0 - 24 Months

These toys for 1 year old children, and for the babies getting there, follow the first two years step by step: soft balls to grasp, first picture books, pull-along animals, peg puzzles and stacking towers, in wood or fabric and sized for small hands.

Before the first birthday: grasp, shake, listen

Under twelve months, a baby explores with hands and mouth. The fabric clutch ball and the soft chime bell ball are easy to catch with the whole hand, the pastel rolling rattle moves just far enough to tempt a crawl, and the lion roly-poly rocks back upright after every push. A wooden maracas rattle sits here too, alongside the rest of our musical instruments for little ones.

Toddler toys that follow each new skill

Around the first birthday, play becomes more purposeful. Peg and knob inset puzzles ask for one shape in one hole; stacking rings and rainbow arches show bigger and smaller without a word; pounding benches and the pound and roll hammer box turn a big swing into a clear result. Pull-along snails, sheep and a caterpillar give new walkers a reason to keep going.

Toys for 18 month olds: walkers, bead mazes and sorters

Steadier on their feet, children of around 18 months enjoy the push-along baby walkers loaded with blocks or tools (the kind pushed from behind, not sat in), the safari and dinosaur bead mazes, activity cubes, the rainbow play house with its locks to open, and the deluxe sensory activity table, made for 18 months and up. The safari animal truck adds a first shape sorter to the game.

Which toys for one year olds to start with?

One toy per skill is plenty: something to grasp, something to push, something to fit together. For a first birthday present, pick the skill your child is working on right now: a baby who posts everything into the bin will love a shape sorter, one who cruises along the sofa is ready for a walker. The Montessori method calls this following the child, and our guide to Montessori toys for 1 to 2 years explains it in more detail.