Are you a parent with toddlers at home, looking for toy recommendations?
Are you a speech-language pathologist (SLP) looking for tried-and-true toy ideas for toddlers?
Three Favorite Toddler Toys
I have often fallen into the trap of buying what I thought was The Perfect Toy.
It would provide endless hours of entertainment for my clients. It would be engaging and help me with my speech and language objectives.
Yet in the end, The Perfect Toy ended up sitting on the shelf.
Sound familiar? If so, read on. I have compiled a short list of my most favored toys among my toddler clients. I hope to save you some time and money in your toy search.
(Some Amazon affiliate links are used in this post)
B. Whacky Ball
This colorful toy comes with four balls that are whacked into a chute, so toddlers can watch the balls fall. The balls hit a spinning wheel as they travel. There is a mirror as a backdrop, which makes watching the balls even more fun. My tip is to hide the hammer it that comes with. I’m sure you can imagine why giving a hammer (albeit a plastic one) to a toddler isn’t always a great idea. That, and the noise it makes can be surprising (and unwelcome) for other children (and adults). I have found my clients are perfectly happy to push the ball into the chute with their hands.
Battat Sound Puzzle Box
My clients get a kick out of this toy (don’t tell anyone, I kind of do, too!). This puzzle box comes with blocks with cute bears on them. It can be used for learning shapes and colors. The bear blocks have various expressions, making it a great choice for emotions too. The blocks are put into their corresponding shape, and they slide down into a tube to their spot. The best part is the hilarious and entertaining noise the blocks make as they travel. Bonus tip: blow into the bear shapes to make a fun whistling sound!
Update - the bear version is no longer available, but you can get an adorable owl version that does the same thing.
Eric Carle Stacking Blocks
Endless amounts of games can be invented with this set of stacking and nesting blocks. I like this block set in particular because of how much it lends to learning and conversation. Multiple pictures appear on each block. The pictures provide chances to learn colors, numbers, days of the week, and shapes. The variety of sounds from these pictures makes this a great tool for clients learning to produce new sounds. A tip: when the toddler stacks all the blocks, reward them by encouraging them to knock it down!
Now, it’s time to play!
Who doesn’t love saving time and money searching for the perfect toy? I hope you have found something to add to your therapy materials arsenal or toy collection at home. Do you know of a toy toddlers can’t seem to get enough of? Come visit me on Instagram, and let me know!