It is common knowledge that children just love to play with toys. But not all parents are aware that it is important that their child should play more with toys that are good for their development. While you can easily find many dozens of toys both online and offline, only a few are among the best developmental toys for 1 year old .
Many toys are generally too complex for kids to play with, whereas what they need, and in fact prefer; are toys that are simple and fun.
Here are 11 best developmental toys for 1 year olds which are also simple to play with.
1. Ring Stackers
To start with, your little one would just pull the rings off the vertical holder. But it is only a matter of time when she will want to put them back, one on top of the other.
This is when you can step in, briefly, to show her a few times the order in which it should be stacked. Both stacking cups and rings are excellent for repetitive play. You can choose from a choice of wooden rings stacker too.
2. Stacking Cups
Your child will find that the round nesting cups are easier to play with than the square ones, as they are relatively very difficult for her age. The delicate effort taken to precisely place each cup one on top of another is what develops her fine motor skills.
Having said, you may still go for both round and square cups, as it’s just a matter of time when she’ll be 18/24 months old when she’ll be ready to play with the square ones too.
3. Pop-Up Toys
These are toys that have buttons, knobs and switches which when pressed or turned will pop-up funny and smiling characters. The toy basically help kids work with pointing, pressing, turning and sliding movements, which are the skills required to make the characters pop-up and be closed.
The two most important skills they develop with the toy are the ability to grip with the index finger and thumb and turn the knobs and switches.
4. Shape Sorters
Shape sorters are one of the best developmental toys for 1 year olds. Kids will always find putting the triangle and square blocks into the box, as it requires them to turn their fingers along with their wrist to place and push it through the slot.
The easiest shape will be the circle, of course, as it requires very little turning of the fingers and almost no turning of the wrist. Wooden shape sorters are popular these days.
5. Ball Runs
This toy needs your child to place the ball at the start and release it so that rolls and turns all the way down and comes out. Watching the ball from the point of release and all the way till it comes out is a fun way for her to experience the turns, twists, rotations and drops.
This motivates her to even crawl or to walk to go grab that ball if it falls out, so that she can come back and start witnessing the fun all over again. One of the things she will learn from this toy is the Cause and Effect.
6. Inset Puzzles
Inset puzzles are puzzle pieces that slots into a kind of groove. They come with little knobs on top so that your little one can use her Pincer Grip to hold it. All she needs to do is pinch and hold the knob of the puzzle piece, pull it out and place it back into the groove.
There are some inset puzzles that make an interesting noise or even play a nursery rhyme when a puzzle piece is removed and stops playing when it is put back into the groove. When she is a little older, say around 18 months, you can remove all the puzzle pieces and make her slot each one of them in the right groove.
7. Toy Blocks
No matter how many new kinds of toys keep coming up, toy blocks, also called building blocks; will always be among the best developmental toys for 1 year old. All she has to do is just build 2 blocks to start with and build it from there.
The fact that she is able to see her ability to stack blocks one on top of another motivates her to constantly try stacking as many as possible. Playing with this toy enhances her hand-eye co-ordination, especially the way she places the third block and beyond.
8. Kids Balls
Kids this age like balls of any type. That’s why balls for kids comes in many colours and sizes. For a 1 year old, just the bouncing nature of the ball and rolling away is reason enough to get excited, have fun and run to grab it and making it bounce again.
Apart from those that come in different colours and sizes, there are also those that make noises or flashes lights every time they make contact with the floor while bouncing.
9. Vehicle Toys
Vehicle toys are one of the best toys that excites almost all babies. While they come in different sizes, make sure you buy those that are at least twice the length of your baby’s hand or bigger.
Vehicle toys also come with a variety of options, some among them being interactive models, wherein some part of the toy would make a noise or play a music. There are also those that come with a little person at the wheel, which can excite your little one a lot more than the others.
The best thing about vehicle toys is that it opens up a new world of wonder and imagination in the minds of your children, something that paralleled by few other toys.
10. Animal Toys
Animal toys also come in different sizes made from materials. Since your baby is just a year old, she is still in the process of developing skills to hold things tight with her hands and gripping with her fingers.
So make sure the toys are made of some light material and are not too heavy, so that she doesn’t drop it on herself or on someone else while throwing (as throwing is very much part of her play). The popular ones are the animal toys that come in the form of a set of zoo animals.
11. Stuffed Toys
Stuffed toys as by far one of the most popular type of toys for kids, especially teddy bears. When it comes to what is called Pretend Play, stuffed toys are the most played toys by babies.
For instance, many teddy bears come with a bib, a bottle, a spoon and even a comb sometimes. This can encourage your little one to treat the teddy like a baby and pretend to act like she’s it’s mother (she is seeing you play that role every day, after all).
Apart from the bottle, spoon and bib, she make use other items in her room or kitchen as props while playing.
Conclusion
While the above mentioned 11 toys are some of the best developmental toys for 1 year olds, if there are three toys you shouldn’t miss providing your little one, they would be inset puzzles, shape sorters and toy blocks.
And remember that parent can buy a toy for their child but not everyone invests their time playing with them along with the toys. So make sure you not only provide the toys but also your time for your child.
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