Developmentally Stimulating Toys for Two-Year-Olds

Being the first and only grandchildren on either side of our family, our twins are in danger of becoming a tad bit spoiled when gift-giving season rolls around. Couple that with the fact that their birthday is just a few days after Christmas, and you can see how we could be perilously close to smothering in a mountain of toys and wrapping paper! Luckily, our families know that we are making an effort to choose developmentally stimulating toys and have been asking us for a wish list to guide them in their shopping. Today I thought I would share some of the items on our Christmas/birthday wish list along with an explanation of how each toy stimulates development. Click on the pictures or text links for more information about each toy.

Kitchen Playset

This is one gift I think I might even love more than my little ones. For months I’ve been perusing the plethora of kitchen sets that are on the market, and even considered whipping up a cute DIY version like this one. However, I reluctantly realized that I would be crazy to take on another project during the holidays, so back to shopping I went.

Why do I want this so badly for my kiddos? Two words-ROLE PLAY! Did you know that role play signifies the development of symbolic representation, which is a necessary precursor to the emergence of language? In other words, if you see your child engaging in symbolic or pretend play (i.e. cooking with pretend food, caring for a baby doll, etc.), this means that he/she has the cognitive ability to conceptualize an object as a symbol, or stand-in, for something else. And this, my friends, is a big indicator that if language hasn’t already emerged yet, it isn’t far away! Think about it- words are simply abstract symbols for concrete objects, much like that plastic banana your child is “feeding” her baby serves as a stand-in for the real thing. This is why observing play is such an important part of an early childhood speech and language evaluation…symbolic play is one sign that a child is cognitively ready to understand/produce language.

ANYWAY, back to the kitchens! When choosing toys for imaginative play, less is definitely more. All the cool flashing lights and sound effects on some of the kitchens out there may actually detract from your child’s play experience by lessening the amount of pretending he/she has to do. To get the most out of your kitchen set, choose a simple, well-made model. Here are a couple we really like…we’ll see what Santa Claus (or the grandparents) decides to bring!

This set from Land of Nod is one of my favorites. I love the sturdy construction, the clean white wood (and low VOC paint), the cheerful red knobs and curtain, and the little chalkboard on the front of the freezer. A little research revealed that the maker of these pieces is Little Colorado, a green company known for its quality wooden toys. These pieces are a bit on the expensive side, though, so be ready to make an investment if you choose this set!

Here is another wooden play kitchen that caught my eye. It’s made by Hape, another company known for high quality, eco-friendly toys. I love the natural wood and bright pops of color combo, and think it would be very appealing to my kids as well. There is a cute fridge in the set as well (not pictured) that has an “ice machine” complete with little wooden ice cubes. The price is a bit better, too, especially if you do some shopping around online.

Here are some more toys that encourage role play that made it onto our list this year:

Playmobil 1.2.3 Playground. I’ve heard great things about Playmobil and am excited to try out a few of their toddler-friendly 1.2.3 sets. I know they aren’t wooden, but I can’t resist the adorable pieces

Green Toys Tea Set. Miss Toots LOVES to give all of her stuffed animals (and us) “drinks” from toy cups, so I know she will enjoy this tea set. I love that the cups are made from 100% recycled materials, FDA approved to eat and drink from, dishwasher safe, and are BPA, phthalate, and lead free. We can use these toys for a mini party with real tea…how fun is that? And practicing pouring skills is a great fine motor workout, to boot.

Wonderworld Work Bench. I think both of my kiddos will enjoy this adorable wooden carpentry set, and it’s yet another good fine motor tool. It does contain small parts, so play should be supervised with younger toddlers, especially if you have a mouther!

Corolle Baby Doll. This French doll with a soft beanbag body is highly rated as a first doll for little ones, especially designed for children 18 months and up.

Guidecraft Doll Buggy. I thought this would be perfect for role play with the Corolle baby doll and a wooden doll crib I had as a child. It is designed with young toddlers in mind, and several reviewers have said that it helped their tots learn to walk.

Hape Switchback Racetrack. I cannot WAIT to see Little Man’s reaction when he opens this gift. He is obsessed with all things transportation and loves to create ramps for his cars out of anything he can get his little hands on. One great thing about this track is that it is designed for two cars to race simultaneously, so the twins can both play with it at once.

Land of Nod Little Engine That’s Wood. I’m not sure of the manufacturer of this wooden train, but I’m loving it for my little transportation-aholic! He’s not quite old enough for a wooden train set yet, so this will be a nice alternative and fun addition to his fleet of vehicles

Most of the other toys on our list encourage movement and/or creativity. I tried to choose toys that I knew would appeal to the twins’ interests, challenge them, and hold their attention longer than a day or two. Of course, rotating toys every few weeks helps tremendously with keeping children interested in the toys they have rather than constantly buying new ones!

Alex String-a-Farm. Since the twins and I fell in love with the Djeco wooden animal beads that we got in our last Little Pnuts shipment, I have been on the lookout for more lacing/stringing beads to add to our collection. Both tots (especially Tootie) love animals, so these beads from Alex seem to be the perfect fit. Stringing beads is great for fine motor development and these chunky pieces can stand alone for even more pretend play opportunities.

Haba Building Blocks. I’ve mentioned before how much I love all things Haba…they are well known for their colorful and imaginative toys and building block sets. However, I also wanted to have one good basic, natural block set for the twins’ rotation like the one I had as a child. This set fit the bill- these blocks are very well made with no rough or sharp edges and many reviewers have commented that they are heirloom quality. Then again, you had me at Haba

Aquadoodle Classic Mat. This water drawing mat is the perfect solution to the twins’ current yearning to draw with any writing utensil they can find. If you haven’t seen one of these, they are a toddler Mama’s dream- fill the “pens” with water and let your tots draw to their hearts’ content on the special mat, and there is no danger of them marking on the floors, walls, or each other in the process.

Light Panel by Constructive Playthings. Although this is another pricey item, the amount of sensory play and learning activities that can be done with a light box are well worth it (do a Google search…light box activities are all the rage in blog land)! This is definitely a toy that I expect will grow with my little ones as well- what a fun way to practice letter recognition, spelling, math concepts, science experiments…you name it! And there are tons of translucent manipulatives out there that would be fun to use with this tool. This is definitely not appropriate for unsupervised play for a toddler, so be sure to keep that in mind when planning activities.

Melissa and Doug Shape, Model, and Mold. This toy is pretty self-explanatory- we love play dough and I thought we could have a lot of fun with this set!

Schoenhut My First Piano. I’ve discussed the benefits of music for young children, so this one was a no-brainer. Besides, the twins love to “play” the real piano at Mimi’s house, so I think this toy is right up their alley!

West Music Movement Scarves. This is one toy that I know for a fact my twins will love, especially Miss Tootie. We play with these in our Music Together classes and she gets so much joy out of them that we just had to ask Santa to bring some. These will be so much fun for tot school and just dancing around in the living room!

And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this peek at our wish list and the thought process behind each selection. As you can see, developmentally stimulating toys don’t need lots of bells and whistles…just remember, less is more! Other ideas for two-year-olds might include ride-on toys and swing sets (gross motor play), a play tent or playhouse (imaginative play), and of course, books! But don’t forget- the best gift you can give your two-year-old is your time. They won’t care what they are playing with as long as it’s with you!