9 Developmentally-Appropriate Toys for 2-Year-Olds—Tested by Tots

Building blocks make excellent developmental toys for 2-year-olds. As they select individual blocks and stack them on top of one another, toddlers make precise movements with their hands and wrists, which is a great workout for fine motor skills. This was certainly the case with product tester Kaylie’s daughter, who tested the LEGO Duplo Brick Box. Upon opening the box, “she immediately began to use her fine motor skills stacking the blocks by color and shapes,” shares Kaylie. Aside from working on her stacking skills this toy encouraged hand-eye coordination and imaginative play, earning it a perfect 10 score across the board.

“The LEGO Duplo Brick Box was so entertaining and creative,” gushes Kaylie, adding that this toy set held her daughter’s attention for almost the entire day. “My toddler was super-excited to open the brick box and she was so amazed by the different colors,” continues Kaylie, who noted that her 2-year-old enjoyed tipping out all the blocks before starting a build project. As mentioned above, this open-ended toy also allows for imaginative play. “My 2-year-old loves to stack the blocks and when I showed her how the little people fit in the car she immediately started pretending the car was driving around,” says Kaylie.

Our tester also appreciated the fact that the block set came with a visual guide filled with ideas on the type of creations tots can build. Kaylie said her daughter played independently with this toy, although she did require a little help to tidy up after each play session. “She does love playing ‘clean up’ and putting them in the cool box they come in,” adds Kaylie.

From skill-building to creative play, this building block set was a hit with our product tester’s family. In Kaylie’s own words: “It makes the perfect gift for little ones and overall this toy has been perfect for my girl. It is super fun to play with, creative and gets your imagination flowing!”

Age range: 18+ months | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: No

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A ride-on toy can help toddlers work on gross motor skills like balance and coordination as well as strengthening muscles. Our tester Katie and her 2-year-old son tried out the iconic Cozy Coupe and gave it a glowing review, with a solid score for skill-building and a 10 out of 10 for play and entertainment potential.

Thanks to a molded handle on the roof this ride-on car can be used as a push toy or a self-propelled vehicle. For the latter, simply remove the floor plate so your kiddo’s feet can touch the ground in order to propel themselves along. Katie tested the Cozy Coupe in both modes in order to get the full experience. “He did like us pushing him and really enjoyed going around the backyard, turning the key and beeping the horn,” shares Katie. However, once they removed the floor plate her 2-year-old initially had a little trouble pushing himself along. “He mostly was able to go backwards without issues, but going forwards took a bit of time to learn,” explains Katie.

While this toy for 2-year-olds did involve a bit of a learning curve, Katie says her son still had a great experience with it. “He is able to say ‘red car’ when he wants to play,” shares Katie, adding that he also exclaims “vroom vroom” when he’s in the driver’s seat. She notes that it was easier to drive the car indoors, and he sometimes gets frustrated if he’s playing outside and doesn’t have the leg strength to push himself over a particularly bumpy patch. But Katie says that “this is more of a terrain issue versus a him issue.”

Overall Katie would recommend this toy to other toddler parents and concluded her review by saying: “The car can last many years, works both large and fine motor functions and can be used creatively and imaginatively over the lifespan.”

Age range: 18 months to 5 years | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: Yes

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At the 2 year mark, your little one’s vocabulary is growing exponentially. And the best way to support this essential language development is by narrating everyday tasks and, of course, reading to them. But it can be hard to get a toddler to sit still long enough to finish an entire story. That’s where Where’s Spot? a lift-the-flap book comes in clutch. It held our junior tester’s attention for a full 10 minutes, which is a long time for a 2-year-old, and helped her learn and practice new words.

“Where’s Spot? is great for early language development,” confirms our product tester, Presley who read it to her 2-year-old daughter. “The repetitive text and bright pictures engaged her language skills and encouraged pointing and naming animals.” Presley noted that her daughter started to memorize segments of the text and even added her own narration to the story by saying: “Where doggy go?” This book is a wonderful way to bond with your child but also offers opportunities for independent play. Presley notes that her daughter “often wanted me to read it with her, but she also sat and ‘read’ it on her own, using her imagination to retell the story.” How sweet is that?

