The Best Toys and Gifts for One-Year-Olds, Tested by Children

For little ones who aren’t quite ready for Legos, there’s MEGA BLOKS. This beginner builder set features chunky, large blocks that are perfectly sized for little hands to promote hand-eye coordination. Our product tester Audrey W. can attest to it—she says, "The blocks definitely help develop fine motor skills. [My son] had to grip the block and then stack it on top of another block often requiring using two hands at once."

This 80-piece set is packed with options, including 10 shapes and nine different bright colors to spark imaginations—and Audrey found that each piece was easy to grasp and stack. “He enjoyed knocking down his creations, too,” she shares. This is another toy that's a big hit in my house; I first bought this set when my oldest child was a year old, and it’s been passed down to his three younger siblings since then. The blocks still look brand new, despite regular use. The included storage bag is impressively sturdy—and a huge perk for keeping all those pieces together.

Age rating: 1+ years | Batteries required: N | Weight: 3.2 lbs

Baths are one of baby's earliest sensory experiences, and playing in water stays fun for kids for years to come. The Boon Fleet features plastic stackable ships that can be used to scoop, sprinkle or splash water in the tub, while also providing a floating surface for other bath toys. "My child showed immediate excitement when I put the toys in the bath," says our tester Larissa P., who used the Boon Fleet with her 13-month-old. "He used them to splash the water and seemed very happy."

The set comes with five boats of different sizes, so there's lots of options for play. "I’m impressed at how much mileage we’ve gotten out of this set," says Larissa." My kids have used it to explore the sand, pool and bath, and even pushed them around on dry land. I like that there are five boats, so sharing isn’t an issue. You get a lot for under $10 with these boats!”

I'm a big fan of this set as well; my kids have had these boats for a year, and still regularly whip them out at bathtime. They’re surprisingly sturdy (several have survived being tossed across the bathroom) and even provide enough floating power to hold other toys in the tub. We’ve used ours at the pool and beach, too. Just be sure to give them a little scrub from time to time. The top of the boats have drain holes to prevent mildew, but the inside can still build up gunk if you're not careful.

Age rating: 10+ months | Batteries required: N | Weight: N/A

Finger puppets are a quick and easy way to spark imaginative play, and few are cuter than this set from Cuddoll. The adorable knit puppet set features four animals—an elephant, lion, pig and bunny—giving you plenty of options for pretend play. And when our tester Mia H. used them with her children, they commanded attention right from the start. "The twins were very excited when I pulled the puppets out of the bag," she tells us. "The first thing they said was 'dog,' which is what they call every animal at this point."

When Mia used the puppets to act out animal sounds and used them for storytime, "they laughed so hard and seemed really interested—at least until they eventually snatched the puppets off my fingers to throw them around the house. "I definitely noticed their mood improve," she adds, "and it’s a great distraction for when they’re a little moody during longer stretches between naps."

While her children relied on their mom to get playtime with these puppets started, our tester thinks her kids will be able to use them for independent pretend play once they get a little older. And she's confident the puppet will last that long, due to the high-quality. "The quality is impeccable," she says "You can really see the attention to detail and that each piece is handcrafted." And even better, they're machine-washable!

Age rating: 1+ months | Batteries required: N | Weight: N/A

Cause and effect can be a tricky thing for little ones to master, but this animal farm playset from Fisher-Price has several elements to help out. That includes a hay bale chute (drop a hay bale in the top, and it comes out the bottom every time), buttons that play music and barn doors that swing open and shut to let animals out. The hay bale chute was an especially big hit with our tester Calihan S. and her 14-month-old. She tells us, "She babbles and squeals while playing with the toy and is very excited to reach and show the animals to me and my husband while playing. She now knows how to drop the animals through the hay bale shoot to make them come out the bottom and she keeps busy doing that for quite awhile."

Calihan also had a high opinion of the quality of the toy, telling us, "The animals are sturdy and solid, easily withstanding being thrown, dropped or smashed together." My youngest also has this set and loves that she can put other Little People animals in the mix, like her zebra and lion. The set has three stages, allowing it to grow with your child, changing songs and sounds along the way. (There are more than 55 songs and sounds in all.) The wide base is especially helpful to keep this from tipping over during rough play.

Age rating: 1+ years | Batteries required: Y (included) | Weight: 3 lbs.

With six different panels covered in cranks, dials, switches and more, the Fat Brain Toys PlayTab is designed to give toddlers a fine-motor workout. And what's more—it's lots of fun! Our product tester Taylor T. tells us, "[my daughter's] favorite piece was the spinner because she loved watching it rotate quickly when she turned it, because she could tell she was causing the gear to turn itself. She used both hands to spin it repeatedly and returned to it throughout playtime… Her fingers strengthened around the pieces through repeated motion, and I could see her focus improving while visually tracking moving parts."

Each tile sticks to a larger wooden board with the help of hidden magnets, allowing you to rearrange them to keep things fresh. (If you buy the set from Fat Brain Toys, you can even customize your tiles.) Taylor found the tiles "easy to manipulate, allowing my baby to explore different shapes, movements and tactile sensations independently." But she assures us that once in place, the magnets held the tiles very firmly, which she liked.

