Toys for a Babies First Birthday

Leapfrog has some wonderful magnet toys for the refrigerator that my boys have always liked. They have an animal one, where you match the two half of the animals, and they have an alphabet one that teaches beginning letters and sounds. Not only does it teach them new thing but it also sticks on the refrigerator and gives them something to play while I am working in the kitchen on lunch/dinner/dishes etc!

Kids that age love to push around a doll-sized stroller or any of those toys with wheels that they can push around and maybe put things in, that also helps them to walk by giving them something to hold on to. Or even like those vacuum popper things that are so noisy that have been around forever. My kids never got tired of those sorts of things at that age.

We got my daughter the Fisher Price Little People Farm for her first birthday last May. It has been the best money we have spent on a toy yet. She loves to play with the farm and finds new ways to play with it as she gets older.

-A.

One is a great age i agree with the mom who had someone go to the dollar store and buy the box and all the house hold things for it thats the greatest idea. At one they love the things in your house and why not have their own things to play with so mom has hers and it teaches them to use thier imaginations one thing i have learned from fostering many different aged kids these days is most no longer know how to occupy them selves without a video game or vcr or dvd players. Give them stuff to build with and teach them to go outside and make mud pies and collect bugs and dream of fantasy worlds and places. We need to quit being lazy parents and get our kids back to basics and using their minds so we grow productive happy healthy lil people who can find themselves happy in a world of thier own making. So yeah go to the dollar store or walmart and get that baby a world of stuff for the same price as that expensive lazy toy and let them grow thier minds.

I guess we were overly practical for my daughter's number one birthday figuring she'd never remember it. We did buy her a few toys, but she enjoyed playing with the empty box. I think opening up a college fund and beginning to contribute a small amount each month (even if it's only $25 to start) would be a great gift that looking back he will surely appreciate. I think kids are over gifted at this young age from relatives and friends so as a parent, opening up a bank account in their name would be a terrific idea and a great kick start for planning those ever so highly priced college expenses! Plus if you let grandparents know what you are doing, they may opt for depositing into those accounts for various holidays...especially if they see piles of unused toys being opened. I'm not a Scrooge about toys, but I think that in today's society our kids are so overloaded with them (generally) that they barely play with what they have. JUST A THOUGHT! Hope he has a fun birthday and gets to enjoy his first cake! :)

Our son loved big balls on his birthday, they have those bright ones at walmart for 2$ or something...

my boys loved the toy that had big knobs and buttons on it that they pushed on and a sesame street character pops up - found it at wal-mart. they also liked the little tykes mini piano - they liked hitting the keys - find something their gross motor skills work well with. wagons are good too - if they have sides. the set of ten paper blocks that they can stack but won't hurt them if they fall. my daughter loved her jack-in-a-box at 1 yrs old. also an ugly doll or a bilibo (i got mine from ebay) happy birthday!

Kids at this age love to fill and dump. if you get something like Legos they'll just dump them over. Drums are good for this age group and toys that let you Put things in holes.. you'll notice in a few months your keys will turn up in a weird place.. they'll find any hole to put things in.
We got the fisherprice "roll a rounds" dinasour last year and it is still used a year later.. also the Fisherprice "roll a rounds" has a tree house that has discs similar to weebles and they spin the balls.. still a year later a favorite!! Balls, balls, balls!!
Brooms, mops, pots and pans.... These guys don't like toys they like what's in the house!

I have a Preschool and Toddler Care in Gresham.. this is what I have found our one year olds like as well as my own two kids. they are almost 2 and 3 in Feb. http://mysite.verizon.net/littletreasureslc/

One is such a fun age. I don't think he will care what you get him...anything with sounds and lights and music. Of course when my daughter was that age she could care less what the toy was...she just wanted the box. She would play with that darn thing for hours....have fun!

Leapfrog makes great toys for that age, fisher price is another good thing they make alot of stuff for that age. My son loved Baby tad from leap frog at that age he was able to push buttons and he sang and talked, Noah had alot of fun with that toy. Another favorite of his was made by fisher price its a ball popper comes with 5 balls and they stick them in the tube push on the button down and they come out the other side.. Have fun I wish mine was turning 1 again that age was great fun to buy for. Mine will be 4 in a few weeks.
A.