“The board book is the perfect size for my toddler,” says Presley, adding that “the chunky pages are lightweight and easy for little hands to grasp and turn.” Her daughter also navigated the lift-the-flap features independently and had fun doing so. “At first, the flaps made the story really engaging and playful and she enjoyed lifting them to see what was hiding underneath,” explains Presley. Unfortunately, her tot got a little over-excited and ripped the flaps off the book. This inevitably led to some frustration and tears from our 2-year-old tester. “While the flaps didn’t survive long in our house, the book itself is still a favorite, and I think it will have play value for quite a while as she grows and starts recognizing more words,” reasons Presley.

Age range: 12 months to 3 years | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: No

At 2 years old, children are gaining key social skills and are grappling with some big emotions. (Hello, toddler tantrums!) Whether you have a little girl or a boy, a baby doll is a great tool to help kids process new situations, express their feelings and learn about empathy. The best dolls for toddler have realistic features, a soft huggable body and a simple design to encourage open-ended play. And the American Girl Bitty Baby Doll checks every box, earning it a 10 out of 10 score for all testing criteria.

“My daughter treats this like a real baby,” says mom of two Michelle, who tested the doll with her 2-year-old. “She feeds it, burps it, puts it down for naps, rocks it and carries it around all day,” she continues. According to our tester, this doll is her daughter’s new favorite toy and always helps cheer her up when she's having a rough time. “It makes her so happy and she runs around the house screaming ‘baby? baby?’ when she can’t find it,” shares Michelle, who said overall this doll was the perfect companion for her child. “This doll keeps her entertained for hours, she carries it around all day and sleeps next to it at night,” gushes Michelle.

One reason that this toy for 2-year-olds is so effective at teaching kids about empathy and self-regulation is that it looks and feels like a real baby. “The doll looks pretty realistic in my opinion,” says Michelle, noting that her daughter is “obsessed” with the eyes that open and close. It’s also the heaviest doll they own, which is actually a positive feature. “The weight helps it feel more like a real baby and since she has a 2-month-old sister, she loves that,” explains Michelle. “I love that it comes in a bunch of different skin tones and hair colors so I could choose the one that looks most like her,” says Michelle. (For the record Michelle tested Bitty Baby Doll #4.) “I do wish the different skin tones maybe had different shaped eyes and I think they could offer a few more darker shades,” she continues, adding that multicultural representation is an important factor when buying toys like this one.

Admittedly, this toy is expensive, but Michelle says it’s well worth the price. “The quality of this doll is top notch, I don’t think any other brand compares to American Girl,” says Michelle, adding that the clothes fit well and she can see it lasting for many years to come.

Age range: 18+ months | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: No

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Musical toys for 2-year-olds are an investment into your child’s development. Why? Not only do they act as a source of entertainment, music toys and mini instruments encourage self-expression, improve cognitive skills and give the auditory senses a workout. The Lovevery Music Set contains six scaled-down instruments as well as a rhythm and songs book, making it perfect for little movers and shakers.

Product tester Presley said her 2-year-old instinctively knew how to use some of the instruments. “She needed to be shown how to blow into the flute and play the accordion (she's never seen one before), but then she wanted to take over and mimicked me easily,” adds Presley, who gave this set a 10 out of 10 score for ease of use and play and entertainment value. Aside from the pan flute and accordion, this set includes pat bells, stackable shakers, a jingle bracelet and a metronome that explores the basics of tempo. Our tester noted that her daughter liked all of the different toys, but the accordion was definitely a fan favorite. “The sound effects were cheerful and not too loud, and she even started humming and clapping along, which made the playtime feel more interactive,” shares Presley.