Age rating: 1+ years | Batteries required: N | Weight: N/A

Problem-solving can be tricky with this age group—you want to create a challenge, but not one that’s so tough that little ones will get frustrated. This Melissa & Doug puzzle offers four shapes that children can match to complete the structure, with big wooden knobs that are easy to grip. "My baby needed a little guidance at first," says our tester, Shon J., "but eventually figured out how to use the puzzle on her own. She enjoys trying to place the pieces where they belong and gets excited each time she succeeds."

Shon praised the bright design and chunky knobs, which she says, "make it easy for [my daughter] to keep practicing," adding, "I can see her building confidence with every try. It is simple but engaging, and I think she will continue to enjoy it as she grows and gets faster at matching the shapes." While this version focuses on shapes, the puzzle also comes in several animal themes. (We have a fish version in my house.) The thick wooden pieces can be used for imaginary play, too.

Age rating: 1+ years | Batteries required: N | Weight: 1.25 lb

Melissa & Doug’s Poke-a-Dot books offer a fun way to learn new words. This book (which is one of a series) helps kids learn common first words like “cup” and “apple.” But what really makes it stand out is that there's a pressable dimple fidget in the middle of each page to keep a child's attention while you read. Taylor read these books with her daughter, and tells us, "She tried to babble along with me while reading which was fun and she wanted to turn the pages (which she does with most books) but I feel like the dots really helped this. I think it was a good level of stimulation and she enjoyed it."

Of course it's not just fun fidget play. As Taylor points out, "the book is filled with several pages of very photo-realistic images of common objects (like apple, house, etc.) paired with simple written words to describe… I appreciated the photo-realistic images because they matched the objects my baby sees daily. This helped her connect what she recognized in real life with the book’s illustrations." My children also have several Poke-a-Dot books, and I appreciate that they can still explore and play with them, even when I’m occupied. These books are the perfect size for small hands, too.

Age rating: 1+ years | Batteries required: N | Weight: 0.75 lbs

VTech’s Stroll & Discover Activity Walker is packed with options for play, with a slew of interactive features on the front a pushable walker design that encourages kids to flex those gross motor skills by pushing it around before settling down to flip open doors, turn buttons and make sounds. It was an immediate hit with Larissa's child; she says, "When my child saw the toy in his play area he immediately walked to it and began pushing it. When he saw that it was able to move his face lit up with a big smile. Now as he pushes it around he makes loud noises, happy babbling and happy screaming."

If your child isn't quite walking yet (not all one-year-olds are!), don't worry—the toy is also sturdy enough to support little ones who are still learning to stand upright. Just lock the wheels and use it as a freestanding toy. Heads up though: Because this toy is bound to logs plenty of miles, it’s helpful to wipe down the wheels here and there. Otherwise, they can build up dirt and other gunk.

Age rating: 9 to 36 months | Batteries required: Y, included | Weight: 4.9 lbs.

There are plenty of pushable walker toys out there, but this Haba Wagon has something extra special: Adjustable screws that you can set to slow down or speed up how fast the wagon can be pushed. Larissa tried this toy with her toddler, and tells us, "My son has been walking for about three months, so having the stability of the walker helps him move faster. I love how the walker has a built in tightening feature in case we pass this down to another child or if a friend comes over that isn’t walking as well as him yet."

You might worry that an adjustable toy would be hard to put together, but Larissa assures us, "Getting the toy unpacked was very easy, there weren’t too many parts to assemble and [it's] very intuitive." It took her 10 minutes all together. Although she does warn us to make sure that the screws are in firmly, or they could fall out.

This wooden wagon has a special seat and extra storage area that’s perfect for toys, allowing little ones to safely transport their favorites around, and the silicone wheel treads won’t mark up your floors. And while you’re unlikely to choose children's toys based on looks alone, it’s hard to miss the sleek and stylish design of this wagon.

Age rating: 10 to 36 months | Batteries required: N | Weight: 11.5 lbs

Parents of toddlers know they love two things: making noise and banging on things. And this Hape bench allows them to do both, with a slide-out xylophone for creating music alongside with a bench that kids can use for hammering. And to say it was a hit with Larissa's child would be an understatement. "Once he saw the sound that the xylophone made, and he saw that he could make the noise he would scream and squeal with excitement that he was making the noise with the instrument," she says. "This toy is currently in his playpen and one of the first [toy] he will gravitate to."

The Pound & Tap Bench comes with a booklet on how to play different nursery rhymes on the xylophone, which Larissa found "so cute." Her son was first drawn to the balls, but once she showed him the xylophone and how to use it, "he started to play around with it more and more day by day. I think he would have figured it out on his own so I would say it is a very intuitive toy." He even wants to bring it in the car with him—and thankfully it's small and lightweight enough that it travels well!

Age rating: 1 to 3 years | Batteries required: N | Weight: 2.6 lbs