Home Parenting & Family What Type Of Toys Should You Buy For A Two-year-old #24 to 30-months?

What Type Of Toys Should You Buy For A Two-year-old #24 to 30-months?

by Author: Jade Lloyd

Not sure what toys to buy a 2-year-old?

As a family we have tried to be more conscious about what toys we buy for the children. Pick brands that are both creatively designed and eco-friendly whilst still being compliant with international safety and quality standards. When toys are plastic, we buy second hand or choose ones that we can pass onto friends to avoid the ‘one use’ wonders. Remember the golden rule, quality over quantity! If you are struggling for ideas read our 10 easy activities to do with a toddler. 

So are you wandering what toys to buy a two year old? Support toddler’s physical and cognitive development at this crucial age with age appropriate, educational toys. Buying can be a bit of a minefield as there are so many toys on sale. Two-year-olds want to be independent but can’t always manage it, so choose playthings they can use easily on their own. They also can’t always express themselves through words and, for this reason, toys which allow imaginative play is perfect, to entertain and enjoy! Pick a toy that is just right for a child’s skill level, and you’ll be giving them hours of exploration and will avoid frustration induced meltdowns.

With this in mind, we’ve listed the most stimulating types of toys to buy a two year old that they will enjoy playing with.

#Role play household toys:

Realistic toys for domestic play are loved by children that want to model adult activities. Child size versions of normal household items – such as dishes, pots and pans, plastic food or a tea set – will always be a hit. Encourage your toddler to have a picnic, inviting their favourite dolls and playmates. Make cleaning fun with the Melissa & Doug cleaning set available from Hello Baby for £26.92. This six-piece set is ideal for sweeping and brushing! This colourful, kid-sized set looks just like the real thing and we were impressed by the quality. Being able to help mummy builds a child’s confidence and develop coordination! Don’t forget to practise dressing and undressing with a box of dressing up clothes.

Melissa & Doug 4 colourful wooden brush toys to buy for a two-year old

#Books:

Whilst you may not consider them a toy, picture books and early readers are not for just passive listening. Why not take a peek at our ideas for reading with babies and toddlers. Children are fascinated by the bright colours and friendly illustrations. The rhythm and patterns of reading aloud, help develop longer-term attention skills. Ideal for boys or girls, the wooden Hape Farm Animal Baby Book (£6.99) is the perfect alternative to easily ripped paper children’s books. Children learn the names of animals, shapes etc whilst stimulating and developing visual perception. Check out our top five favourite board books. 

#Arts and crafts:

The right side of the brain is our creative half and responsible for visual skills and understanding what we see. Experimenting with painting and drawing is a great way to get your child to express themselves. Magnetic drawing boards, aqua doodles and good old nontoxic paint and recycled paper are perfect. I would choose Salt dough over Playdough for safety. Craft activities reduce stress and offer a healthy way to express their feelings.

#Messy play toys:

All children love to splash, to squeeze, to splatter and build hand-eye coordination! Go out in the garden and build a mud kitchen. On a rainy day grab a box of rice and use stacking cups to pour and play. The Multi Spout Sprayer is ideal for developing dexterity with its nozzles that spurt out water in a range of amazing shapes and patterns. £11.50 from Amazon make bath time fun! If you are buying plastic toys, remember to choose ones that are labelled BPA free. It is all about letting children experiment with different objects. By exploring how things feel, smell and taste, this type of sensory play nurtures an awareness and understanding of the world that surrounds them.

Picture of a baby in a bath with a blue and yellow Hape water squirter

#Ride-on toys to buy a two-year old:

Still a firm favourite with this age range, these toys are a great way for your little one to use up some of that endless energy! Check out our Little Red Rider review.