Aside from being downright fun, this play set has lots of learning benefits to explore.”My toddler loved pressing the buttons, hitting them with items, and hearing the different sounds which really engaged her listening skills,” says Presley, who also felt that this set helped her daughter work on her hand-eye coordination. And making music is a great way to lay the foundations of language. “She even started humming along and trying to say words like ‘music,’ so it definitely encouraged language development in a natural way,” says Presley, who notes that this set introduced her daughter to new words like accordion and metronome.

“I noticed she enjoyed repeating the same actions over and over, which kept her engaged longer than many other toys,” says Presley, adding that this musical set kept her daughter happy for a full hour. And it didn't lose its appeal after the first play session. “The next time I brought it out, she was instantly excited again and dove right into playing and making music,” says Presley. Overall, Presley says her child’s reaction to this toy has been overwhelmingly positive: “It’s definitely one of the toys she asks for most often right now and plays with throughout the day back and forth.”

Age range: 18 months to 4 years | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: No

At age 2, toddlers are developing hand-eye coordination skills, which makes everyday play activities achievable. But don’t be alarmed if it takes them a while to get the hang of new tasks—such as aiming, rolling or throwing a ball. According to the AAP, “vision is not mature in this age group, and toddlers have difficulty tracking a moving object and figuring out how fast it is speeding toward them.” Product tester Noura tried out this bowling set with her almost 2-and-a-half-year-old and acknowledged that it took a while for her daughter to get the hang of it. “She had never been bowling before, so the concept of throwing a ball at the pins was new to her,” explains Noura. But with a little parental guidance and encouragement, her little one was soon able to play independently. “She practiced her hand-eye coordination skills and independent play as she was setting up the pins after each bowl,” says Noura.

The bowling set by Melissa & Doug, is perfectly designed for this age group. The fuzzy “monster” pins each have a friendly face with unique characteristics, which appeals to toddlers' visual senses and imagination. Noura told us her daughter was very excited when she first saw this toy: “The different colors, fabrics, and faces on the pins intrigued her!” Aside from using them for a few games of bowling, our junior tester pet the pins, started to carry them around like stuffed animals and even set up a tea party for the monstrous crew! “I think because they had faces, it made her want to use them in other ways,” explains Noura. She also noted that the pins were very soft and cuddly, saying “the monsters were furry, some with longer pieces of fur, some shorter.” One downside of the fluffy design is that the fabric attracts dust, dirt and dog hair, so keep that in mind if you have animals at home.

Overall, our tester loved this toy for 2-year-olds as it “definitely requires the child to use hand-eye coordination,” but still offered open-ended play opportunities. Noura would certainly recommend it to other parents, and concluded her review by saying that she had sent it to a friend as a gift idea for her child’s second birthday!

Age range: 2+ years | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: No

Want to buy some art toys for 2-year-olds, but worried about the mess? Stop right there—we’ve got you covered. This magnetic drawing board by Kikidex allows toddlers to scribble to their hearts content and, once they're done, you can erase the board with a quick swipe. “[It’s] the EASIEST to clean, there's no mess at all,” confirms product tester Rachel, who tested this toy with her 2-year-old daughter.

At this age creative development really kicks into high gear, as tots can grasp a crayon or stylus and draw circular shapes and scribbles. This drawing board satisfies the creative urge and allows for unlimited artworks. “My daughter immediately started drawing circles all over it,” says Rachel, adding that her little one loves coloring. The sliding eraser function wasn’t as intuitive to use, but once Rachel showed her daughter to do it once, she quickly grasped the concept. It comes with plastic legs to create a table, but can also be used as a standalone tablet. “The pen is easy to hold on little hands and the added legs make it easy for her to use it as a tabletop if sitting on the floor or a couch,” says Rachel, who gave it a 10 out of 10 score for ease of use.

Once she figured out how to use the eraser, our junior tester used this toy independently. But Rachel also used it as a tool to introduce her daughter to shapes, numbers and her ABCs. “It's been offering such great value for us in teaching her letters, how to spell her name, how to read, numbers and shapes in a way that doesn't feel like ‘learning,’” remarks Sarah, noting that this toy is perfect for her daughter who just started preschool. As they draw, Sarah and her 2-year-old also practice saying the words out loud, which is an excellent way to cement new learning concepts and expand vocabulary.

