Updated November, 2023
Your rumbly tumbly toddler is now 2! At this age language will blossom, motor skills will take off, and your child will have a lot of obvious opinions and preferences. We want to continue to challenge them through the materials you offer them. Help their growing minds and bodies stay busy with the best educational toys for 2 year olds. If you would like more tips about helping your child to learn, you can view an excellent post about it here.
Your two year old can start following longer books and more complex stories. You will start shifting from books used for introducing words and concepts to actual stories! This is a lot of fun. You can also start offering books that aren’t board books and start really teaching your child how to care for books.
Top Picks
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
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- Best Toddler Books
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Blocks
Waffle blocks insert together in “right” and “wrong” ways. Your child can expand their building portfolio while also challenging themselves to make the unique puzzles fit together. What I love about this set in particular is that they are big, so they are perfect for building forts, stores, or other play worlds.
Magnatiles are my absolute favorite. They are something between a block and a science experiment. With magnets along the edges, these are perfect for making awesome structures with unusual angles. These are exciting well into kindergarten too, so they will definitely last awhile. At this age be careful of pinching. The magnets are actually very strong so they can definitely catch pudgy fingers in them. And trust me, get the big set. Somehow, there are sill never enough and we have probably 4 sets!
I have definitely seen children at this age start picking up interest in letters and numbers. A set of alphabet blocks can offer them fun opportunities to play and practice new concepts. They are especially fun for spelling out the names of people and objects your child loves most.
Art
Time to let your child access art more often. Your child should learn how to properly care for their art materials, including where and how to use them. You can put out paint or crayons or markers and the easel can be their work zone. My favorite practice material is a cup of water, a paintbrush, and a piece of construction paper. This way, if they make a mess on accident, it’s easy and quick to clean up.
I will admit I might be more excited about this paint than the kids are, but I don’t care. It is so much fun and very satisfying to use.When it dries, it looks bubbly and textured still, although it isn’t very strong and thus isn’t great to feel afterwards. I will warn you that this paint is either very popular or on the verge of not being sold. I have to really search for it in order to find it. So I think it’s a bit pricey, but more than worth it!
Table Toys
These puzzle boards are great for your child to practice different types of locks. The skill is great for their fine motor development. Plus if you get something with a key, they once again get to copy you in your day to day work.
Keep challenging your child with harder and harder puzzles. As they grow, offering puzzles with more pieces will challenge them to do more than master and move on. You want them to be thinking critically with this material.
Making designs on peg boards is fun and gratifying for children. They can experiment with colors, patterns, and designs. Plus the fine motor skill of making the pegs stay in place keeps them practicing over and over again.
Science
Explore the finite world around you by giving children magnifying glasses. After a brief explanation on how they work, you would be amazed at how often your child will walk around while holding it up to their face.
I really don’t know if this is the correct term or not. I’ve also heard droppers and squeezers. The point is, something they pinch in order to absorb water into it, and then pinch to release the water as well. These help them with their fine motor skills and can build skills such as putting on socks.
Dramatic Play
If you get just a little spray bottle and fill it with water, you may be amazed at how often your child will take it out and help you clean. Children see us clean all the time so anything they can do to copy us is rewarding to them. Armed with a spray bottle and a few wash cloths, your house will never look cleaner!
The dress up at this age can be really easy and more about self care than imagination. I highly encourage a lot of shoes, socks, pants, etc that your child can practice putting on and taking off by themselves. This will help your child build the skills they need to do these tasks for themselves on a day to day basis.
Large Motor
Balancing is a difficult skill and one that your child needs to help challenge them physically. As they master things like walking and running, they will naturally look for other things to test their bodies. Balancing and jumping with two feet off the ground is the natural next step for them. We invested in this balance beam specifically because both our kids showed interest in gymnastics and we wanted something that would grow with them. If you just want something for a year or two of tumbling, a foam balance beam that folds up is probably just as good.
If you bought the little slide from the last blog, it may be time to upgrade to something bigger. Your child should feel as though they are able to take risks while still staying safe. A bigger slide can help offer that feeling.
This isn’t for everyone, but it might be beneficial to invest in a real jungle gym finally. Something that offers a lot of climbing surfaces and other unique challenges. With a proper fall zone, these can offer hours of entertainment. I don’t absolutely love this one because it is so small and doesn’t really grow with your child. But if space is limited or you have the finances to purchase more than one set, it’s a good size jungle gym for this age.
