Now that all 10 of our infamous Gift Guides have been published, I’d love to take a little time today and introduce you to three of my favorites.
While each of these lists covers a range of skills, ages, and interests – they also all have a common thread. Each one highlights toys that do a particularly good job of teaching your child new skills and building brain power, all while keeping them incredibly engaged.
Ready to see them? Here we go…
#1 Best Learning Toys for Quiet Time
This list was a new category for last year and quickly became one of our most popular. When I came up with it, quiet time was on my mind quite a bit in preparation for baby #3. You see, one of the big things I learned about making sure all my kids felt loved once the baby arrived was the importance of just 10 minutes a day of one-on-one time with each of them.
With three kids, though, that’s easier said than done. Which is why I stocked my arsenal with quiet time toys so awesome that my kiddos don’t even mind being shooed away to play with them when it’s not their special time with me.
As self-serving as this list is, I think you’re gonna love it too. After all, what busy parent can’t use a stimulating educational toy their child can play with independently every once in a while? Even if you only have one child, we all have to find ways to squeeze in cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, bills, etc. How great would it feel to set your child up with an educational activity they love during these times instead of repeatedly defaulting to the TV? (No judgement, by the way, I’ve totally been there!)
Click through for the full list of over 40 of my favorite learning toys for quiet time broken down into:
- Reading & Writing Toys
- Single Player Games
- Sensory & Mess-Free Art Supplies
- Puzzles (Recommended by Age)
- Magazine Subscriptions (Recommended by Age)
#2 Best Toys for Babies & Young Toddlers
Babies and young toddlers can be especially tough to shop for – it’s not like we can just ask them what they want. Plus, kids develop differently and at different rates at this age.
Your best bet is to go for the tried-and-true toys that aim to build hand-eye coordination and fine and gross motor skills in an engaging but not over-stimulating way. Music is always good too.
In this list you’ll find my top picks for babies and young toddlers. They all cover a variety of developmental skills and ages and you should find plenty of options to make baby happy!
Click through for the full list of 40+ of my favorite developmental toys for babies & young toddlers, including:
- Floor Toys
- Riding & Walking toys
- Music Toys
- Toys for Developing Fine-Motor Control, Gross-Motor Control, Concentration and Hand-Eye Coordination
#3 Best Toys for Fostering S.T.E.M. Skills
With all the talk I’ve been doing on the blog about the importance of fostering STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills, I felt I absolutely had to include a STEM themed gift guide.
I just keep hearing over and over how important cultivating innovation is in our kids’ future success. So watching both my son and daughter excitedly engage with open-ended toys to construct, engineer, explore and experiment fills my heart with joy. I’m on a continued mission to find the absolute best toys to keep the innovations coming!
Click through for the full list of 40+ of my top Learning Toys for Fostering STEM Skills, broken down into:
- Engineering
- Robotics & Technology
- Chemistry & Life Sciences
- Single-Player Math & Logic Games
- Multi-Player Math & Logic Games
Don’t forget to check out all 10 of MPMK’s Gift Guides, covering interests ranging from LEGO-lovers and S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) to Arts and Crafts and Princesses.
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