It is going so fast! Your little one is suddenly no longer a baby, is walking around and the babbling is gradually making way for more and more new words and sounds. Your toddler now likes to imitate mom and dad or big brother/sister. We regularly get the question: what kind of toys do I buy for my 1 year old toddler? In this blog we explain our toppers.
Be sure to look at your child's interest. Is he/she interested in mom and dad's daily activities? Then toys that provoke role play are certainly interesting.
Is your toddler interested in how things work? Then think of a (simple) race track, blocks or simple puzzles, great for fine motor skills and creative thinking.
A new challenge is always nice to stimulate development and to learn new skills. So think out of your comfort zone 😁.
Role Play / Pretend Play
Does your child like to unload the kitchen drawers, To great frustration of mom? Oh boy! Time for your own play kitchen! There is nothing more fun than imitating everyday things, which is also very instructive. That kitchen doesn't have to be too complicated. Kid's Concept ovens, for example, are ideal for a 1-year-old child. Loading and unloading the oven? 100x a day! 😁
Play shop with fruits and vegetables. For the little ones aged 1-1.5 years, the soft, fabric fruits, vegetables and food are very nice to play with. The HAPE food sets are nice and soft, ideal for a small toddler. 😃
Your toddler's first doll: these dolls from Paola Reina come in different versions. They are slightly smaller than the average doll, ideal for small toddler hands, and they smell wonderfully of vanilla.
Prefer a soft doll? The dolls from Fabelab and Little Dutch are nice and soft and super beautiful. The sweet VanPauline buggies are light and low, especially for toddlers!
Puzzle fun
Puzzles are ideal for increasing spatial awareness. Start with smaller wooden puzzles and slowly progress to large floor puzzles. Be sure to check where your baby is. A challenge is nice, however it is best not to make it too difficult. 
Mudpuppy's match-up puzzles are the ideal first puzzle. In addition, your toddler will also learn the names of the farm or jungle animals on the basis of the puzzle.
The tactile puzzle from Vilac has 5 chunky puzzle pieces so that your child can easily hold them and also play with them separately. This sensory puzzle is extra nice because of the different textures on the inside of the puzzle.
How does that work? Action-reaction toys
The ideal start for problem-solving thinking, hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills; from 12-18 months your child will wonder how something works and what triggers a certain reaction. A shape oven or hammer bench is great for triggering your child.
A pull toy, such as the one from Done By Deer, is also a hit for children from 12/18 months.
Also real fun for children of 1 years old: the bath puzzles from Quutopia. The soft foam pieces stick to the bath wall or shower wall. 😍
Crea Bea
You can start tinkering with your children from the age of 1.5. Draw, paint or clay. What is your toddler's favourite? Super nice to introduce to the preschool/kindergarten class. The organic play clay from Ailefo is completely natural, ideal for messing around together. The large stamp sets from Crealign are also great as a first creaset. 
Music please!
The perfect outlet: making music. Good for social development. Compose your favourite piece together! 😃
Rock-A-Mole: Create your own tune by turning and pushing the knobs and pit. So much fun with Skip Hop's guitar. Prefer a real copy? The Little Dutch and Kid's Concept guitars are perfect for first string work.
Do re mi, introduce your toddler to the wonderful world of sounds with a wooden xylophone. And how nice is the mini piano from Vilac, too cute! 😁
Your own ball pool at home
Score! Every child can only dream of this; his/her own ball pool. With us always the topper for children from 1 year. This ball pool fits perfectly into any interior and has no sharp edges. You choose the size, colour of the bowl and the color of the balls yourself, so the ball pool fits perfectly into your interior. You can find all ball pools here.
Open Ended Play
Why we think 'Open-Ended Play' is so important? The game has no limits for your child. Your child has the chance to play as he/she wants, not as an adult dictates.
Open-ended play broadens cognitive skills, children learn to make choices and they feel inspired more quickly. All the more reason to invest in 'open ended play' toys.
Both Modu's modular blocks and Stapelstein's stacking bricks are ideal for open-ended play, they also last a long time and provide real fun for many years to come. For children who can just walk, the Stapelstein stacking stones can be used to make towers (and to knock them over), as a chair or to turn around on the ground.
With the help of mom or dad, your toddler can already step from stone to stone. Great for gross motor skills!
With Modu's modular blocks you can make whatever you want with your toddler. A walker? A car? A seesaw? When your child grows up, he / she can just get started. Moreover, you can simply wash the soft foam blocks in the dishwasher. 😁
A Wobbel? The Wobbel Starter was specially designed for the little ones and can be used as soon as your toddler is able to stand. What do you do with it? Rocking, crawling over, balancing (with a hand from mom or dad).
Want to read more about open-ended play? Here you will find more information.
