Best Educational toys for 12 months old kids

Your baby is no longer a baby. Your baby is a little toddler that although he still puts everything in his mouth he/she is more alert than ever.

Let look at what milestones your baby will be working on. This will allows you to understand what skill is being developed with each toy and you will be able to make a better selection when choosing toys for 12 months old toddlers.

Scroll to the bottom and get the downloadable Toy Guide PDF with toy recommendations from newborn to 2 years of age

What Milestones is my 12 month old working on?

• He/she will start working on pretend play – usually mimicking what mom does or tasks he is involved with such as eating or sleeping.
• By this time your baby will have a decent understanding of the names and purpose of several objects around him. (check out the Pre-K Learning workbook to help with this and other skills you can teach at this age)
• Your baby can stand by himself without support but will still pull to stand. However, once in a standing position, he will let go of the support and take a few steps alone thus indicating a significant improvement in his gross motor development.

What are the best toys for 12 months old toddlers?

Choose toys for 12 months old that allow your toddler to be curious and eager to work on newly learned skills such as walking, running and climbing.

What are good toys for 12 months old to give out as gifts?

Any of the below-listed toys is a great find, you can also add any of these art supplies to ensure that your gift will be used.

Educational toys for 12 months old up to 18 months old

1. Remote control and telephone- The telephone is not just a pretend-play toy but it is one that helps with the development of language. Pretending to have conversations, using his new learned words is a great language development

2. Ball Drop Cow – This toy we bought for Christmas and it has been one of the best purchases I have done. It works on hand-grip, eye-hand coordination, and cause-and-effect. I love the sounds and the different ways to play and drop the ball.

3. Pre-K Readiness Workbook –  This age is the perfect age to start teaching some concepts to make the transition to Pre-K easier. There are 6 concepts you can start teaching with worksheets, games, and activities.  You won’t find a book like this aimed towards one year old anywhere. – this is the reason I created it

4. Hedgehog – Working on eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills to place that little stick in a hole is a great first skill towards practice pre-writing skills.  I didn’t know this existed so I had to create a homemade toy to work on this – this is way better. Later on, you can use it to work on color recognition and even counting. It will be an educational toy that you can use for a long time.

5. Animal Farm Puzzle – The large nobs – one-piece puzzles are the first type of puzzles you should introduce. This farm puzzle is my favorite because not only it has those two concepts but you can also practice animal sounds with it – another pre-k readiness concept you should work at this stage.

6. Stride to Ride Puppy –  This toy starts as a walker and then ends up as a ride on. It has shapes to feed the dog and it’s a lot of fun. It also has a lot of songs to introduce shapes and the alphabet.

7. Pretend play Farm – Closer to the 18-month mark, they start to play and engage in pretend-play more. They love to place cars or animals or people in different areas of a house or a car, this farm is perfect for this initial pretend play stage. Also, a car garage or tracks is a favorite at this stage.

8. Cookie Jar –  This toy is great for counting, for fine motor skills such as  filling and dumping

I hope this guide gave you an idea of what toys for 12 months old toddlers are educational and what to look for when choosing a toy for this age.

Toy Guide by Age