We decided to wait and get the kitchen when she was 2, but I know that my sister's kids LOOOOOOVE their little kitchen and they just have a cheap one from Target or Walmart.

My son is almost 14 months old, and for his 1st birthday we got him the LeapFrog Learn & Groove Musical Table. It was about $40 at Walmart, but you can also find it at Target, Toys R Us, and online (for instance, here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ETRENI). He LOVES it and plays with it daily. The best part is it has both music and numbers/ABCs/shapes/colors, so it'll help with his learning as he gets older. It also has both an English and a Spanish setting, if that interests you. We'll sometimes put it on the Spanish setting because the music tunes are different, just for variety. I highly recommend it!

My daughter got a play kitchen before she turned two and it was the best toy ever! That got played with for years! It was still in perfect condition when I finally got rid of it. My son played with it when he was little too! I got the Little Tikes one, it was more then $100 but not much more and worth every penny. It was durable and easy to clean.
Little Tikes and Fisher price have great toys for little ones. Not to mention that you can get them so the age starts at one and goes up, like the Little People. That way you aren't just getting rid of it in a year or it isn't so babyish. My son loved the Little People, also Duplo building blocks are still a huge hit and he is four! Those were the best thing ever and so easy to store.
It is fun buying for them at this age. If your daughter is able to understand pretend play a kitchen is great. Her first baby doll too. Have fun!

Developmental toys are the best. Putting pegs in a peg board, stacking cups, wooden puzzles, push toys, puppets.
(I only have boys) If you can buy a nice used play kitchen that would be the best, they last forever--second hand stores/craig's list etc.)

Hi T.,
You don't need to spend alot of money on presents for a 1yr old. My 1yr olds always loved the simple toys. Like a little plastic baby piano, or the giggle phone. They love small things they can hold in their hands with buttons like toy cell phones or remotes. Nesting cups or the stacking rings, wooden blocks or even a busy box are excellent for 1yr olds. we have a little play house with a slide I brought into the house for my 11mo old and 3yr old to play with and my baby just ignored it. My 3yr old liked it better. So save the money and get the big things for them when they're old enough to enjoy it.

C. C