#Rhythmic instruments and musical toys:

These are some of the most popular toys to buy a two year old. Put on some nursery rhymes and grab a tambourine! Early exposure to music plays a crucial role in ‘wiring’ your baby’s brain for learning. It inspires dancing, clapping, spinning, hopping and singing which builds upon gross and fine motor skills. Which sounds do they like and not like? Creating and exploring music also helps toddlers with sensory development. Make some noise. Experiment with different types of music and encourage your toddler to copy the beat. The Hape 1960’s-themed guitar is the perfect size for younger children to create sounds by themselves. Retailing at £36.20 it includes instructions to learn the basics, so get ready for some rock and roll.

Close up of a small blue Hape wooden guitar with a babies hand on the strings

#Construction toys:

Two is a great time to introduce your little one to building toys like Duplos and blocks to help to improve their hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills. The Melissa & Doug tool bench is available from Hello Baby and is on sale at £23.80. Helping to teach sorting, matching and counting skills the 32 tactile play pieces fit neatly in the box.
Children will develop greater focus and patience. They can saw through the self-stick tabs to “cut” the wood. We did find that as the base is made from soft wood when the nails are hammered in the workbench does get dented.

Melissa and Doug Tool bench

Other favourites include balls, jigsaw puzzles, dolls, vehicles, animals. This list is GENDER NEUTRAL. Everything on this list is fantastic for both BOYS and GIRLS, and equally loved and used by all. We also promote toys that are not shop bought and encourage sensory experiences such as tin foil space blankets, cardboard tubes, wooden spoons and pinecones!

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Do you have types of toys you prefer to buy for your children, or go to brands that never let you down?

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52 comments

Adrian Bold 22nd February 2020 - 3:21 am

I like Baby Born and Hasbro toys.

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Sammie Martin 21st February 2020 - 11:36 pm

I used to love drawing. My son spends hours playing with lego

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Caroline Blaza 21st February 2020 - 10:29 pm

Barbie is the favourite at the moment and anything LOL

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Sharon Burroughs 21st February 2020 - 10:18 pm

Lego and Barbie have always been the best.

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Phillipa H 21st February 2020 - 9:45 pm

My children love Orchard toys – from Shopping List game to spelling games and telling the time.

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Diane Carey 21st February 2020 - 5:22 pm

For my grandchildren I love Fisher Price and also Orchard toys which are really educational. I also love Lamaze – so colourful

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sharon martin 21st February 2020 - 5:11 pm

my favourite toy from childhood was a tiny tears doll

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Keith Hunt 21st February 2020 - 4:51 pm

Tonka Trucks built like a tank and still going around the family after 30yrs

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Amanda Davis 21st February 2020 - 4:48 pm

I love Leap Frog and Fisher Price

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Michelle Smith 21st February 2020 - 4:20 pm

Orchard games are great and so educational my favourite toy when I was a child was my tiny tears doll.

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Catherine Barton 21st February 2020 - 4:06 pm

Without a doubt it would be Lego…..great for all ages and imaginations

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Maria Messruther 21st February 2020 - 2:21 pm

When i was little my favourite toy was my vtech computer and my litebrite. My sister was all barbie and sindy. My 11yr old is all for Hornby he is obsessed with trains. When Tigger is born (nickname,on scans the person found it hard to measure the baby jumping everywhere, lol) I have no idea what their favourite will be x

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olivia280177 21st February 2020 - 1:39 pm

Lego and Duplo, that’s what my kids love and have loved, which is same for me really, I also liked my Sindy dolls and clothes

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laura l 21st February 2020 - 1:20 pm

I love lego for my kids, brilliant for the creative skills

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Jennifer Toal 20th February 2020 - 9:16 pm

I love playing a good game with the kids Quirkle is a good one

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Lindsay Els 20th February 2020 - 8:45 pm

Lego always a winner

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Bazza (@bazsfc) 20th February 2020 - 7:58 pm

Matchbox cars

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Petra 20th February 2020 - 7:32 pm

Fisher Price, Duplo and Lego are always popular with the children

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Natalie Burgess 20th February 2020 - 7:12 pm

My little girl loves lego, and my little man loves leapfrog xx

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Julie 20th February 2020 - 2:02 pm

Anything Lego for my son. As a kid I was much more into anything that made a noise.

