Parenting is a tedious activity. By the time your child turns young, you have to get through a lot. From all the exciting and cute little things to a shedload of responsibilities, parenting is full of ups and downs.
The second birthday of your child can be a major turning point in your life. This is when the toddler gets more active. They’re excited about playing with their friends, getting the toys in order, running around the house and throwing stuff here and there. Even though it can be a tough time for parents but it can be perhaps the most memorable time of your life.
One of the most important responsibilities parents have is to educate their children. Education is not only getting admission into the right kindergarten but in fact, it begins from your house. This is where giving them the right toys come into play.
Parents always have a choice to head towards the toy stores and get hands-on the right educational toys. Given the wide variety available, it becomes difficult to choose the right one. Therefore, here are the best educational toys for 2 years old that you can choose:
Best Educational Toys for 2 Years Old
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1. Melissa & Doug Stack and Sort Board
Melissa & Doug toys have established a reputation in the market. These toys are specifically designed to nurture childhood. From inventive crafts to innovative games and conventional wooden toys to educational objects, there is a lot that this brand has to offer. The toys are designed thoughtfully encouraging the users to learn and educate themselves in the most creative manner. The company has been delivering consistently for the past 25 years. If you want your child to be creative, imaginative and a keen discoverer who always look for answers, then this is the right way to go.
2. First Builders Big Building Bag
This product by mega brands is a creative mastermind product enhancing the dexterity of your child. It features 80 classic building blocks that further comes in a wide range of colors and sizes. There are special shapes included within the package in order for your child to be more creative and innovative.
3. VTech Touch and Teach Word Book
If you want your child to be a linguist or you just want to improve his/her vocabulary from the very beginning, then this is the best thing you can purchase. This is an educational toy book that can be used by toddlers to get good command of their language from the very beginning of their life. There are 12 touch-sensitive pages enabling the children to learn over 150 words in a wide range of categories. The diverse linguistic experience can be amazing for your child, especially from an education perspective. Associating the words with sounds and pictures help in expanding the overall vocabulary of your child. It even comes with an instruction manual enabling you to use the toy in a more effective and efficient manner.
4. Parum Pum Pum (Drum)
This education toy is full of entertainment, joy and learning. Not only does it educate your child but also provide a wide range of opportunities to get first hand experience on music. It enables the user to experiment with different sounds and music. This set features different instruments for kids. It is a must purchase for all those parents who want their children to be future musicians. It encourages individuality and originality in terms of music.The item itself weighs around 3 pounds. The recommended age given by the manufacturer is between 2 years and 15 years. Therefore, it is not only for toddlers and small children but the young kids and enjoy this educational toy as well. Parum Pum Pum precisely features 1 set of centipede drumsticks, 1 tambourine, 1 Jingle Bell Ant, 1 Egg Shaker and 1 Drum with a lid.
However, these concerns can be handled effectively if the toy is used with proper care, supervision and vigilance. In a nutshell, it is a worthy investment that will pay you back.
5. ECR4Kids Softzone Climb and Crawl Activity
This fun foam activity play set is for all those kids that are fond of adventure and thrill. It is particularly designed enabling your child to crawl, climb and slide all along a collection of foam shapes. These climbing toys are not only fun and enjoyable but also extremely safe and flexible. The foam structures are light in weight keeping the users cozy and as safe as possible. The foundational structure is highly balanced which keeps all the pieces stable during use. It comes with a 5 piece set which includes wedge, square, rectangle, half-moon and round shape structures.
Therefore, consider these drawbacks when purchasing the toy. However, if you have time to supervise the child, then this is a good option to go with.
6. Learning Resources Spike, Fine Motor Hedgehog
This Hedgehog is an ultimate imitation of a real one, however, the only difference is that the quills have been lost and your toddler is going to help with it. It is a great educational toy that primarily focuses on enhancing fine motor skills. It helps the kids to build their hand muscles while they are replacing the peg shaped quills. The colorful quills continue to teach by encouraging color identification, counting and sorting skills. The colors can be arranged by the users. Furthermore, you can also work on patterns and sequences by arranging the colors. It features a set of 14 which includes 12 colorful pegs and two hard plastic pieces of hedgehog
Even though it is an ideal education toy if you are primarily focused on developing good motor skills, there are some drawbacks that you may want to consider.
Nevertheless, these cons can be addressed with good and consistent parental supervision.
7. 3 Bees and Me Bath Toys for Boys and Girls
If you are getting hands on bath toys alongwith a great educational toy, then why do you need to spend additional money on separate bath toys. This is perhaps one of the best education toy that you can get in the market. It comes with a vibrant play set featuring four boats that will float in the water. The boats are enclosed with magnets that then further attach to the next boat in line. It is essentially safe for kids up to the age of 3 years. It is perhaps an ideal gift for young kids. Given that this educational toy is made with immense durability, it tends to last longer than most of the toys out there in the market. These versatile toys are not only made for bath but can be used elsewhere as well. Since it is a lightweight toy, it is much user-friendly and convenient to use. It is in fact one of the best sellers in the toy industry. The customer reviews are evident of how amazing the toy is.
