Best Toys for One-Year-Olds: Fun and Educational Gifts

Your infant is one year old and shows signs of increasing curiosity daily. Toys that move, produce noise, and otherwise imitate the world around them are a great way to pique a child's innate curiosity. Toys that stimulate movement, such as walkers and toys that can be pulled along are great for babies who have just started crawling or walking. Dolls, playsets, and toy vehicles are also great for helping children learn more about the world around them. 


Because your freshly minted toddler is becoming more capable of creative thought, pretend play will become a significant portion of their time playing. Prepare to race plush animals across the floor on their railway cars and drink tea from stuffed animal mugs. At this point in their development, your child's senses can be delighted by anything, their imagination can be inspired by anything, and they can learn valuable lessons about conduct from anything.

The Best Toys For One-Year-Olds

When shopping for toys for your one-year-old child, keep an eye out for the following characteristics, which will help to foster your child's development on all fronts:


Related Link: How Gender Roles Affect Child Development

Toys For Shared Play

One-year-olds do not yet play cooperatively; instead, they engage in "parallel play" independently while near another toddler. Parallel play is one of the earliest phases of children's social development, so having toys that many toddlers can all share (such as a multi-pack of toy cars or a larger playset) will help them become social butterflies.

Toys To Get Them Moving

Toys that an infant can push or pull with a string promote mobility, which is essential for one-year-olds just learning to walk. Practicing leads to mastery, and objects that move with them make practice much more enjoyable.


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Baby with a lot of toys

Bright Colored Toys

Children are more likely to play with and learn from a bright red fire truck or a set of rainbow stacking cups because, as their vision develops, they can distinguish vibrant colors more readily than dull or pastel hues; however, they won't be able to name colors until about three years old.

Toys For Coordination

This is the ideal time to stock the playroom with toys that promote fine and gross motor development and coordination, given that your child wants to put everything in their mouth. Puzzles, stacking/nesting devices, and shape sorters are ideal for developing talent and problem-solving skills in young children.


Best Toys For One-Year-Olds:


  • Janod Chunky Stand Up Puzzle - Encourages Shape Recognition, Dexterity, and Language Development with This 7-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle Featuring Forest Animals.
  • HABA Discovery Blocks - The yellow block contains a bell, the red block a mirror, the blue block a kaleidoscope, the orange block a tinkling ball, the green block a yellow plexiglass, and the blue block a red push button. The distinct effects enhance the creative freedom of the young constructors and aid in developing their coordination and motor skills.
  • Infantino Textured Multi Ball Set - 6 Piece Sensory Exploration and Engagement Instrument Set for Ages 6 Months and Up. Designed to be Bright, textured, and easy-to-grasp design for infants to develop their tactile senses while having fun. 

The soft and textured material with six different sizes and shapes encourages the infant to reach, bat, grab, and engage in sensory play.


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Fisher-First Price's Baby's Blocks offer a bucketful of entertainment for your infant. The sorting, stacking, and dropping of these chunky, multicolored blocks through the slots in the bucket's lid help infants learn colors and shapes. Empty the bucket to begin the enjoyment all over again! And with the convenient transport handle, you can bring Baby's First Blocks wherever you and your infant go! Playing with blocks and categorizing shapes improves your infant's hand-eye coordination, agility, and problem-solving abilities.

  • Baby Stacking Toys Silicone Rings Stackers Building Blocks Tower - These stacking toys feature sophisticated, muted hues instead of the typical vibrant or pastel hues. The set includes six blocks in Original or Retro color schemes. The stacking blocks are manufactured from BPA-free, PVC- and phthalate-free food-grade silicone that is free of BPA. Such an exquisite infant or first birthday gift!

Baby with toy camera


  • Skip Hop Baby Walker, Explore & More 4-in-1 Toy Walker - This convertible activity walker is packed with over 40 play features, music, sounds, lights, and more to help children learn and develop through four engaging play modes:, shopping cart, cruiser, stroller, and seated. It encourages balance, fine motor skills, imaginary play, and much more, and it is a must-have that will grow with your child for years to come.
  • First 100 Words: A Padded Board Book - With the help of this colorful board book, your child will quickly acquire some first words and pictures. There are 100 photographs to view and discuss and 100 exact first words to read and learn. The pages are made of a sturdy board for hours of enjoyable reading, and the cover is padded for small hands.

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  • Skip Hop Let's Roll 2-in-1 Baby Activity Table - This interactive activity station will provide hours of fun for children. With two phases of play for infants and toddlers and twenty developmental activities, children will enjoy grabbing, rocking, and rolling eight adorable and colorful balls. The action-packed enjoyment is enhanced by a piano that illuminates and a slide that swirls.
  • B. toys Wooden Activity Cube - Zany Zoo - This wooden activity cube contains everything necessary for young animal enthusiasts. Children can quickly move the colorful beads through the squiggly tracks, open the peek-a-boo doors to discover colorful surprises, and rotate the illustrated alphabet tiles to learn about letters and various animals. This activity center also features zigzag pathways that allow children to raise or lower animal-inspired knobs! The wooden construction is secure, smooth, and sturdy; all features are simple for small hands to manipulate, and the activities help toddlers develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They are recommended for children older than 12 months.

Finding The Best Toys For One-Year-Olds

Babies are like little sponges, absorbing any information and experiences we share. We lay the groundwork for a life of inquiry and exploration by providing them with educational and entertaining opportunities. The key to making learning pleasurable is selecting the appropriate educational toy to pique their interest, promote their development, and be enjoyable. So many unique and lovely baby gift options are available that you will indeed find something special for your one-year-old. Always remember that education through play is the best method to stimulate their minds, no matter what you decide.


Related Link: What is Child Development? How Can Parents Help Foster It?






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