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Emily Smith 20th February 2020 - 8:31 am

Fisher Price for younger children

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greig23 20th February 2020 - 7:57 am

matchbox cars were huge when i was little , me and my bro loves them

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fionajk42 19th February 2020 - 10:47 pm

We love Orchard Toys games, as they are educational and fun.

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Sarah Heath 19th February 2020 - 10:22 pm

I loved my pull along phone, it was so robust and fun.

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piperanddaisy 19th February 2020 - 8:16 pm

Leo loves lego and playmobile. When I was little I had a push along horse on wheels with a big handle at the back. I wonder whatever happened to that?

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Troy Easton 19th February 2020 - 7:28 pm

They love Hasbro Toys.

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kay sherman 19th February 2020 - 6:48 pm

my kids love lego and barbie was a huge hit when i was younger as well as care bears

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sheridarby 19th February 2020 - 5:27 pm

Lego both me and them, I also loved our Etch-A-Sketch

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Sallyanne Rose 18th February 2020 - 6:49 pm

lego

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Laura banks 18th February 2020 - 5:17 pm

has to be lego i loved and so did my son

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Natalie S 18th February 2020 - 3:25 pm

We love Melissa and Doug toys. Great quality and attention to detail 🙂

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Charlotte Isobelle 18th February 2020 - 11:50 am

I loved drawing when I was little simple things

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Ursula Hunt 18th February 2020 - 10:23 am

I don’t have a particular brand but like toys with as educational aspect for my children

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Rebecca Sutton 17th February 2020 - 10:15 pm

my daughter loves Lego we can lose so much time playing with it

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Elizm 17th February 2020 - 8:39 pm

My two loved the Duplo lego when they were tiny

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Julie Ward 17th February 2020 - 7:45 pm

Always Fisher Price, they loved their garage and telephones

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lynn neal 17th February 2020 - 12:50 pm

My brothers and I used to play with Lego a lot when we were young and I still love it now for my grandchildren!

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Iain Maciver 17th February 2020 - 12:27 pm

i loved my action man with jeep, bunkers etc

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donna jones 17th February 2020 - 11:17 am

bertie loves duplo and leapfrog

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Alix SMith 17th February 2020 - 10:25 am

My Kids love the games & puzzles made by Orchard Toys

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Nigel Soper 17th February 2020 - 9:56 am

Children are individuals even more so than adults who try to fit in to the flow of things. There is no substitute for knowing the child, and keeping on knowing the child as they can change quickly.

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kim neville (@kimneville2) 16th February 2020 - 9:03 pm

I like Orchard toys, Baby Born, Leapfrog, Hasbro, Playmobil, Fisher Price, lego and Mattel

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Helen R 16th February 2020 - 8:15 pm

My children love lego. Endless possibilities and great for boys and girls of all ages!

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Charles Fletcher 16th February 2020 - 8:05 pm

My grandson loves Duplo and Orchard Toy games. My children were big Lego fans.

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MichelleD 16th February 2020 - 7:44 pm

My daughter loves Sylvanian families and used to love polly pocket – we like things small!

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Solange 16th February 2020 - 7:32 pm

Lego, Mattel, Playmobil, Hasbro, LeapFrog and Little Tikes.

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R Lewington 16th February 2020 - 7:24 pm

I loved model cars when i was young 🙂

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joanne darnell 16th February 2020 - 6:10 pm

my childhood toy was fuzzyfelt

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Jayne Townson 16th February 2020 - 6:08 pm

I love fisher price, play doh, playmobil and mattel for younger children and I don’t think you can beat lego for older children.

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Sue McCarthy 16th February 2020 - 5:17 pm

I don’t have any kids but I think Lamaze do lovely toys for kids.

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Iona Cornish 16th February 2020 - 3:59 pm

I loved my Spirograph

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Linda Ford 16th February 2020 - 3:53 pm

My boys are big fans of lego, always have been starting with duplo! I had a big yellow teapot that I really loved to play with
Linda Ford

Reply

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