Your Toddler Gift Guide (12 - 18 months)
Here are some go-to presents for your toddler aged between 12 - 18 months of age, that will actually get used (rather than collect dust). Based on key areas of their development, these toys are sure to impress both parents and their little love.
Great for speech/language development...
Any bath toy that can be pulled apart and put back together, is a huge winner for promoting speech and language development. Why?
- The bath is a great environment for practicing different verbs (doing-words), such as "jump", "splash" while using the toys, as well as introducing your toddler to 'where' concepts such as "in", "out", "up", "down".
- This set is great, because you're able to have a toy each (and one for an older sibling), so you can practice turn taking, another important skill for developing communication skills.
- An added bonus of this set is that they will also be able to practice their fine motor skills in building the toys from the separate duplo pieces, making it a toy that will be played with for many months (or years) to come.
Great for speech/language development...
LEARNING RESOURCES Jumbo Farm Animals
- This animal set is a fantastic way to use symbolic play, focusing on simple verbs that we use in our day-to-day lives such as "eat", "drink", "run", and "sleep".
- While using this set, play with your toddler by showing the animals talking to each other, showing the back-and-forth of typical conversation.
The size of the animals in this set will also bring a great peace-of-mind for young toddlers who just love to put everything in their mouth!
Great for fine motor development...
- This is a fantastic toy for helping your toddler to build on their understanding of cause and effect.
- At this age, your toddler is likely to want to get into everything! This will give them an opportunity to explore concepts like 'open', 'shut', 'in', and 'out' while also having enough activities that will keep your toddler engaged for years to come.
- The variety of activities will help your toddler develop their hand-eye coordination and refine their 'pincer' grip.
Great for gross motor development...
MASS LUMBAR Canvas Outdoor Swing
This swing is a fantastic way to:
- Help your toddler build on their mid and upper-back strength, as well as develop their fine motor skills in handling the beads and rings alongside the seat.
- With a caregiver standing in front, a great way to promote your toddler's social development is to make a variety of faces while they swing towards you!
Most used outdoor item without a doubt. We have installed hooks (from Bunnings) into the wooden beam on our alfresco so the added flexibility of easily putting it up and then down again is amazing. Both of our girls love this so much, our biggest issue with it is that they both want a turn at the same time!
Great all-rounder...
- Great for gross motor development. Every activity-mode is fantastic for developing muscle strength and coordination. In the rocker mode, your toddler will strengthen their abdominal muscles. In the slide mode, they will have the opportunity to practice climbing, coordination and then balance.
- Practice throwing a ball in the ring that's on the side of the slide. This action will help your toddler develop their hand-eye coordination, fine motor control and balance.
- While in the rocker mode, sing 'row-row-row your boat' with your toddler, enabling them to role-play the rocking motion that is being sung about. This is a fantastic way to build on your toddlers cognitive development, as you are engaging many aspects of their brain in the one activity.
- Using the slide, practice concepts such as "up", "stop", "down" (all while encouraging your toddler to repeat the words). This again, uses many parts of their brain, building on their speech development, gross motor and overall cognitive development.
My favourite thing about this toy is just how versatile it is. The slide would get used every single day by my daughter who is approaching two years old (and has done so, since she was about 15 months old). I didn't love the plastic look to begin with but wow it cleans so easily and actually goes quite nicely in our playroom.
As an Amazon Affiliate, I make a small commission from qualifying sales. This in no way impacts the critique about which products I suggest to the Safe Hands community. Thanks for your support!