Toys for 12 Month Old

Discovery Toys have good educational toys that range in ages from birth to adult. I am a consultant and just love the toys for my own children. One good thing about them is that they never had any recalls and all toys are guarenteed.

J. Smith

My son enjoyed the Little Leaps musical toys- the drum in particular. He also liked the stand up table as well...Megablocks were a hit too!

My daughter will be one shortly after Christmas so I am excited to see what you get for suggestions. I know that she will be getting a few Little People sets and a toy cell phone.

Other things I have put on her Amazon wish list are:
bath toys - Boon Bath Goods and Tubtime Tugboat
books
Various cars - Wheel Pals,
iPlay Baby Activity Pool Inflatable Pool - you can fill with balls in winter
Stride to ride lion
Bounce and spin zebra
Little champs sports center
bowling set
blocks
musical instruments

Hi K.!
I invite you to check out Discovery Toys--they are fantastic educational toys from a 30 year old company, safety tested like crazy (no recalls in the history of the company!), and, 70% of the toys are under $20.

I am an Educational Consultant, who started out just so I could get the discount for the toys I get my 2 year old.

You can learn more at www.discoverytoyslink.com/jenesnough, or feel free to call me at ###-###-#### if you have any questions at all! I'm happy to answer them for you!

What a fun project to be on! :o)
Jen Esnough

Well, my rule of thumb is to ask for things my daughter will need between her birthday and christmas and christmas and her birthday... (She was born in may so theres a good time span in between the two gift giving 'holidays.') but if your daughter will be 12 months around christmas its like a double wammy! lol! That means you need to think of things she will want/need throughout the whole next year, not nessiarly just the 12 month mark.

From reading your posts, i second the ball popper idea, if you dont already have one- kids love it forever!

My 17 mo daughter is really into books and sitting on things. But ironically enough her favorite toys are literally the tupperware container (boxes) that we store the toys in. She dumps out the toys and carries the containers all over the house. She fills them, empties them, turns them over and uses them as a stool... Endless hours of entertainment! Boring gift, I know, but maybe 12 mo, 18 mo, or 24 mo clothes 'wrapped' in a tupperware or rubbermaid type shoe box would be cool.. Oh- and apparently tissue paper gift wrap is rather fun for small ones to unwrap cuz its easy for them to tear into.

Another suggestion would be a DoodlePro. A friend of mine suggested it to me as a gift for her son's 1st bday stating that she wanted something where she could teach her son about writing without all the mess! I ended up getting a travel size one for us too. I keep in our diaper bag and pull it out when shopping so she's got entertainment and can make 'lists' like mommy. She's gotten really good at holding the 'pen' and now understands the concept of crayons better when we use them. (ps-she still has no idea what to do with those tadoodle toddler crayon holder things but is great with just plain regular fat crayons)

Okay this has gotten really long- Sorry! Have a fun Christmas and 1st Birthday!

For my oldest son's first birthday, we bought him Fisher Price Little People with a bus and a few cars, along with some books.
For my youngest, we got him a ride-on car and a ball. Both boys still play with those things.
Our blocks set is another thing that gets used a ton. A one-year-old will mostly look at them, move them around, and knock over towers that other people make for them, but it doesn't take them long to figure out how to do things on their own.
We also have Leap Frog Fridge Magnets, but the letters instead of the animals. I would recommend ANY Leap Frog toy. We have a LOT of their products in our home. There is an activity table for toddlers, a small piano, a drum, and lots that I don't know about, I'm sure, but everything is fun and educational.

Kid furniture is great. We got this type of sofa for my oldest at her first birthday. All of my kids love it and their friends. My oldest still loves it and she is 4 now. We have worn it down so much that I'm thinking about replacing it. It's great. The slipcover comes off for washing as well.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=288556...

You've gotten lots of good suggestions so far. I would add "switch toys"--the ones where you have to turn a dial or flip a switch to make something happen. They give kids the idea of cause and effect. It gives kids control over something. My son also liked to play with a ball and a large car. I agree with those that said the simple toys like stacking rings and nesting cups are best. And books are always a wonderful gift.