Like most of the responses, this age is too young for a specific toy. I bought my daughter a ride-on toy that had lights and sounds. I also purchased a savings bond that will come in handy when she gets old.

When my baby was one, I was working for Avon and they sold nesting buckets.Stacking buckets that fit within eachother. They were in primary colors with colorful stickers you put on them. He loved stacking them up to the top and knocking them down with me. He would laugh and laugh. He still has them and would not let me get rid of them. He loved them and they are in graduated sizes.... Also some car steering wheel with a push in horn and lights that attached to his car seat and high chair.. I think we picked that up at Toys R....

Hi S...

i suggest getting your one year old a membership to the discovery museum at the gateway. both of your boys will enjoy it... endless activities and learning experiences that are actually "fun for the whole family!"

there is a place where moms can sit & talk or read while the kiddies play & learn in a safe environment.

you can bring guests (like for play dates, etc.) and it's only about $150 for a year... check it out. heaven knows, we spend a lot more than that in one yeear on frivilous toys which get discarded after a couple of days! :}

i'll look for your "how it turned out" submission!

OOPS! I JUST REALIZED YOUR SON IS PROBABLY ABOUT TWO NOW!
same advice for any birthday!
cheers!

My daughter just turned one a few months ago and i got her this Fisher Price taling chair when yousit in it it sings the letter and songs has a little night light on the table and she just loves it. i got it at toysrus it was 35.00 bucks..i also got her from fisher price this car walker that talks and has blocks that you put into the hood another one she just loves and it helped her walk.....Also blues clues dancing came with a vhs tape so when she watches the tape she plays with blues clues its very cute..

i find that toysrus is the better place to find toys then like walmart and target...

Good luck and happy birthday little one..:O)

Okay, I am an expert on what to get for kids,....not only things that they will enjoy and enjoy for years, but things that will work on their motor, cognitive and social skills. The fisher price little people are wonderful and you can find them in great used condition for half the price on Craigslist Portland. (website) They can play on their own and you can play with them. It teaches social skills, pretend play...depending on the sets you get they can practice caring for babies? animals? My son loves these sets. The large sets also come with a Little People DVD. Your son may or may not be interested in the DVD yet.
Also, my children LOVED the Fisher price Laugh and Learn Learning House. EVERY child that came to my home, no matter how old they were, played with this thing forever! I played with this. This was maybe the best purchase I ever made for my children. I think they still run about $60, but they are worth every penny!
Simple, wooden blocks that they can practice stacking are always a favorite, and focus on their fine motor skills. Look for the colored ones. You can find a box of these for $10.
Something else to start looking into is an easel. I was never really interested in these, but I had an occupational therapist tell me that an easel makes them work against gravity to strengthen the muscles that they will use to write. Your 1 year old may not yet be ready for one, but your four year old definitely is. You can find one that has more than one surface or that is 2 sided, and the great thing about having an older child is that he will model for your baby how to use it. He'll start copying brother right away, even if he really can't do it yet.
All of these toys your older son will have LOTS of fun playing with too (especially the Learning Home), and it can help them play together and share.
Try to stay away from toys that work for them or talk for them. Things like Little Touch Leappads, or activity centers that you sit them in. Mega Saucers and such. Remeber to keep it simple! :) Good luck!!

Target carries these toys SPECIFICLY for babies to 2. They are manufactured from Parents magazine, and are soooo neat. They have cell phones, computers, PDA's, drum sets (quiet drum sets) Little bugs, little cars and they all look and sound like the real thing, since this is the age where little one is going to start getting into this stuff.

Leap Frog makes great learning activities for his age, and Tonka makes approved trucks for one year olds!!! Its like a wonderland for him!!!

When my daughter was one we got her the learning leap discovery table. she played with it daily and it was well worth the Money. It was around 40.00. After she was three we turned around and sold it for 25.00.

Toys that don't do much on their own are such a great idea for a one-year-old. That way he can use his imagination as well as give his motor skills lots of practice. My son's favorite toys at that age were stacking boxes- the kind that "nest" inside each other. He would build towers or carry individual boxes around and pretend to eat out of them. Shape sorters were also a big hit.

