CHOOSING TOYS FOR TWO YEAR OLDS

Toys for Two Year Olds

The second year of life is one of change and growth for a child. Motor skills, language ability, and social skills rapidly increase. Play becomes more involved and sophisticated. It is also the way children learn to explore the world around them and learn new things. Selecting the right kinds of toys can help to develop important physical and cognitive abilities in your toddler.

Here are some items you may want to put in you child’s toy box:

Toys that develop small motor skills:

activity boards with dials and buttons to manipulate

blocks

boxes and containers of various sizes for filling and emptying

jigsaw puzzles (preferably with wooden knobs for easy lifting)

nesting and stacking toys

shape sorters

Toys that develop large motor skills:

balls of various sizes

climbing toys

push toys

pull toys

riding toys

swings and slides

Toys that stimulate imagination:

building blocks and building systems such as Duplo

cars, trucks, planes, trains, and spaceships

dolls, doll houses and furniture and doll clothes

dress up clothes and accessories and costumes

household items made child size such as toy telephones, shopping carts, and kitchen gadgets

stuffed animals

Toys that stimulate creativity and artistic talent:

non-toxic modeling clay

non-toxic crayons, markers and paints

felt shapes

non-toxic glue sticks

paper

*sponges and brushes for painting

Toys that develop musical interest:

cassette players and age appropriate music and story tapes

drums

horns or other wind instruments

keyboards

tambourines

xylophones

Toys that stimulate interest in the physical world:

dump trucks

gardening tools made child size

non-breakable mirrors

sandbox

simple science stuff like a big magnifying glass, butterfly net, or bug collecting kit

water toys

Toys that teach the grown up world:

Cash registers, shopping carts, and toy typewriters

Costumes such as firefighter, police officer, or sailor

Dolls with carriages, cradles and strollers

Tool belt or work bench

Toy kitchen equipment and gardening supplies

Vehicles