The Best Toddler Toys After Four Kids (The Ones That Actually Lasted)
Shopping for a one year old? Here are my favorite toys for 1 year olds, now that we’ve done it four times.
We bought our first set of Magna-Tiles for Lincoln’s second birthday, and they’re still getting pulled out at our house today. That’s the kind of toy this list is about. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through them at no extra cost to you.
I first wrote about our favorite toddler toys when I only had two kids and we lived in an apartment with a shared playroom. Four kids later, I can tell you which toys were a phase and which ones got passed down from kid to kid and are still getting played with. The second group is what made the cut.
So what are the best toddler toys? The ones more than one of my kids played with for more than one season. I’ve sorted this list by the way toddlers really play, so you can jump straight to what you need.
Jump to:
- Building toys
- Pretend play
- Active and outdoor toys
- Trucks and vehicles
- Quiet time and travel
- Toddler toys I’d skip
- FAQ
Our Favorite Toddler Toys at a Glance
| If you want | Start with |
|---|---|
| The one toy worth the investment | Magna-Tiles |
| Active play | Micro Mini scooter |
| Pretend play | Play kitchen and Melissa & Doug play food |
| A push toy | Gigglescape doll stroller or a toy shopping cart |
| Rainy days | Nugget play couch |
| Quiet time and travel | Water Wow books and a tablet loaded with audiobooks |
| A small gift or stocking stuffer | Friction car set or a big sticker set |
How I Pick the Best Toddler Toys
My test is simple. A toy makes this list if more than one of my kids played with it for more than one season. That rules out a lot of the flashy toys that get one great Christmas morning and then sit in the closet.
The toys that pass almost always have one thing in common: there’s no single right way to play with them. Magna-Tiles are a tower one day and a parking garage the next. A play silk is a cape, a picnic blanket, and a river for the farm animals. Everything below has worked for both my girls and my boys.
Best Toddler Toys for Building
⭐ Favorite Overall: Magna-Tiles
Best for: ages 2+
Either you own these or you’re wondering if they’re worth the price tag. They are. We bought our first set for Lincoln’s second birthday, and years later they’re still huge in our house. We’ve built towers, roads, parking garages, barns, mazes, and ramps, and the little ones mostly loved knocking down whatever the big kids built (which, to be fair, is part of the fun).
We added a second set about a year and a half in, plus the Magna-Tiles cars. What to know: one set runs out fast once more than one kid is building.
Lovevery Block Set
Best for: ages 1 to 4
Westley was gifted the Lovevery block set, and it’s still the block set I’d buy first. It’s a block set, a shape sorter, and a threading toy in one, and the quality is better than any other wooden blocks we’ve owned. More toys like this are in my list of brain-building toys for toddlers.
LEGO Duplo
Best for: ages 18 months+
My parents still have the huge classroom set of Duplos from when I was little, and my kids head straight for them every time we visit. They’re the easiest way for a toddler to start building, and they mix right in with cars and animals. I shared more tips for imaginative play with Duplos here.
Wooden Train Set
Best for: ages 3+
A wooden train set was a favorite for years. Interest really took off around age three, when the kids could connect the tracks themselves. Before that they loved it but needed me to build the track, so I’d save this one for an older toddler.
Marble Run
Best for: ages 4+
For older toddlers and preschoolers, a marble run buys you a lot of quiet, focused play. Lincoln could play with ours alone for an hour at a time around age four. He usually asked for help building the first run and then adjusted it on his own.
What to know: marbles are a choking hazard, so keep this one away from younger siblings.
Best Pretend Play Toys for Toddlers
Pottery Barn Kids Play Kitchen
Best for: ages 2 to 6
Rosie got this play kitchen for her second birthday, and at four she still plays with it. It’s one of the few big toy purchases I’ve never once regretted. Toddlers love copying what we do every day, and the kitchen is where they see us the most.
Melissa & Doug Play Food
Best for: ages 2+
Play food is the companion to the kitchen, and it’s still a huge win at our house. My favorite is the Melissa & Doug cake set paired with a tea set, and the cutting food sets are great for little hands learning to slice.
