When my son’s 2ndbirthday started drawing closer I began my search for new toys to gift him. I realized that we had every kind of toy in each category and he still enjoyed playing with his toys. I was lost for ideas and ended up researching age appropriate toys for 2 year olds and found new suggestions to meet the gap in our current toy collection. Each of these toys focuses on his current developmental needs.
By 2 years of age, most toddlers have a varied vocabulary and advanced motor skills. They are rapidly learning from their environment so pretend play and mimicking adults take center stage as forms of play.
At the same time Toys for 1 year olds like Balls, Vehicles, kitchen and coloring sets will continue to be a favorite with this age group.
These days the market is flooded with toys for kids and it can be overwhelming for parents to decide on which toys to buy. But a look at the current toys your child enjoys coupled with new skills he exhibits should help you decide on what toys to buy.
AGE APPROPRIATE TOYS FOR 2 YEAR OLDS
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Puzzles
At age 2 toddlers are beginning to get familiar with matching objects and recognizing patterns. Introducing a variety of toddler-friendly puzzles is a great way to help with memory building and developing motor skills. Knob puzzles help develop fine motor skills in 2 year olds. Other than knob puzzles look for puzzles that allow for some sort of grading, sequencing or pattern recognition. All these types of puzzles aid early math skills.
Recommendations
Skillofun Wooden Identification Tray Fruits
Melissa And Doug Sea Life Jigsaw Puzzle
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Cleaning Set
Pretend play plays a huge role in toddler development. While a play kitchen set teaches them about food, cooking, social etiquette around the table. A cleaning set shows them how to care for their environment by cleaning up after they are done playing. Introducing such toys is a way to instill a sense of responsibility towards household chores.
Recommendations
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Busy Books
2 to 2 and a half years of age is a good time to introduce busy books. These books contain pages of activities a toddler can complete on his own. They need guidance at first, but once familiar with the activities on each page they continue playing on their own. Busy books encourage independent play and teach a variety of concepts depending on the topic of the book.
Recommendations
Cubs And Calves Unicorn Quiet Book
Cubs And Calves Oh Boy Quiet Book
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Play-Doh
Play-doh encourages creativity, imagination, and conversation through pretend play. Making different shapes, pretend kitchen utensils or animals improves hand-eye coordination and motor skills. Age 2 is the best time to introduce play-doh because children are no longer mouthing toys and understand instruction on how to use it. Caution: Always use play-doh under adult supervision.
Recommendations
Play-doh Classic Fun Factory Set
Eco Kids Natural Plant Dye Modelling Dough
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Musical Toys
2 year olds have a greater appreciation for music. You will find your toddler swinging to his favorite songs and walking around the house singing nursery rhymes. Musical toys are therefore one of the most age appropriate toys for 2 year olds. Some musical toys that aren’t as irritating to the adult ears are listed below;
Recommendations
Previous book and toy recommendations
I hope you found this list useful and find new toy ideas to gift your 2 year olds. Leave me a comment below on what toys your 2 year olds like playing with? For more fun recommendations and reviews follow me on Instagram where I share our experiences with different toys, activities and other baby products.
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Totally agree. Bought most of them for my son. His favorite was the musical toys esp the ones that are ‘irritating to the adult ears’. lol
Yes, that’s why I took a minute to research musical toys that are not super annoying to parents. hehe, I totally understand your pain 🙂
I think this list is going to help me alot. Thanks
It’s always a hunt finding age appropriate toys for toddlers. I am glad you found this list useful!
Great article! I’m totally agree with your selection. Busy Books are our favorites ♥ Thank you for sharing Ophira
Glad you liked it. Yes, Busy Books are some of the most age appropriate toys out there for 2 year olds. We love them, and I use them as a back up to encourage quiet play on days when I am busy and I need my son to play independently.
Busy books sound interesting. its so vital indeed to give them age appropriate things to be around with.
Yes, busy books are an interesting new concept. And 2 years is the correct age to introduce these.
Instead of toys, I give them educational books personalised especially for them. Books such as personalised childrens books makes great gifts. You’ll create a unique story with their name, image, and other details, printed and bound like any other book. It’s a fun story and a keepsake they’ll treasure for many years to come.