A friend of mine went to a dollar store and bought a large plastic tub and then bought all kinds of things to put inside the tub: turkey baster, plastic kitchen utensils, mesh sponge (like for the shower), wooden spoons, hair curlers, etc. and her son loved this box for quite a long time. The best part for her was that when he was finished playing everything packed neatly into the container. No mess ;o)

Whatever you get your son will be great. Toddlers are not hard to please! They can find fun and games in almost anything.

Hi S.,
So my son just turned two but for his first birthday we got him some of the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn toys. The House, Chair, Table, and the Gobble and go Hippo. These are still his favorite toys and all the kids that come over play with them too even my friends 5, 8, and 9 year olds. so these are my favvorite choice to advise.
Good luck

My daughter will be one on Saturday. She has not been interested in toys that are her age group. She has been highly intellectual from the very beginning. So for her birthday we have gotten her mostly books, puzzles and block. We did this because these are the things that will help stimulate her brain more than anything. She also loves to dance so we bought several childrens CDs. I would also recommend the Signing Time DVDs these are musical DVDs that teach basic sign language. Perfect for getting through the terrible twos.

anything with lights. something that moves. I'd check ebay for toys. set him down with you to see if there's anything that he shows an itrest to.

I just love leap frog products, and so do my children, They have pretty good products for all age groups, I like the Baby leap pad. I also enjoy little tyke products, they are durable and the small gym can help develop large motor skills.

I agree with what everyone suggested! However, each time I want to buy my son something... I give him a few options, and then let him make the choice what he likes best.
You know your child best... what toys are he normally drawn to in your home? or objects around the house that he cant get enough of?
My son is sadly... but obsessed with my cell phone! He always wants it sooooo bad! So first.. went to Target and got him one of the "Parents Magazine" choice cell phones... near the baby lamaze stuff! It looked like a fairly real cell phone, and you could record your voice on it! Plus $7.99! Well, we lot is, and when we were buying a new laptop two weeks ago at Best Buy I was talking to the cell phone guy, cause I needed a new phone from all the drool... Well, cell phone guy pulled from a box, an old display model cell phone and gave it to my son! So, now he has a Real flip cell phone! Plus it was free. After using some wet ones on it, to cure it of germs... he was squelling with delight!
My sons first birthday is May 26th, so I am in the same boat... but... I figure.. I will take him to the store, let him pick out the toys that he loves the best, and wrap them up! It has always seemed to work for us. We did the same at christmas.
Brady also has a Fisher Price? piano, that has a built in chair. My sister actually passed it down, and he loves walking over to it, sitting himself down and playing some tunes!

I realize the birthday has already passed, but my son got mostly clothes (from relatives) and a shape-sorter bucket toy. He tried it out and played with the blocks and had a great time. My parents sent him one of those ring stacker toys that lights up and plays music. The rings are star-shaped and clear so the lights twinkle through them. It's been a favorite for both my babies.
Don't over do the first birthday or Christmas--it's too overwhelming for them! Heck, even my 4 year old had a hard time opening all his presents. The excitement was too draining.

My all-time favorite toy is the Playskool Busy Ball Popper. It has won all sorts of awards in Parenting magazines and is awesome!!! It's my one year olds favorite toy, even my 4 year old loves to play with it. My mom and mother-in-law buy it for every grandchild that turns 1.

I went to coscos yesterday and I swa abunch of stuff there. They do have a whole ile dedicated to that age group. Otherwise I would sugest toy r us, they may be more expensive but you will get what you want.
Snadra d

My son loved the Leap Frog magnet toys that go on the refrigerator. They have the animal barn and a,b,c's. I would start with the barn. They have to put an animal in and match the halves, then it says "Purple Cow", "Cow says moo", etc. Tons of fun and learning!

Also, Elephant Trunk at VRC and 5th Street has some different learning toys that aren't the run of the mill commercial type.

And don't forget learning videos. This is the prime age to start them on Spanish, Sign Language, Letters, etc. Go on Amazon.com and search titles. If you want any further recommendations, let me know!