My daughter really enjoyed the busy ball popper that plays music and has balls pop up and go down a slide (for lack of better work) back into the base. She also received a telephone that had two modes, songs and numbers that she really liked and still likes at almost 2. It had a little phonebook with pictures of animals and each animal makes their sound and then a song plays when you turn the pages of the phone book. Hope this helps!

My son has a few toys he just loves that he got for his 1st birthday. The busy ball popper is a huge hit, he also LOVES books,the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Chair, and finally the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Piano. Don't get me wrong he loves his blocks, footballs,train, and lawn mower but i have to say that these are the things he plays with most of all. Oh sorry one more thing that he loves that just makes him laugh is his Fisher Price bounce and go zebra. These are all a hit at my house if you can call it a house it has more toys then anything.

My 13 month old DS likes his farm set, toy food, stacking cups,puzzles and his ride-on truck. This is such a fun age!

Mega Lego Blocks....the extra large legos. You can get them at Target or Walmart I think. Blocks (or legos) are a really good "educational" toy for kiddos. They learn alot for the stacking/building.

K.,

I asked my pediatrician this question at this age and she said "the floor." It took me back, but she is right. Your daughter is going to just want to walk around holding something in her hand for quite a while. So don't feel like you have to buy her a bunch of stuff.

If you do want to give her something; blocks, touch and feel books, shape sorters, stacking rings and push toys are good at this age. My 16 month old loves to sit in this little white rocking chair we have and look at books. Another fun toy is a plastic grocery cart she can fill with pretend groceries and push around. These are all things she can grow into.

Good luck,
S.

My son got a push along toy for his 1st b-day. He still loves it, he is just now starting to sit on it and move with his feet. He is now 18 months. Good Luck

Oh my goodness.....we bought our son the ball popper for his birthday last year and it's still a favorite and he's going to be 2 in November.

my daughter just turned 2 and one of her favorite toys is the little kitchen made for baby/toddler age. It has the oven door that opens, a radio that plays, a sink that makes sounds like water running. I bought it for her first birthday and she plays with it more then any other toy. It is made by fisher price. That age they like everything from strollers and baby dolls to rocking chairs for their size. My granddaugher really likes her Microphone that plays music, radio dj and anything that sings. She also really liked her little riding toy a lot at that age. To help my granddaughter get comfortable walking we bought a car that she can walk behind and push. it gave her balance by holding on to it and yet she can play on it too. She still plays with it about every time she comes over here. She has a sit and bounce zebra but she out grew it pretty fast. I always like finding toys that she can enjoy for a couple years at least. The little swingset with the slide by fisher price (I think) is another thing she really likes.

A few toys that I have on my sons list who will 12 months at christmas are a ride on toy with lights, lots of books with finger puppets to go along with the story, a fisher price cash register, a trampoline with a handle.

Some toys that in my experience are great for the next few months and beyond are the little tykes cozy coupe, the playskool ball popper, the fisherprice piggy bank, if you have the room a blow up ball pit, a small slide or climbing structure you can bring in the house to satisfy their climbing needs, a musical instrament set like a drum and miracas. I have alot of toys already from my first child so it is hard to figure out new toys but I love anything that makes kids move and I have no problem with noisy toys. The winter gets long so ask for toys you can bring inside and then move outside in the spring.

You can't go wrong with Little People. My kids have all loved the bus in particular. I like that it teaches fine motor skills by having to get the people inside the bus, early walkers and crawlers like to crawl around making it "go" (gross motor) and my children have used it for their won purposes beyond just the little people...ie)animal carrier, car carrier, race car...I also like that the one I have has no extra sounds on it; blinking lights, annoying beeps and buzzes. They have so many annoying toys, this one is fairly quiet unless its being run over my tile at high speed:)

Wooden puzzles are also a good educational toy. For a one year old they have puzzles with large wooden knobs that help their chubby little hands work with the pieces a little better. Art supplies are also nice because they can be thrown out when they are done and will not add to the toy clutter as much. They have cool egg shaped marker and crayons now for little hands and I love all the color wonder products as well.

