Before you become a parent, you really underestimate how much you're going to stress about toys — something that's supposed to be fun also needs to be safe and developmentally appropriate, after all. And ideally, toddler toys will also be educational … and if it's something that will also keep them busy for a while, well, that doesn't hurt, either. But where do you start?
Just about any toy can be educational, with a little extra effort — after all, these are toddlers we're talking about, and every second they spend exploring the world around them, they're learning something. But these toys are actually meant to help them learn and practice the skills they're developing every day and have fun doing it.
Looking for some toys that will help teach toddlers something while they're playing? Read on for the best educational toys for toddlers that every kiddo should add to their collection.
Little Tikes® Learn & Play™ My First Learning Mailbox
$41.99
from
Little Tikes
With more than 50 awesome activities, phrases, and songs, this mailbox will be your kid's favorite playtime game! It combines the fun of sending and receiving mail with learning activities that teach shapes, colors, numbers, counting, and aid with fine motor skills and coordination. The My First Learning Mailbox is so much more than just a toy! The mailbox includes nine numbers, so kids can pretend and create different house numbers, three sorting shapes, three "envelopes," two packages, and a soft doggie (of course!).
Little Tikes® Learn & Play™ Learning Activity Suitcase
$41.99
from
Little Tikes
This interactive play suitcase lets your child explore the world! It features a cool light-up display with more than 60 songs, six interactive wipeable maps, a boarding pass, passport, dry erase marker, sticker sheet, and so many activities. Kids will be entertained and learning for hours. And with its extendable handle and wheels, this suitcase goes anywhere your child wants to take it!
Little Tikes® 3-in-1 Sports Zone™
$41.99
from
Little Tikes
Up the fun your kids have during playtime with the 3-in-1 Sports Zone™! Kids can play basketball, soccer, and bowling. The backboard on the basketball hoop lights up with each shot and is adjustable. The bowling pins make sounds and animal noises when they're knocked down. This is the most entertaining way for kids to refine motor skills, learn colors, numbers, and shapes, all while feeling like little athletes!
Little Passports: Early Explorers
Starting at
$20.95
from
Little Passports
Little Passports is a gift that keeps on giving! The Little Passports: Early Explorers subscription box is made specifically for kids ages 3 to 5, and it's created to spark interest in world discovery. The first box comes with all the pieces they'll need for their first adventure: a welcome letter from pen pals, a Little Passports suitcase, a pop-out playset and stickers, a wall-sized world map, and a super fun activity booklet with games, fun facts, and puzzles!
Toddler Puzzles
When it comes to educational toys, sometimes simpler is better, and that definitely goes for these wooden learning puzzles. There are variations like these all over the internet, but this pack of two can be found at Target for a super reasonable price, helping your kiddos get comfortable with animal names and shapes.
A Baby Doll
$33.5
from
Manhattan Toy
If you're hoping to encourage imaginative play (or preparing your toddler for a younger sibling), a baby doll is always a good idea. This one is soft and comes with accessories like a bottle, a book, and a pacifier. You might be amazed by seeing your toddler already knows to pretend to feed their new baby!
A Shape Sorter
While this is a relatively simple toy, some kids can be kept busy for hours trying to figure out how to fit the shapes in the right spots. There are tons of versions of this toy at all price points out there, but this one is inexpensive, wooden, and super colorful. Using a toy like this promotes hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills while helping your tot learn their shapes and colors.
Poke-A-Dot Books
$15.95
from
Fat Brain Toys
This book, which comes with raised dots to poke on every page, keeps toddlers engaged while you're reading with them, and it helps them become an active listener as you count and practice words together. Pro tip: This one is a major game changer on road trips.
Mega Bloks Wagon
If your child is too little for Lego, don't worry — she's not too little to discover the joy that comes with building with plastic bricks! This wagon comes with 20 brightly colored blocks, and the best part is that when you push it, it scoops up all the blocks that are all over the floor.
A Busy Board
This portable busy board is perfect for traveling, car trips, and using at home, letting toddlers practice skills like buckling, tying their shoes, and using a zipper. It can even be attached to the back of a the front seat during a road trip for on-the-go entertainment.
A Water Drawing Mat
If you're looking for a mess-free way for your toddler to express himself artistically, this is the way to do it. This oversized doodle mat uses water with the markers, paintbrushes, and sponges that come with it to let your little one get creative.
A Memory Game
Ready for your toddler to test her memory (and probably yours, while she's at it)? This zoo-themed memory game from Skip Hop is a great introduction to this gene of matching games, and will give the little one the chance to practice her animal names at the same time.
Leapfrog '100 Animals Book'
This isn't just a book — it's a great learning tool (though it does require some batteries). This talking book will teach your kids animal names, sounds, and facts, and even better than that, it's in both English and Spanish. Perfect for bilingual households!
A Fisher-Price Tea Set
If you're thinking about getting your toddler a first tea set, this one is a great choice! The Fisher-Price version of the classic toy is meant to teach toddlers about sharing and using their managers — and it doesn't hurt that it's musical and really cute at the same time.
Sensory Balls
Looking for an easy, injury free way to practice rolling, throwing, and playing catch with your kid? Look no further than these sensory balls. They're even safe for much younger babies, and no one will get hurt if a ball goes awry — not even your windows.
Pegs & Pegboard Set
This toy will get those fine motor skills in motion! Aimed at toddlers ages 2 and up, this rubber pegboard offers a lot of open-ended play: They can practice putting the pegs in the holes, they can sort the pegs by color, they can practice counting — the possibilities are endless.
CreateOn DoodleTiles
$23.96
from
Maisonette
What could be more creative for your toddler than drawing and marking up their own blocks or structures? Let them explore their artistic side with these wipable DoodleTiles, which are blank Magna-Tiles your child can make into blocks or any number of different structures, and which come with a set of dry erase Crayola markers so that they can draw anything they want.
A Shopping Cart & Groceries
Your toddler has probably seen you grocery shop plenty of times — now, it's time for him to put what he's learned to the test! A toy shopping cart and groceries offers plenty of opportunities for open-ended, imaginative play, and practice walking while pushing that cart.
Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank
Need to practice counting, colors, or even a second language? This pig from Fisher-Price has it all. Toddlers can practice taking toys out of the piggy bank and putting them back in, while the bank cracks jokes, counts, and sings for them in both English and Spanish.
Tinker Rings
$24.95
from
Fat Brain Toys
These rubbery, magnetic rings cling together while toddlers play, allow them to stack or hang them together. This is another open ended, brightly colored toy that will help them practice those fine motor skills and learn their colors at the same time.
