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MHH20

Toys for toddlers

Toddler Toys

The toddler toys that get used are the ones your child can actually do something with — stack, take apart, put back, fit a piece, or pull along.

Watch what they keep trying to do. That's often one of the best clues when you're choosing toys for toddlers.

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What Makes A Useful Toddler Toy?

A stacking toy, a puzzle and a pull-along can all look quite simple, but toddlers use them very differently. One child might spend ages building something just to knock it down again. Another will keep turning the same puzzle piece until it fits. Others want a toy they can take with them as they move around the house.

More pieces and features don't necessarily make a toy more useful. What matters is whether your child can work out what to do with it and wants to come back to it.

And don't underestimate repetition. Building the same tower, completing the same puzzle or pulling the same toy around the house again and again is very normal toddler play.

StackingFittingPullingRepeating
Young child exploring toddler toys

Customer observation

What is your toddler trying to do?

Taking Things Apart

Your Toddler Keeps Taking Things Apart

Your Toddler keeps emptying, stacking or knocking things down. Taking pieces off and putting them back can be the whole game.

Stacking Toys Making Things Fit

Your Toddler Is Trying to Make Things Fit

They're trying to get a piece into the right place. Turning something until it sits where it belongs is a different kind of play from stacking.

Wooden Puzzles Taking Toys With Them

Your Toddler Wants to Take Their Toys With Them

They want the toy to move when they do. If they keep taking an object from room to room, a pull-along can be more useful than another table toy.

Push & Pull Along Toys Toddler Toys for When You're Out

You Need Toys for When You're Out

You need play that still works while you're out. Look for toddler toys that pack easily, work in the car or don't need much space.

Children Travel Toys

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Looking for a Different Kind of Play?

If they're still happiest with simpler baby toys, that's fine too. If they're more interested in climbing and moving, explore first climbing and movement toys. If they're starting to use toys to copy what they see you doing or make up little stories, pretend play may be a better place to look.

MHH · What we've learnt

Simple Toys Often Get the Most Play

Over the years, we've found that the toys with the most pieces or features aren't necessarily the ones children play with most.

Toddlers often go back to the same simple things again and again — building the same tower, doing the same puzzle or pulling the same toy around the house. If they're still choosing it, there's no reason to rush them onto something harder.

When we're choosing something new, we'd rather add a different way to play than simply add more pieces or make the toy more complicated.

Frequently asked questions

Questions parents often ask

How do I choose toys for my toddler?

Start with what they're interested in doing. If they're constantly stacking and emptying things, start there. If they're trying to make pieces fit, look at puzzles. If they want to take a favourite toy everywhere, try a pull-along. You don't need to choose the most complicated toy — choose one they can actually use.

Does my toddler need a harder toy now they can do something new?

Not necessarily. If they keep choosing the same toy, they're still enjoying what they can do with it. When you add something new, look for something that gives them a different way to play.

What's the difference between stacking toys, puzzles and pull-along toys?

They give toddlers different things to do. Stacking toys are about building, taking apart and starting again. Puzzles give them something to work out and fit into place, while pull-along toys become part of the way they move and play around the house.

When should I look at climbing and movement instead of Toddler Toys?

When they're more interested in climbing, moving, pushing things around or getting their whole body involved. That's a different kind of play from sitting with a puzzle, stacker or other toy.