Are you looking for a toy for a 1 year old boy? With so many choices out there, finding the ideal toy can be intimidating. Fortunately, we've researched hundreds of toys and pulled together a list of the 10 best toys that aren't just super fun but also vital to helping 1 year olds reach developmental milestones. Skip to the top toys list below, if you're in a hurry. Otherwise, read on to learn about 1 year old developmental benchmarks.
Also note: this list is terrific for 1 year old girls also. Many of the toys have girl color variations or are gender neutral.
1 Year-old Developmental Milestones
Children between 12 and 24 months create enormous developmental strides which permit them to start exploring the world. In this enjoyable year they frequently go from crawling to walking and standing. As they teeth, they'll also eat more varied foods which helps them develop the strength for speech.
Cognitively, a 1 year old child is just starting to understand everyday objects like tooth bruses, and boxes. They can follow simple directions like "come here". They can make the link between words you say and the objects they represent like their nose, or a picture in a book.
Most 1 year olds will babble. They're just starting to express themselves with actual words like"yes, mama." They can recognize family members' names also. They experience the same emotions that full grown humans do like happiness, sadness, and bliss. Sometimes they get frustrated when they can not express themselves. 1 year olds still have limited social interactions with other kids.
With those developmental considerations in mind, here's our list of the best toys for 1 year old boys.
1.
You might be surprised to see a dump truck toy so high on our list, but don't be fooled. The toy helps kids improve their motor skills, counting, and spatial reasoning. Boys also just love dump trucks.
Toddlers put balls into the top of the red truck and watch them fall to the yellow bucket. They can then pull the truck using a string, or push it to find the balls rumble within the bucket. A lever allows the dump truck do what dump trucks to best -- ditch the balls, so your toddler can put them in again.
Whether you're purchasing this truck as a gift, or getting one for your own child, this toy will help your toddler develop both their gross and fine motor skills, all while having a blast.
2. First 100 Words Board Book
While toddlers might still not be very proficient at speaking, they start soaking up vocabulary like a sponge. This beautiful first words board book is fantastic at creating that core vocabulary.
It contains 100 images on thick pages that toddlers can turn themselves. Parents sit with their toddlers and first introduce the words associated with each picture. Then they could ask the child to point to picture of the word that they say. This process of learning early vocabulary is a wonderful experience for parent and child alike.
3. VTech Sit-to-Stand Ultimate Alphabet Train
This versatile toy train will grow with your child as they transition from crawling to standing and walking. It can be utilized as a floor toy, with lots of learning activities to teach letters, numbers, and colors. The second train compartment includes 13 double-sided alphabet blocks to teach the ABCs. Toddlers can sit, ride, push, and pull the train until they run out of fuel.
4. VTech Turn and Learn Driver
This car dashboard toy is excellent in stimulating a 1 year old boy's creativity, in addition to helping them develop fine motor control and strength. As children grow from 1 to 2 year olds, their imaginations grow stronger. This toy is great at sparking their imaginative play. Toddlers love pretending to be like their parents driving also.
5. CoolToys Deluxe Toy Workshop Playset
If your boy is 18 months or older, they will delight in this toy workshop. It's numerous kid-friendly tools such as hammers and screwdrivers, to help your toddler enhance their fine motor control. It is highly interactive, with activities for learning shapes, counting, colours, and the ABCs. Boys will love hammering, screwing, and construction. This developmental playset might be slightly advanced for some early toddlers, but they will likely grow into the toy by 18 months.
6. Mega Bloks 80-Piece Big Building Bag
This building block set is so great, it's not just on this listing. It's also on our list of the 10 best toys for 2 year old boys. Children can play with these building blocks for several years. The large pieces are amazing for tiny toddler hands. 1 year olds will probably just put two or three pieces together. As they become older, they'll build increasingly bigger and more imaginative structures. At a reasonable $15 price tag, this building blocks set gives you a great bang for your buck.
7.
For 6 months to 3 years old, this toy helps toddlers enhance fine motor control when introducing them to animal names, animal sounds, shapes, and instruments. The toy has 5 sides that promote hours of exploration, play, and motion.
8.
Bath time can be great for both development and enjoyable. This fishing toy comes with 3 beautiful floating fish, and a reel using a magnetic worm. Children move the carefully reel to catch the magnetic fish. The toy not only makes bath time a lot of fun, it helps children improve their dexterity and even learn about the properties of water.
9. Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes Musical Toy
Provide your child the pleasure of wonderful baby-friendly classical music player. Children from 3 months old to 3 years old will love switching between 7 enjoyable melodies in this toy.
Many parents bring this toy is along for car trips, since it's an excellent toddler distraction and keeps them from becoming fussy.
10.
This set of 10 durable stacking cups will help keep your child stimulated through many phases of development. Toddlers learn to put smaller cups on bigger cups to produce a big tower. They practice comparing sizes of objects and problem solving. The cups also promote dexterity. As toddlers stack higher, they enhance gross motor skills and balance. They're more likely to begin standing.
There are a range of stacking toys on the market. We've picked one that is safe, inexpensive, well rated, and even can help teach counting. Bonus: each cup has different holes at the bottom for bath time fun.
We hope you have enjoyed this list. While we don't imply that these are the only toys your child will ever need, we do believe this list of the 10 best toys and gifts for 1 year old boys is a great start. If you have any suggestions or feedback, please reach out to us.
Criteria for Placement
While listing the best educational resources is never an exact science, we have done our best find toys that rank highly on the following standards:
- Developmental impact: lots of toys out there like plush dolls are somewhat restricted in their developmental effect. We have critically evaluated the toys on this list due to their impact on cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development.
- Safety: All toys on this list are safe to use, free of toxic compounds like lead and BPA
- Durability: Toddlers love to throw, sit , and hit everything in site. The toys on this list are fit to withstand the bumps and hard landings.
- Price: Parenting doesn't have to be outrageously expensive. We looked for the cheapest products that still meet our quality and developmental requirements.