K. h.

At that age my children always like anything that they can push or pull. Also the busy ball popper was a huge hit with my kids.

walk behind toys are a hit for this age group - especially if they are still working on walking.
another one that would be neat would be books! books books and more books! enter shameless plug here ! :D LOL
i am an usborn books at home consultant and we have many many many kinds of books for kids of all ages. my site : www.usbornforthefuture.com

K.,

My daughter will be 1 tomorrow and have been going through this for her birthday list. Our problem is that she already as all her brothers toys (turned 5 today) and a few of her big sisters toys (will be 11 on Saturday).

We actually went to the stores and saw what they have. I even went to the different websites (little tikes, fisher price, playskool) and looked at the toys on there. I tried to look for toys that she can play with now and for awhile and now outgrow too soon.

She loves toys with balls and music..

Honestly we spent 2 hours at the Fleet Farm Toy land on Saturday for our 2 youngest and didn't walk out with much.

I would suggest a walker that can into a bike to ride after they can walk. My kids have always loved theirs. Toys that teach numbers and letters are good. They have ones that are geared more towards infants and can be used for years to learn the stuff.

Sorry I can't be much help... I will watch to see what others suggest.

Hi K.!
Since she is trying to walk, a toy that she can walk with would be great. I had the same issue last year. My son was going to be just over a year old at Christmas and people were asking for a list. I told them educational toys and we ended up getting a lot of V-Tech toys. They are educational and my son loves them. They all make noise though!! One of his favorites is a v-tech bear that counts and sings songs and lights up. It was his bedtime bear that I turned on when I put him to bed and he played with it until he fell asleep. He also got these stackable blocks that nest in each other. They all have numbers on them and it is also a shape sorter. He's been playing with it for close to a year now and already knows his shapes! He also loves to stack up the blocks and then knock them down.

Hope this helps!
J.

Anything interactive...if they do something the toy responds. My son loves music and balls. Simple really is best, they seem happiest with our pots and pans :-) My son has a "bike" that is a rocker, push bike, then ride alone little trike. He played with that 10 months and still loves it today at 16 months. If you have room anything that she can climb on as you're stuck inside this winter is a plus to! Good luck with your list!

My daughter got a baby doll stroller when she turned one, and it was her favorite toy! She had just started walking, and she loved (and still loves) to give her 'babies' a ride in their stroller! (They have a set that includes a stroller and a doll at Target for around $15.)

My daughter got a toy cell phone that looks totally realistic (probably meant for a 3-4 year old) and a purse sometime around her first birtday. She STILL loves them to this day and she's two! In fact, she won't leave the house without them! She also got her first baby doll set (stroller, carseat, and swing) around 1 year old and also still plays with them!

Hi,

My son absolutely loved the Playskool Busy Ball Popper. "Santa" brought it when he was 11 months -- he is now almost three and my daughter is 6 and they still play with it! All the other kids that come over love it too. It is a little air blower that pops the balls out the top -- only about $20 at Target or Toys R Us. Good luck == they don't need much at that age!

My twins turned 12 months this summer and a few gifts they really liked were the Busy Ball Popper, FP Learning Home, FP Baby Piano, FP Activity Table, and Playskool Play dome.

hope this helps!

Hi K.,

My daughter turned 1 in September & her favorite toys right now are her toy cell phone (her very favorite, PlUS she plays with it in the car too), a truck with wheels that she can either ride around on or push. She also has a "First Words Radio" by V-Tech--it has different pictures of things like milk, spaghetti, animals, etc & it plays a little song for each word & she really likes that as well.

Hello! I agree with the LeapFrog Fridge Farm, Sandra Boynton books (that's the correct spelling), and the Parents brand cell phone that you can get at Target.