This toy kept our 2-year-old happy and occupied for over an hour, and her mom said she was incredibly focused during this creative time. “She is always happy and excited to use it and seems proud when she's able to accurately recognize letters, shapes, numbers and words,” adds Sarah, who says it’s her daughter’s favorite new toy.

While our tester gave this toy a high rating, she questioned whether the quality was in line with the price and noted that the short cord attached to the pen would sometimes get tangled, which frustrated her daughter. Despite these issues, Sarah said she would recommend this toy to other parents. She summed up her review of the Kikidex Magnetic Drawing Board by saying: “It really helps engage kids in learning and language development, without wasting paper or making a mess with art supplies.”

Age range: 1 to 3 years | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: No

A play kitchen is one of the best toys for 2-year-olds to support their blossoming imagination. Why? A play kitchen mirrors a real-life setting, so your child can role-play familiar scenes from day to day life. This option by Step2 is perfectly sized for younger toddlers and has tons of fun features to get their creative juices flowing. “Kitchens are one of my favorite toys for kids,” says Michelle, who tested the set with her 2-year-old daughter. “They’re always a hit since they constantly see parents in the kitchen, so they know exactly how to use them and play cooking and restaurant games,” she adds.

Unsurprisingly, this toy earned a 10 out of 10 score for play and entertainment value. “My daughter didn’t need to be shown how to use it, which is always great with more open-ended toys,” explains Michelle. The toy comes with 24 accessories as well as interactive features like a coffee maker with a turnable dial and a stove burner that lights up and makes sizzling and bubbling cooking noises. Michelle’s daughter “went straight for the little coffee maker and loves organizing all the plates and cups” as she role-plays running a restaurant. On the first day it was introduced Michelle’s little one played make-believe in the kitchen for two full hours and she’s returned to it daily since then!

At 40 inches in height, it’s perfectly proportioned for younger toddlers, so all of the features are within reach and are easy to operate. “All of the doors on it are so easy to open and close and there’s no part of it that makes her frustrated or that she isn’t able to do on her own,” shares Michelle. While it is a larger toy, it sits flush up against the wall, so it won’t eat up tons of floor space. “It’s a decent size without taking up too much space,” confirms Michelle.

Age range: 2+ years | Batteries required: Yes | Assembly required: Yes

Toys that present kids with a simple problem-solving task are great for cognitive development. And, in our humble opinion, this wooden puzzle by Tender Leaf Toys offers the perfect challenge for 2-year-old tots. “My 2-year-old has so much fun with the Tender Leaf Counting Acorn set,” says product tester Kristi, who tried it out with her daughter.

Our tester said that her daughter’s face “lit up” when she unboxed the puzzle, earning it a 10 out of 10 score for her child’s reaction. “She couldn’t wait to start playing—sorting, counting, and making up little games. It brought so many giggles and kept her happily entertained,” shares Kristi.

The aim of the game is to help the squirrel gather his acorns–-but there are a few ways to play. Each of the 10 chunky wooden acorn pieces corresponds to a spot on the board with a matching colour and number of dots. Toddlers can solve the puzzle in three different ways: by matching the pieces through trial and error; by matching the color of the acorn stem to the color on the board; or by matching the number on the puzzle piece to the amount of dots on the board. “It’s perfect for practicing counting, colors and fine motor skills,” says Kristi, who said she discussed color-matching and encouraged her daughter to say the numbers out loud while they played. Kristi’s eldest child even got involved and helped her little sister solve the puzzle by saying: “I have three dots in my acorn. Can you find where the 3 dots on the boards are?” We love a bit of sibling teamwork!

Kristi says the puzzle “was easy to use” and her daughter grasped the concept right away. Aside from being easy to use the puzzle is also well-crafted with smooth wooden pieces and vibrant colors. “The pieces are sturdy, safe, and just the right size for little hands,” confirms Kristi.

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Age range: 18+ months | Batteries required: No | Assembly required: No