Sarah’s Silks Play Silks
Best for: ages 18 months+
We got play silks for Rosie, and they’re great. They don’t look like much, which is exactly why they work. They’ve been capes, baby blankets, a picnic, and the ocean under the farm animals, and they fold up small.
Dress-Ups and Costume Pieces
Best for: ages 2+
After one Halloween we started a bin of simple costume pieces, like animal ears, tails, and capes, and it’s still a win years later. I like pieces over full costumes because toddlers can put them on and take them off without help.
Push Toys: Gigglescape Doll Stroller or a Shopping Cart
Best for: ages 18 months to 4
My kids love any push toy. Our favorite is the Gigglescape doll stroller. We have it and love it, and it carries every baby doll and stuffed animal in the house. A mini stroller has been passed down between all of our kids, and it’s great while a toddler is still learning to walk.
A toy shopping cart is a great option too. For some reason my kids love pretending to do one of my least favorite chores, and it pairs perfectly with play food.
Farm Animal Figures
Best for: ages 2+
A bin of farm animals is still a win at our house. They end up in Magna-Tile barns, in the play kitchen, and lined up across the living room floor. They’re one of the cheapest toys on this list and one of the most played with.
Calico Critters
Best for: ages 3+
Calico Critters are a more recent love at our house. They’re best for the older end of the toddler years, since the tiny accessories aren’t safe for kids who still put things in their mouths. For a three- or four-year-old who loves little worlds, they’re a great next step after the farm animals.
Best Active and Outdoor Toddler Toys
Micro Mini Scooter
Best for: ages 2 to 5
Aside from Magna-Tiles, this is the best money we’ve spent on toys, and it’s still a huge win. We’ve tried plenty of other scooters over the years, and the Micro steers more easily for little kids and holds up better. You can read my full Micro scooter review here.
Mini Push Car
Best for: ages 1 to 3
Ours lives in the backyard, and it’s the biggest hit with any one- to three-year-old who comes over. Toddlers push each other, push their toys, or just scoot themselves around. If you have the space, it’s a toy a one-year-old will still use at three.
Nugget Play Couch
Best for: ages 2+
Our Nugget couches are so loved. My kids turn them into forts, slides, and obstacle courses, and they get used by every age in our house. They’re a big purchase, and I’d still buy them again.
Stapelstein Stepping Stones
Best for: ages 18 months+
My sister has these, and my kids loved playing with them every time we were at her house. We don’t own them ourselves, so I can’t speak to how they hold up over years, but they kept every age busy.
Best Toddler Trucks and Vehicles
Big Tonka Dump Truck
Best for: ages 2+
Lincoln was gifted a big Tonka dump truck for Christmas when he was almost two, and it’s still getting used. It hauls mulch in the backyard, carries toys from room to room, and holds up to the kind of play that breaks smaller trucks.
Garbage and Recycling Truck
Best for: ages 18 months+
This truck was a hit for years. My toddlers loved loading the back with small toys and tiny pieces of “trash,” then dumping it all out and starting over.
Melissa & Doug Car Carrier
Best for: ages 2+
My kids loved this car carrier truck for so many years, and so did every toddler who came over to play. Loading the cars on and driving them off again keeps toddlers busy for a long time, and the cars all have a place to live when cleanup time comes.
Friction Car Set
Best for: ages 1 to 3
This touch-and-go car set was a huge favorite for a lot of years. Kids give the cars a push and they zoom off on their own, which is about the most exciting thing in the world at two. It also makes a great stocking stuffer.
Best Toddler Toys for Quiet Time and Travel
These are the toys I keep in our quiet time bins and pack for plane rides and long drives. They’re small, mostly mess-free, and they keep a toddler busy for longer than you’d think.
Water Wow Books
Best for: ages 2+
I first bought Water Wow books for our church bag, and they’ve been some of the most-used toys we own. You fill the pen with water, the page fills in with color, and once it dries it’s ready to paint again. Kids as old as six or seven still ask to use them.
Amazon Fire Tablet (for Audiobooks)
Best for: ages 3+
This one surprises people, but our Fire tablets get used all the time, mostly for audiobooks. The kids listen during quiet time and on long drives, and it’s my favorite way to fill a car ride without turning on a show. We also use them for “watching books,” the audiobooks with pictures that follow along with the story.
