I have 4 children and my youngest is about to be a toddler. We are getting to the point where he is ready to play with toys. I try not to fill my home with loads and loads of toys that will just sit there and never get played with.
And now that I am on my 4th kid I have a pretty good feeling at what toys they will play with and what will just sit there and get stepped on.
Lets get to it! Here is my list of the 11 toys I have found that toddlers will actaully play with. I also want to point out that if a toy is in my home it will get lots of love. (Meaning my kids will detsroy it if at all possible) So The toys I am suggesting have been tried and tested. Each picture is a link to amazon.
1.Green Toys
My kids were gifted a few different green toys for christmas and I had never really heard of them. After my kids started playing with them I took a better look. I was amazed at the qaulity!
They are awesome! My kids have taken them in the bathtub, swimming in the pool, in the sandbox and pretty much anywhere they go and they have not broke or faded! On top of that they are really cute classic toys.
Below is on of the toys my kids have. But they have multiple and they all hold up the same. And I can’t believe the price point is so low considering the quality you get.
2. Kids Ukelele
I bought my daughter a pink minnie mouse ukelele for her 3rd birthday. She loved it! She used it all the time. Now my 2 year old son has recently become obssesed with it. Which is hilerious. He plays his heart out on that little thing.
And it is serioulsy indestructable. He has thrown it down the stairs, left it outside, it has been stepped on and you name it. And it still works great!
I don’t see the exact minnie mouse one I bought a few years ago but this one is the same brand and the same one.
3. Duplos
We love duplos at our house. They are great because the toddlers love them but so do my older kids. And It is something that even my husband and I enjoy doing with the kids.
We have a huge rubbermaid container full and we will dump them all out and build a whole village. The kids love playing with them alone but get so excited when we make it a family ordeal.
We have tons of different sets and you can get most of them on amazon. But since I have a love for farming and homesteading I just have to link to the cute little farm.
4. Slide
Who has little people with loads of energy? hand raise over here. My 2 year old son drove me nuts this last winter with his endless amounts of energy.
Anything I can find that helps release some of that energy is a win in my book. You can go with a basic slide, but I think this one is pretty cool with the basketball hoop attached.
5. Puzzles
I homeschool my kids and I am always looking for quiet things my little ones can do as I school my older kids. I have found that puzzles work really well. Now I would suggest you get wooden puzzles. I have found that the cardboard ones rip and do not last long at all. Here are some great educational options.
6.Play Kitchen
Little ones love to copy what their mommy and daddy are doing! And we have found that our little ones love their play kitchen. My husband built our little girls a wooden kitchen.
So I don’t own one to reccomend for you. But I am obsessed with vintage stuff and look at this adorable kitchen on amazon! Has great reviews too!
7. Doll
My girls have loved playing with dolls since they were tiny. That motherly instinct starts young! A doll is always a good idea. When looking for a doll the one thing I would suggest is not getting one with hair that looks and feels real. It gets so tangled and gross real fast.
My little sisters always had bittie babies growing up. Which I will say last forever. My sisters are in their upper teens and twenties now and my girls are playing with their bittie babies!
I will link the bittie baby below. The cool thing about a bittie baby is that you can pick what it looks like so you can make it look like your toddler.
But if you don’t want to invest in a bittie baby amazon has plenty of other options as well.
8. Books
I like to minamize screen time for my kids as much as I can. I know they have been doing research and it is coming out that screen time for little people is not good. It can stunt their development and really mess them up.
So I like to keep my kiddos busy with books. And when it comes to toddlers I would highly suggest board books. Board books are awesome! They can’t rip and if they get dirty you can wipe them right off. Here is a classic. But amzon has lots of other good ones as well.
9. Wooden Animals
All little ones love to play with animals and I think the wooden ones are so cute. This set is so fun because you can balance the animals in the tree. Obvisouly if your toddler is on the younger side they will need help.
10. John Deere
So I grew up in the country and I now have a small homestead. So you better believe we have some john deere. I also have 2 little boys and I can’t help but get them John Deere stuff. I am going to link some of our faverites.
So for this first item, I do have to admit that I have not purchased it for my boys yet. But our friends have one and my 2 year old can’t get enough. He absolutley loves it. And I must say he looks pretty dang cute riding it.
But if you are looking for something on the cheaper end here is another option. I bought this for my son last christmas and he really liked it. I will say that there are a lot of pieces. But if you can keep them togther it is a super cute little set.
11. Bounce House
I know this sounds crazy but just hear me out. I mentioned earlier that I struggled last year to keep my 2 year old little boy busy during the long winter moths. Well I was talking to my friend who also has a little boy and she told me to “GET A BOUNCE HOUSE”.
It’s not what you think! It is not a huge carnival bounce house. It is small enough to fit in most basements or a garage.
I have actaully not gotten one yet, but I am trusting my friend on this one and I will be getting my kids one this christmas!
Here is the one she said to get. When I checked it out it was under $200 but go ahead and follow the link to check for sure.
Other Creative outlets…
As a mom of 4 I am always trying to find ways to keep my little ones busy. As I said I homeschool so I need things to keep my toddlers busy while we do school. I know this post is about toddler toys but I wanted to take a little time to give you some other ways to keep your toddler busy so that you can get some things done.
Beans in a box
As I was looking up ideas on things for toddlers to do all I could come up with was super messy projects that I would have to do with them. Now there is nothing wrong with those ideas and I probably should do more fun things with my kids, but what I was looking for was things that could keep my little one busy while I was getting things done.
So when I was finding things that would require me to be right with them the whole time was counter-intuitive for me. The whole point was having my toddler doing something on his own so that I could get something done!
