Best Toys for Toddler: 18-24 Months

Toys for 18 month old. The best toys for your 18-24 month old toddler. These are great toys for 18-24 month old boy and toys for 18-24 month old girl.

Toddlers are busy little people. They change quickly as they add new physical and mental skills. They love to experiment and figure out how the world works.

This can be a hard age to buy for. I view it as an in-between stage for toddlers. They will show some interest in old favorites, but often have outgrown those baby toys. But they aren’t quite into the toys for the two year olds yet, either.

Exactly what toys you decide to give to your 18-24 month old toddler will depend on some things. One is need. Your child might not be in need of any new toys. Seasons will impact it. Perhaps you will come into spring and summer in your area and your child will now be able to play outside with no outside toys to play with. Or winter could start and you are house-bound and in need of some new things to keep you and toddler interested.

Brayden and Kaitlyn were both in this age range when it was Christmas. At Christmas, we give our children gifts, so I was in need of some toy ideas during this age range.

Toys for 18-24 Month Olds

Here are some ideas of fun toys for the 18-24 month olds. These are the best toys for 18-24 month old boy and best toys for 18-24 month old girl.

Old Favorites

Some of the old toys will still hold their weight. Your toddler will be able to play with them more accurately, meaning the way they were intended to be played with.

There will be toys that used to just be fun to hold and look at (and put in the mouth) that he now is starting to play with in a more conventional way, such as the Little People. For my kids, Nesting Cups continued to be a fun toy in this age range as well as the Fisher-Price Rock-A-Stack. They got more accurate with the Shape Sorter and Pop Up Toy. And don’t forget the trucks. This was the favorite toy of Brayden’s in this age range Trucks up to 24 Months.

Be sure to see these posts for toys that are old favorites that will still be great:

And also see toys coming up next:

Wooden Puzzles

I had this on the last age group list, but I think they are worthy of being listed individually again. Puzzles are something that really vary for children.

Brayden didn’t have much interest in the puzzles at this age, but Kaitlyn really did. By far my favorite puzzles are the Melissa & Doug Puzzles. One reason for this is that Melissa & Doug replace any missing or broken piece for free. It can be hard to pay some companies for a new piece, and they do it for free. Puzzles are something that can easily come up with missing pieces. They are also made very well and are quite cute, with a large variety of subjects. Some even make noises when it is all put together.

>>>Read: 8 Different Styles of Puzzles You Should Get for Kids

Balls

You have seen balls listed a lot on previous lists, and you will continue to see them listed. All of my children loved balls in this age range. These textured balls are just one fun ball idea for toddlers.

Ride-on Toys

These are toys that are going to be a bit easier for your child to play with in this age range. This was one of Brayden’s favorite in this age range. Ride-on Toys

This Radio Flyer Ride on Toy is super cute for this age range.

This is also a great age to get a balance bike. These can really help a toddler to be able to transition into a bike more easily (and even without having to use traning wheels!)

Gross Motor Toys

Climbing Toys: Kaitlyn continued to love to climb in this age range. She loved to play on Climbing Toys. This slide from Little Tikes is a great one for younger toddlers. If your children are like mine were, they can’t really slide on their own in this age range because they are still pretty top heavy (head larger than body proportionally). But they can have fun with your help. And if they are like mine, they will never tire of swinging.

A Wooden Climbing Toy is a great toy for working gross motor skills. These toys are quite open ended and help your toddler burn a lot of energy while in the house. Burning energy is good for solid sleep!

The iPlay, iLearn Bouncy Pals are fun toys to get some gross motor play in that can be indoor or outdoor toys. They have all sorts of different animals, so you can search for one your child will love!

The Little Tikes Rocking Horse is another great option for your indoor gross motor play (that can also be moved outside).

Toys to Mimic

Your child will continue to show interest in toys to mimic. These toys stimulate the imagination as well as help your child learn about the grown-up world. I listed ideas in the 10-12 month post (Best Toys for Baby: Ages 10-12 Months) and the Best Toys for Baby: 12-18 Months range.

Since we had a kitchen already, we got Kitchen Accessories for Kaitlyn in this age range. Whatever it is you do, consider getting toys for your toddler to mimic you. Do you garden? Do you cook? Do you sew? Do you clean the house? Whatever it is, your child will enjoy toys that help him be more like you.

A fun idea is this mixing bowl from Fisher-Price. There are fun songs and lights and can really fulfill those desires to fill and empty items and also practice some cause and effect.

Another really fun one is a toy lawnmower. This was a big favorite of Brayden’s (and he grew up to be a teenager who loved to mow the lawn–great investment!).

Outside Toys

Sleds: Since Brayden, Kaitlyn, AND McKenna were in this age range during winter, when I think of this age group, I think sleds. They love to be pulled around on the sled, so find something that you can pull without hurting your back (so much as possible 🙂 ). A sled like this one can be good for the younger kids: Toddler Bogan Sled

>>>Read: Outdoor Toys Children Will Love

Dolls and Stuffed Animals

Elmo: Kaitlyn and McKenna’s favorite thing during this age range was Elmo. There are a lot of Elmo toys out there.

Dolls: Kaitlyn had a variety of dolls. I had a lot from my childhood because I am OCD and took really good care of them–many look new. She had those. She also has some that have been given to her as gifts. Her favorite doll was the Fisher Price Doll.

McKenna loved the Manhattan Baby Stella Doll.

Stuffed Animals: I have listed this before, but during this age range my kids had a special love for certain stuffed animals. Stuffed Animals

Duplo Legos

DUPLOs was probably Kaitlyn’s number one favorite toy at this age. Brayden also enjoyed playing with them. They are a great toy. Brayden even thanked for Legos during a prayer.

Art Activities

During this age range, Brayden started to enjoy coloring more, though he honestly spent more time organizing the crayons than actually coloring. Kaitlyn has always been my artist and just grew to love coloring more and more. You will want to get toddler-friendly crayons that are harder to break.

See this post for art time activities: Baby Stuff I love: Art Time

Musical Instruments

Musical instruments are a fun thing. I am really into music, so the musical side of life is always big for me and easy for me to incorporate into the day. There are many fun Musical Instruments sets out there.

These wooden musical instruments from Manhattan Toy Company are super cute.

And don’t forget about music! Toddler tunes are fun for little kids to listen to.

Fine Motor Skills Toys

Melissa & Doug Locks and Latches Board Wooden Educational Toy: We love these type of puzzles. They are great for working fine motor skills.

Suretrack Train Clips: If you have a train-lover in your home, these can eliminate a lot of frustration. Younger siblings can destroy a masterpiece in seconds. Just regular play can make pieces come apart. Some people choose to solve this issue by gluing the track down, but then you lose a huge benefit of train tracks: the creativity. These clips help keep them together while still allowing things to be moved.

Train: If you are getting tracks or clips, a train to go with it is a must!

The Learning Resources Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog is a cute and colorful toy that helps strengthen fine motor skills. This also helps with color recognition!

The Battat Wooden Activity Cube is another great fine-motor toy that teaches many other skills.

Bath time is a great time to practice fine motor skills and get some sensory play in. There are a lot of fun bath toys out there. The Nuby Waterworks Pipes Bath toy is a fun one that also offers STEM benefits.

Wooden Race Car Toys are another great one for fine motor skills. Any sort of car toy can be great for this and also budding imaginative play.

Books

Books: I am always advocating books. An idea for this age range is the pop-up book. Some children can be trusted at this age with the pop-up book, others need some guidance in how to treat it appropriately. If your child cannot treat the book appropriately after instruction, put it away and try again at an older age.

Another fun type of book is a flap book. Read up on the Best Board Books to Own here!