Your Toddler Gift Guide (18 - 24 months)
Focusing on a range of areas (especially speech and language development which skyrockets from this age), here are some toys that will make a meaningful impact for your toddler - and bring some serious enjoyment along the way!
Great for fine motor and cognitive development
FOROLY Sensory Popping Toy 2-Pack
- This is a great toy for your toddler to practice their fine motor skills by handling the popper.
- Use this toy to build colour recognition (which will aid in cognitive development)! At 18 months old, as your toddler presses on a circle, tell them what the colour is. As they approach two years old, ask them "where's blue?" encouraging them to find the blue dot, press it and then see if they repeat saying "blue!".
To put it simply, my (now 22-month-old) daughter has been damn obsessed with these things for months now. This specific popping toy is fabulous because it's food-grade, meaning it can ALSO double as a 'yoghurt drops' maker (literally get a squeeze pack of yoghurt, put it in each section then place in the freezer).
Great for social development
CASDON Dyson Cord-Free Toy Stick Vacuum
- Role-playing activities that your toddler sees around the house, will help them to develop the skills in collaborating and anticipating the needs of others - all skills that are very important for social skill development.
If your toddler is anything like mine, then they are OBSESSED with copying random things I do around the house. At this age (and beyond), most kids will want to role-play as much as possible. A big one in our household, is when the vacuum gets pulled out. Now this is all well and good, but a needy toddler "who just wants to help" actually does the exact opposite...until now. Cue this play vacuum, that will be used for many years to come.
Great for academic, speech and language development
- Books are a brilliant way to grow your baby's understanding of the world. The more opportunities toddlers have to read, will have a direct impact on their speech and language development.
- Books are also fantastic for expanding your toddlers imagination, creativity and understanding of the world.
If you are looking to give a book, then look no further. My almost two-year-old hasnt let us get through a single bedtime in the last four months (yep...four whole months) without reading this. Not only that, I'm still not sick of it. Unlike any other children's book I have seen, the simplicity is genius. I love this book because it barely has any words (stick with me)...instead, the pictures allow you to create your own stories, demonstrate a variety of facial expressions and practice gestures.
Great for cognitive development, balance, gross and fine motor development
If I had my time again, I would 1000% be buying this. The design looks damn cool, but the best feature is how adaptable this push trike/scooter is for ages one, right through to five years old.
- The push trike is a great opportunity for your toddler to build their leg and core abdominal strength.
- The scooter is brilliant for promoting balance and further strengthening of leg and back muscles.
- I love that both the ride-on trike and the scooter, provide a great opportunity for your toddler to build on their decision-making skills. This also provides the opportunity to practice risk-taking, which is also vital for social and emotional development later in life.
