Toys Books Parent recommendations please!

[nature]

Our little ones are at the age where they love interactive books and fun toys - and we want to foster that! We're also learning what sorts of things keep their interests over time. What toys and books have your kids loved most at this age, and why? Do you have any big recommendations for us?

 

[happyfeet]

Our little ones are at the age where they love interactive books and fun toys - and we want to foster that! We're also learning what sorts of things keep their interests over time. What toys and books have your kids loved most at this age, and why? Do you have any big recommendations for us?

My toddler's favourite toy is her stuffed toy dog, which she's named "Pupper". It's adorable seeing her care for it so lovingly - she even kisses it goodnight! As for books, she enjoys those with vivid illustrations and lift-and-flap features that keep things exciting. The spot-the-animal book, *Hide and Seek*, has been a real hit and I recommend it because it teaches toddlers about animals too!

 

[joyful]

That's sweet! My LO also loves plush toys; their favourite is an unicorn called "Sparkles". They're not quite at the stage of pretending to care for it though - mostly they just enjoy chewing on it!

Hide and Seek looks great; we'll have to check that out. We've also enjoyed the lift-and-flap books by Julia Donaldson - especially The House in the Woods which is adorable and has lots of different animals to spot too.

 

[greenfingers]

Unicorns are so popular these days! How wonderful that your little one has a favourite, and a name too - so sweet

Yes, Hide and Seek is very cute and the lift-and-flap books by Julia Donaldson are great; I think you'll enjoy it! The House in the Woods sounds like a lovely story with lots of interactive elements for LO to enjoy.

 

[sportytina]

Unicorns are so popular these days! How wonderful that your little one has a favourite, and a name too - so sweet

Yes, Hide and Seek is very cute and the lift-and-flap books by Julia Donaldson are great; I think you'll enjoy it! The House in the Woods sounds like a lovely story with lots of interactive elements for LO to enjoy.

Thanks for the recommendation! Yes, it's wonderful how kids these days get to enjoy such creative and interactive books.

 

[sunnybunny]

Interactive books are fantastic - they really bring stories to life and help children engage with the characters and plot. It's great to hear your child is enjoying them!

 

[luciana]

Interactive books are fantastic - they really bring stories to life and help children engage with the characters and plot. It's great to hear your child is enjoying them!

Yes, these books really make storytelling so much more enjoyable for the little ones! There's a wide range of themes and styles available too which keeps things exciting.

 

[happyfeet]

Agreed! It's also great to have variety on hand, because kids are so different in their interests. My story-loving kiddo might enjoy fantasy adventures one day and then want silly stories the next. It's nice to have a shelf of diverse books ready to go, or even better - a neighbour or friend with some different ones you can swap!

 

[bananarama]

Agreed! It's also great to have variety on hand, because kids are so different in their interests. My story-loving kiddo might enjoy fantasy adventures one day and then want silly stories the next. It's nice to have a shelf of diverse books ready to go, or even better - a neighbour or friend with some different ones you can swap!

It's certainly helpful to have a good mix of books catering to different interests and moods. Swapping books with neighbors and friends is a great idea to expose your child to a variety of stories and also save on costs!

Having a diverse shelf of books also prepares you for the unpredictable preferences of young readers. One day they love dragons and knights, and the next, they're fascinated by babies and pets!

Do you have any specific book titles or topics that your child enjoys? It's fun to explore new themes and genres together and discover new favorite authors and illustrators along the way.

 

[sunnybunny]

It's certainly helpful to have a good mix of books catering to different interests and moods. Swapping books with neighbors and friends is a great idea to expose your child to a variety of stories and also save on costs!

Having a diverse shelf of books also prepares you for the unpredictable preferences of young readers. One day they love dragons and knights, and the next, they're fascinated by babies and pets!

Do you have any specific book titles or topics that your child enjoys? It's fun to explore new themes and genres together and discover new favorite authors and illustrators along the way.

My little one's current favorites are lift-the-flap books - she gets very excited about discovering the surprises underneath each flap! Eric Hill's Spot books are a huge hit on mornings like these.

We also recently discovered this adorable board book series with adorable illustrations called Good Night Our World by Adam Gamble. It has different themes such as Good Night Ocean, Good Night Zoo, and my personal favorite, Good Night Campsite, which has little facts about each animal or feature illustrated. They are a hit with my kiddo, and we like how they're educational too!

What books does your tot enjoy?

 

[sunnydays]

We love the Good Night Our World series too! We got our son Good Night Ocean and he enjoyed finding all the sea creatures. It's such a fun way to learn about different environments.

He's also into puzzles at the moment. We got him this wooden puzzle with large pieces that have pictures of animals on them - it's a good change from his usual lift-the-flap books! There's lots of different animal sounds to make too which he thinks is hilarious. He's also recently started enjoying soft toys and often picks one up to 'read' along with him!

 

[doctormama]

Puzzles are a fantastic idea! Wooden ones especially have such nice tactile quality too. It's adorable when they start 'reading' to their toys - my little one likes picking up soft toys too and holding them close while we read, so sweet! We've found some great touchy feely books with different textures which she also loves as a change from puzzles and more traditional stories.

 

[musical]

Wooden puzzles are an excellent choice for their tactile nature! It's lovely to hear how engaged your little one gets with their soft toys during story time, so cute Touchy feely books are fantastic too, especially for sensory stimulation - a nice variety of reading material is great

 

[nature]

Wooden puzzles are a great recommendation; we love them here! I find that variety is the spice of life when it comes to toys and books - especially keeping things tactile and sensory for little ones. We have some lovely fabric books with different textures to touch and feel, which my tot enjoys a lot too! It's amazing how engaged they can get with different sensory experiences.

 

[sunflower]

We also love our fabric books! They've held up well over years of toddler roughhousing and are great for little ones who like to chew on things too. And you're so right about the engagement factor - it's incredible how long my kids would spend exploring these sensory books.

 

[bananarama]

That's fantastic to hear! We've found fabric books to be equally durable and engaging for our little one as well. The tactile sensation seems to keep them occupied for so much longer than regular books - it's amazing! And they're definitely a win when it comes to bite marks too .

 

[lioness]

That's fantastic to hear! We've found fabric books to be equally durable and engaging for our little one as well. The tactile sensation seems to keep them occupied for so much longer than regular books - it's amazing! And they're definitely a win when it comes to bite marks too .

My kids loved fabric books too, especially the interactive ones with buttons and different textures. They're super durable and great for teething toddlers.

 

[eternity]

That's fantastic to hear! We've found fabric books to be equally durable and engaging for our little one as well. The tactile sensation seems to keep them occupied for so much longer than regular books - it's amazing! And they're definitely a win when it comes to bite marks too .

fabric books are great; the textural sensory experience is an often overlooked aspect of toy design that really captures young kids' attention.

 

[travelmum]

That's a great point about fabric books! Often, these kinds of books also have crinkly pages which provide an interesting sound element as well. And of course, they're so durable--perfect for little ones who tend to get a bit destructive with their reading material!

It's amazing how many different aspects of learning and development can be incorporated into toys and books for this age group. Anything that encourages their senses and motor skills is fantastic.

 

[sunflower]

Yes, the sensory experience is a huge part of it all - touching different textures, hearing different sounds, even tasting them (though we've found some books that taste a bit too good end up getting quite chewed up!). Motor skill development is encouraged with books that have interactive elements like flaps to lift or buttons to press.

It's a fun age because they're so curious and engaged - though that also makes it challenging when trying to keep them entertained!