I’ve found that open ended toys keep my toddler’s attention way longer than a toy with only one purpose (especially if that purpose is just to bang it to hear a sound… not a fan lol). I’d love to share with you some of the toys we have that I’ve found are wonderful for keeping my toddler’s attention and that he thoroughly enjoys!
Nugget Couch
This was a birthday gift for my son this year and both my 1 year old daughter and 2 year old son love it! There are over 15 formations you can make with one single Nugget Couch. We sit on it and read books. We make forts with it. We use it as a slide for cars. So many possibilities! It also serves as a couch for mom and dad when in the play room, so that’s convenient. 🙂
Magna-Tiles
My son also received his first pack of these for his second birthday and the hype is real!! They’re definitely a bit expensive, but we’ll for sure be getting some more packs of these in the future so we can build even more. Basically, these tiles are fully magnetic and come in different shapes, so you can build whatever you want! My son is a typical boy and loves to request we build something for the sole purpose of him smashing it with his toy broom lol. It gives him joy like none other.
Blocks
I have found a few packs of nice, wooden blocks at the kids’ consignment shop over the last two years and we use them almost everyday! I have a pack of large wooden blocks that have the letters of the alphabet on them. I also have a pack of smaller wooden blocks that are colored and have pictures of common things on them. We love quizzing my son on what the pictures are, and he loves it! The last pack of blocks we have I bought using a gift card at TJ Maxx (they have everything, don’t they?). This pack is more for building formations and things which is fun. But, almost every single day my son will request we sit down and build towers with him. With these three different packs of blocks, it makes the possibilities of what we can build even more endless. You can’t go wrong with blocks!
Animals
My son is obsessed with this pack of dinosaurs we have. Not even sure where they came from lol (probably Once Upon A Child). We have other animals too, but he basically calls them all dinosaurs because dinos are his favorite. He loves to have us build a house using the Magna-Tiles and then put the “dinosaurs” in the house. There are just so many things your child can do and get creative with using a simple pack of small animals.
Kitchen Set
My daughter just received a kitchen for her birthday (!!!!!!) and my son loves it so much! I can already see his mind working and the creativity growing with pretend play. He’s “making us food,” “preparing coffee,” and “cooking food on the stove,” all while wearing the oven mitt of course. 😉 My daughter loves the pretend food especially. It’s so fun to watch them play! Again- endless possibilities for kitchen play.
Ball Pit
My daughter also just received a ball pit for her birthday and she’s not a huge fan of getting in it yet, but my son has basically claimed it as his own LOL. There aren’t as many things you can do with it per say, but it’s one of those things that kids spend so long playing in/with that it makes the 600 balls going everywhere worth it (most days).
Cars
My son is obsessed with all things cars and vehicles (this was his birthday party theme back in June) and so there’s almost always some type of car or car bin in each week’s toy rotation. He drives them around the house. He has them go off ramps (using the Nugget Couch). He has them crash into the other toys. He practices making their sounds and connecting them together, etc. So many shapes, colors, sizes, & purposes when it comes to cars. I also have a car mat I thrifted that he enjoys to drive the cars around on too.
What are the toys that your toddlers play with forever and never get sick of?
Tia Marie 🙂
tia marie 