What to know: load a few audiobooks before you gift it. When Lincoln unwrapped his on Christmas morning, he wasn’t excited until he understood what it could do.
Reusable Sticker Pads
Best for: ages 3+
These are perfect for planes and restaurants. My kids got the most use out of them once they turned three and could dress the figures themselves.
What to know: there are a lot of tiny stickers. Keep a zip-top bag with the pad so the loose pieces have somewhere to go at cleanup.
Big Sticker Set
Best for: ages 2+
My kids love a sticker sheet to go along with art time. This set has over 500 stickers, and I cut a sheet or two in half for each kid. It’s great for travel, holiday gatherings, and stockings.
UCreate Black Sketch Book
Best for: ages 1 to 3
Between the ages of one and three, my kids always preferred big blank books to actual coloring books, and we’ve gone through a lot of them. Our favorites are these black sketch books from Target. We’ve bought a lot of blank books over the years, and these are the best quality for the price we’ve found. The big pages give little arms room to scribble.
Creamy Crayons
Best for: ages 1+
Creamy crayons are still a yes for toddlers because they take so little pressure to color with, and you can add water with a brush and turn the drawing into a painting.
Faber-Castell Beeswax Crayons
Best for: ages 2+
Beeswax crayons are also great and much less messy. For older kids, here are the art supplies we keep buying.
Toddler Toys I Don’t Recommend
Water beads. I don’t include these on any toddler list. They’re a serious swallowing hazard, and they’re too easy for a toddler to sneak into their mouth while you’re looking the other way.
Small magnets and toys with loose magnets. Same reason. Magna-Tiles have their magnets sealed inside the tiles, but I skip any toy where small magnets could come loose.
A baby doll set as a sure thing. Baby dolls were hit or miss for us. Both of my girls loved theirs for a season and then moved on. I’d buy one simple doll and see what happens before investing in the full nursery set.
Conclusion: What Are the Best Toddler Toys to Buy?
If I could only buy three toddler toys again, I’d pick Magna-Tiles, a Micro scooter, and a play kitchen with play food. All three have been used by every one of my kids, and all three are still in our house. Add a push toy and a bin of farm animals, and you have a playroom that will keep a toddler busy for years.
If you’re shopping for a specific age, my list of the best toys for 2 year olds goes deeper, and our favorite toddler bath toys are rounded up here. Before you buy anything new this holiday season, take a look at what your toddler already reaches for every day. It’s usually the best clue to what they’ll love next.
Toddler Toy FAQs
The best toddler toys are open-ended ones that can be played with in many different ways, like magnetic tiles, blocks, play food, and animal figures. In our house, Magna-Tiles, a Micro scooter, and a play kitchen have lasted the longest across four kids.
In my experience, the toys toddlers come back to are the ones that copy real life (kitchens, strollers, play food) and the ones they can move with (push cars, scooters, Nugget couches). Those are the ones that get passed down.
Yes. They’re expensive, but we’ve used ours for years with every one of our kids, and toddlers can play with them on their own. If more than one child will be building, a bigger set is worth it.
Every toy on this list worked for both my girls and my boys. Toddlers of any gender love play kitchens, push toys, trucks, building toys, and dress-up pieces.
Three-year-olds are ready for toys with more steps, like wooden train tracks they connect themselves, reusable sticker pads, and small worlds like Calico Critters. Most of the building and pretend play toys on this list are still favorites at three and four.
Water Wow books, reusable sticker pads, beeswax crayons, and a tablet loaded with audiobooks are our go-to travel toys. They’re small, quiet, and don’t leave a mess on the tray table.
Skip water beads, toys with small loose magnets, and anything with small parts for toddlers who still put things in their mouths. Always check the age label, especially for marble runs and small figures.
My kids are obsessed with every single one of those darn paw patrol cars and pups!
I think we’re going to need to get another one for the stockings …
I usually pick a book for my daughter each year and have it personalised specially for her instead of toys. By giving a book to a child, you’re not only contributing to a lifetime love of literature, you’re also passing along a gift they’re likely to treasure forever. You can’t go wrong with a good a book such as personalised childrens books. I got mine at personalisedchildrensbooks.com
Thank you for you sharing!That’s sounds great suggest!