A friend suggested beans in a box and it really worked. All you do is take dry beans of any kind and put them in a box or a large shallow container.
Give them some spoons and cups, and they will be entertained for awhile. It is kinda like an indoor sandbox. But just make sure you kinda keep an eye on it as it can get very messy very fast. But for the most part, they keep the beans in one spot.
Making a “safe space”
My son gets up early and I am really needing a little more rest. So I made my sons room baby proof and that is our escape room now!
When I need a little rest we go in there and he can play with his toys and I can lay down and get a little rest.
It is such a relief to have a place that we can go and I know he can’t get into trouble. When you have a little one it is hard to take a break because you have to have your eyes on them at all times. So having a place you can resort to is a major relief.
Outdoor Time
Thankfully springtime has finally come and it is helping immensely. Depending on what I need to get done I use the outdoors to help distract my little ones.
As I mentioned if I am working outside I try to let them help. If I am doing something that they can’t help with then I use my deck as that “safe space” I mentioned earlier.
My husband built a gate on our deck so the kids can play safely on the deck and I can see them from the whole yard. We have bikes and a water table and it works great to keep my little ones busy. My son is in his glory now that he can play in the water all that he wants.
I honestly would really recommend a water table. At first, I was not sure how much my kids would like it but I really like it for the younger kids because they can still play in the water but It is much safer than a pool.
And I mean you can grab one on Amazon and it will be there in 2 days! Can’t beat that.
Our animals also do an amazing job distracting the kids. If I let the chickens out my kids will chase them and play with them for quite a while. It distracts them and gets their energy out. I love it. They also love chasing the dog around! This is something that I do when I am trying to get things done outside and can keep a close eye on them.
Music
This is one I always seem to forget about, but my kids love. My kids are big fans of dance parties and it seems to keep them entertained for a while.
We have Alexa and the kids think it is so great to play the songs they ask for. You can make the kids their own playlists or they can just ask her to play certain songs.
Just make sure you are in earshot so that you can know what they are listening too. I know I sound a bit paranoid but it is so easy for our kids to see and hear things they should not and we just have to be on our guard to protect them against it.
Just a side note if you don’t have Alexa GET HER!! (You can follow this link) She is a life saver for a busy mom. I use her for reminders, writing lists, weather updates, playing music, an alarm clock and more. Seriously she is the best. I have one in my bedroom and kitchen. It is so great.
Siblings
If you have multiple children, siblings are a great distraction and a big help. Have your older children keep the younger ones entertained. Some of the ways my older kids help are…
- Reading
- Playing
- Chalk
- Bikes
- Sandbox
- Coloring
It is so great that they can help me keep the little ones entertained but it also teaches my older kids responsibility and how to take care of kids. I am amazed at how uncomfortable some people are with kids.
I want my kids to grow up knowing how to take care of kids and will be totally okay with it when they have their own someday.
Sleep
Take advantage of those naps times! If you have multiple little ones make sure you plan nap time so they can hopefully go down at the same time. This is really when I get the most done. This way is the most guaranteed way out of all the ideas on this list.
If they are sleeping I don’t have to worry about them getting into trouble and can focus on what I need to get done. I am a list person so I make sure I know what I need to get done that day and what things will be the most difficult with my little one awake. I try my best to get those things done when he is sleeping.
Chores
It seems like a silly idea to have your 2-year-old do chores…But my little guy loves to do whatever I am doing. So I let him help put the dishes away or “fold” the laundry. Clearly, he is not going to do it right but it gives him something to focus on while I am doing the work.
We have our little kid dishes in a low drawer so the kids can help. If you don’t have a set up like that then maybe just have a space that they can put things. Just to keep them busy. You can always move them later.
Dinner time is SO stressful for me! My kids always seem to be losing their minds by that point of the day. If at all possible have them help!
Having them pull up a chair works but sometimes is a bit harder when they are smaller. This helper stool is awesome! They can be right up at the counter with you and you don’t have to worry about them falling down. You can also put some snacks on the counter for them to munch on and they feel like they are helping you at the same time!
My little guy loves being outside as well. So I make sure to take him when I feed our animals and give him a little food to let him help with that as well.
He loves it! There is absolutely nothing wrong with starting your kids with chores at a young age and they love doing it at that age! If you that excitement stuck around huh?
Electronics
This idea I am not the proudest of. As I said I don’t want my kids to have much screen time at all. But there are certain seasons where I have had to use screen time and thats okay, sometimes I just need a little extra help in the form of modern technology.
I was letting my kids watch Netflix but there is so much garbage on there and I don’t want them having free access to it so I started paying for Jelly Telly.
It is amazing. It is all good clean Christian shows and my kids love it. There are well-known shows like veggie tales and then also cute detective shows and stuff like that.
I can’t tell you how great it has been. When my kid’s play pretend they play whatever they recently watched. And I notice such a difference in their play when they watch good wholesome shows compared to the garbage that is on Netflix…
I also have a fun educational game on my phone that they like to play. You can get games that teach reading, shapes, colors Etc. Whatever level your child is at. I try my best to have them play or watch educational shows instead of just filling their brains with useless information.
There are also great little songs and fun resources on youtube. You just have to make sure to monitor that because there is lots of garbage that pops up on youtube as well.
Final thoughts
As always I hope this was helpful to you and that you were able to get some good ideas from the list of toddler toys and also some ideas about keeping your kids entertained so that you can get some things done without losing your mind.
Don’t forget that your kids are a gift and to spend some good quality time with them today!
Related Articles