I'd also like to add the Fisher Price Fun 2 Learn "Learning DJ" toy. It runs about $30, but it is truly awesome! I got it for my son's first birthday because he LOVES boom boxes and pushing buttons on his CD player. The toy itself looks like a boom box and it has four different instrument voices, does shapes, colors, numbers, and letters, has 7 songs plus a game, and realistic "track buttons" to push! The songs are fairly entertaining even for parents and my favorite button is one that will play a major scale in the instrument voice you've selected. It will actually sing solfege!! (Do, Re, Mi...) I am a music teacher and this toy has absolutely won me over!

My son plays with this an average of 10-15 minutes at a time, 5-7 times a day, EVERY day! And he's had it for two months!

Hope this helps!

Do you have a Leap Frog for babies? The system that helps them read books, and it talks when you touch the book. Do you have one of those "walking toys" that she can hold on to as she walks. It helps.

My daughter was just a year in August and we have a Fisher Price piano for her- she LOVES it! I was also visiting my sister and she had a FP Zebra that playes music and has lights that the kids can sit on- jump, spin and rock, Macy liked that too. It wouldn't be a bad idea to put books on your list either. We have several Sandra Bouton (sp?) books: Hey Wake Up, Opposites, Pajama Time ect. Books are always a good choice! Hope this helped a little. Happy listing!
~T. T.:)

Hi there! I too have a daughter (Kaiden) who is turning 1 year old on October 30. I also have a 9 year old daughter (Alexis). I would suggest lots of books, especially the ones with flaps that open. Wooden peg puzzles are also great for that age, the can lift the shapes, and usually there is a picture underneath so they can match it up again. It seems like a good hand-eye coordination toy, plus they are fun! Activity tables also are great for that age and encourage standing. If you don't have many bath toys yet, I would recommend the foam ABCs and numbers that stick to the side of the tub when wet. My oldest could recite most of the alphabet and count to 10 by age 2 and I think this is largely due to those bath toys. Hope this helps- it's such a fun age!

My son loved the vaccuum cleaner he got for his 1st birthday, and it helped him learn to walk! It had the security of holding on to something, but it didn't actually hold him up at all so his balance developed really quickly. We got the vaccuum in the toy section at Wal-Mart. It talks and it's eyes move back and forth, etc. when he pushes it.

I noticed that my daughter did the best with just some very basic toys. She had some blocks that she still loves to play with or stacking cups. Those that light up and make noise would scare my daughter and those that didnt scare she lost interest in very quickly. The classic simple toys are still around and she still loves playing with them at 2 years old.

I recommend the Leapfrog Fridge DJ. We have the Leapfrog farm and alphabet magnets too, but the Fridge DJ is my son's favorite by far! It is educational, and keeps him busy while I cook. When his friends come over, they all end up in the kitchen playing with it. I recommend it to everyone I know!

My grand-daughter, who just turned 1 year, has a Little Tikes boom box type toy. It has a handle, plays music and has other buttons on it. She loves it and dances to it all the time. For Christmas, we are getting her a caterpillar that she can pull and plays music, plus she can use the feet as piano keys. She is really into music. The animal and letter toys that you point at an animal or letter and pull down the handle is a very good learning toy. Check out Toys 'R Us and I'm sure you'll come up with some very good ideas, also Walmart and Target are good places to go.

My daughter got a wheely bug (see www.wheelybug.com) riding toy for her 1st birthday and she has loved it ever since. She is 27 mos. old now and she still uses it. Sometimes she rides it and sometimes she just pushes it around.

I know this is hard, because they don't seem to have any very defined interests at this age. But I can tell you two toys that we got around my oldest son's first birthday that are still hits now:

One is a music table. This is the one we have: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2293345 It's fun to stand at (and the standing is so much fun when they're just getting used to it) and it plays lots of music for them. I do day care, and that's been a popular toy for years now, up to about 3 years old.

The other is a Leap Frog refrigerator magnet. Ours is a barn that came with 5 animals. It plays music when you push one button and animal sounds or music when you put the animals on it. My 5 year old will still walk into the kitchen and start dancing to it.

Those are two things that I know have had a long life in our house. But remember, they don't have to be fancy or expensive. At this age, she's excited to be able to do things, so anything that encourages her to explore and try things will be a hit!