8. Sesame Street Elmo’s On the Go Letters
At the cost of only $16.99, this is one of the best educational toys that you will come across. It is an ideal gift for pre-schoolers who are keen to learn as many stuff as possible. Toddlers are always looking forward to exploring alphabets and numbers. You can snap the letters into the right place, or simply jumble them up to form different words. You will find an image of the word underneath each letter that begins with that letter. When you are done with the play time, you can simply wrap it up into the carrying case. . It only weighs 1.75 pounds. Manufacturer recommendation in relation to the age is between 24 months and 4 years.
9. The Learning Journey: My First Match It – Head and Tails
A lot of toddlers are often fond of the wildlife and marine life. The animal world can be fascinating not only for the kids but adults as well. This is where you need an animal specific toy for your beloved child. The little learners can creatively explore the wildlife via a theme of puzzles. One of the most enjoyable ways to learn more about animals is to match each head with the corresponding tail. This set contains of 15 animal puzzle cards giving a comprehensive introduction to the animals. Even though this is an ideal puzzle game for kids aged between 2 and 5, the manufacturer even includes early teenagers in their recommended age. If you are learning for toys that just do not educate your child but also entertains them, then this is the right way to go for.
However, it is a good learning opportunity, especially for those children who have an intrinsic inclination towards animals.
10. VTech Drill & Learn Toolbox
This Toolbox is an ideal educational toy if you want your children to learn and play at the same time. It comprises of a friendly tool-box which includes working toy drill, wrench, screws, hammer and nails. It also features an electronic fix-tray. Once the light-up buttons on the tray are pressed, cheerful songs are triggered. This way the user is also introduced to variety of tools and they can be used. There are instruction cards as well that can be inserted in order to learn more and numbers and colors while pretending to be a repairer. A lot of things can be discovered by this fun and learning toolbox.
Uses of educational toys
Above were some of the topmost educational toys that you can find in the market. These products have stood out amongst the rest due to it quality, functionality and the ability to teach your children new skills every day.
Although we have a wide variety available, some parents are not much into educational toys. This might be because there lack of awareness in relation to the benefits offered by such toys. Therefore, here are the top advantages listed of having an educational toy for your children:
Boost their IQ
Educational toys are particularly designed to enhance the IQ of toddlers. It is perhaps, as proven scientifically as well, one of the most effective ways to boost IQ. It does not only fosters the kid’s literacy but also improves hand-eye coordination, identification skills, memorization and fine motor skills. This is evident from the toys that are listed above. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, these toys are immense fun and you can enjoy completely. Along with comprehensive learning and getting first hand experience on practical skills, the overall fun is not compromised at all. Therefore, you should focus on boosting your kid’s IQ through such toys.
Development on senses
This is one of the most undermined benefits of using educational toys. A lot of parents are not aware of the medical benefits of using educational in relation to how it develops the senses. Each toys is associated with a different sensory development. Out of all the senses, the most common ones developed are sight, touch and hearing. For instance, toys that produce different kinds of sound can be used in order to help with hearing ability. Therefore, if you are concerned about how effective your children are when it comes to using their senses, it is imperative to get educational toys.
Enhance problem-solving abilities
This is a no-brainer. One of the most important benefits of using an educational toy is that it helps in developing better problem solving abilities. These toys have the capacity to challenge the mental abilities of a child. For instance, jigsaw puzzles would encourage the user to think as much as possible. The more complex a jigsaw puzzle is, more attention and energy it requires from the child. Some mathematical toys would further encourage problem solving and critical thinking. These skills are not only beneficial during early stages of life but helps throughout.
Better creativity
It is an inherent characteristic of a child that it tends to be curious. Each and every child, irrespective of their gender, is that they are intrinsically curious. They are keen to understand what is going around and their surroundings. They explore things in a more eager manner. This entire experience of learning and exploration can be made better with educational toys. The experience of creative designing, imaginative play, exploration and experimentation can be made much better with such toys. Therefore, promote creativity, innovation and imagination through educational toys.
Better social and emotional development
Educational toys are not only and solely focused on skill development. In fact, they serve multiple purposes. One of them is to enhance social and emotional development as well. Most of the toys that you may come across would require the kids to interact with other people, especially kids. When your child is playing with other children, he/she will come across emotional and social cues such as laughter, anger and sorrow. This is an ideal way in which you can make them adapted to emotional situations and how to deal with them at such an age. Use of these toys also surrounds other skills such as leadership and patience.
Improve concentration
The concentration span of a child is very minimal. Children tend to get disinterested in things very soon. This is why you need to work on their concentration skills from the very scratch. Without having access to the right tools, this is a difficult task. They will perhaps fall behind in their academics and a wide range of other activities if they are not good at concentration. This is why educational toys can be utilized where you can not only increase their interest in learning but also at the same time focus on the essential concentration skills.
The bottom line
Educational toys have now become a must in your child’s life. There is a wide range of studies that supports the assertion that education is not only limited to academics but other activities as well, and, utilization of educational toys is one of them. Therefore, it is the duty of every parent to expose their children to such activities.
Above are some of the educational toys listed that you may want to purchase in order to avail the aforementioned advantages. However, this is not an exhaustive list. There are several other toys that you can get a view of, depending on your personal preferences, the natural inclination of the child and born likes and dislikes.