As an occupational therapist I am always on the look out for fun toys that help entertain, support development of skills, and encourage problem solving. One of the best investments we have made was to get a blow-up, bouncy ballpit. He loves to jump in, roll around in the balls, throw balls, and climb out. Of course it took him a little time to figure out how to get out without falling out- but it was fun to watch him learn!
Of course a cheap go to is always a ball. Rolling, throwing, bouncing, dribbling, catching- all important skills for little ones to develop, but also a great way to play as a family.
A basketball hoop is a fun way to encourage use of balls in ways other than throwing. He has to bring the ball up, figure out how to release the ball into the hoop, and as he gets older will learn how to toss the ball up to shoot a basket. Right now he loves to "slam dunk!"
Another favorite toy is a simple tunnel. Crawling through a tunnel allows continued development of recipricol movements, develops the arches of the hand through weight bearing, and is a fun way to play chase (lots and lots of giggles).
We don't buy many of the electronic toys. The wooden toys are great, or plastic toys with switches that require him to figure out how to use his hands to make the switches work to pop up the animals.
I love the bathtub crayons. It is a fun way to encourage development of pre-writing skills, work on fine motor strength, and again a fun activity to interact with your little one. Books are always great. This is nothing surprising. It is a fun way to help little ones learn and a great time to work on development of language skills by asking questions, pointing out colors, animals, objects, etc., or simply spending a moment together to read the story.
Puzzles are great to work on matching, problem solving, visual perceputal skill development, and fine motor development through manipulation of the pieces to get the pieces to fit.
Our son loves cars and trucks. Can't get enough of them. The small cars can encourage fine motor development and coordination, and play skills important for interaction with peers as he gets older.
Blocks and legos are simple toys that encourage motor skill development and control, grasp, hand strength, and again problem solving skills. Stacking blocks is an important developmental skill and once stacking has been mastered should be encouraged to explore building more complex designs.
Toys that can be pushed and pulled allow little ones the opportunity to work on problem solving by figuring out how to move the toy, and also encourages gross motor development and coordination helping them learn to walk forward and backward.
An item that I had never heard of before was a balance bike. What a great concept. This is simply a 2-wheeled bike, but without the pedals. It allows little ones to work on balance by using their feet to propel the bike, and allowing them to pick up their feet as comfortable to test their balance. At 18 months, the bike is still big for our son to use on his own, but he already loves to sit on the bike, hold onto the handle bars, and hold his feet up to go for a ride around the house. He is able to balance himself on the seat independently, with us holding the handle bars only as we navigate the bike around the house. The idea is that there is an easy transition to a traditional pedaled bike, without the need for training wheels. We will see how that goes as he gets older!
Parents need to get creative, allow their kids to get messy, encourage exploration of skills and various household tools, and think outside the box when looking for toys for their little ones. It doesn't have to cost a lot. In fact we don't buy a lot of toys. Our son much prefers to climb on things, play with items in the kitchen, walk around outside, flip through books, and LOVES balls. Often times, the simpler the 'toy' the better.
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