At 2 years old, toddlers are already fully active and want to discover the world. Specifically, they want to do things that adults do too. With my twins, it's like this: they want to vacuum just as much as they want to sweep or fill the washing machine. Even when cooking, I now often have 2 chairs standing next to me and 2 pairs of eyes that have to check and watch everything closely. For their 2nd birthday, the question arose: what should we give the little ones? Here I have put together a list of toys that were very well received by our children for their 2nd birthday:
Ideas for toys for children from 2 years old – toddlers
Bobby Car for toddlers
A Bobby Car is clearly the number one toy at 2 years old. They already really want to sit in the front of the car, and here they can steer and drive around wonderfully. In this case, we bought one for both of them because the wait would have been far too long. So they can both zoom around and swap again and again.
Bobby Cars are now available in many versions, such as with a shovel or a trailer. They are also already available in many sizes.
You can buy Bobby Cars in almost every toy store or at Amazon
Extra tip: Definitely shoe protectors buy, because the shoes suffer a lot!
Stuffed animals for children to play with
Great and important are stuffed animals for children to play with and cuddle. Many also use the stuffed animals when falling asleep, or when they are sad or tired. Cuddly toys are the first relationship that the child chooses for themselves and therefore a major milestone in the child's development. This lays the foundation for the child to be able to maintain relationships other than with their mother. You often see that a cuddly toy is already quite worn out, but the child does not want a new one, so it is best to buy a high-quality stuffed animal right from the start (and also check whether the animal will be available for a longer time in case it gets lost).
Extra tip: If the child has chosen their favorite stuffed animal, buy 2-3 right away and give them alternately.
Cutting fruit made of wood for children
Finally, the little ones are allowed to have a knife in their hand. Yes, exactly, a toy knife! They are all fired up and the fruit is cut into small pieces every day, I can only recommend it!
There are now many sets, we chose the fruit set. It is very easy to divide and also easy to put back together. The fruit, as well as the knife, is made of wood, so it is very robust. The board is also made of wood and is very practical as a base for cutting practice.
You can buy the wooden fruit set with a knife in almost every toy store, or at Amazon
Toy vacuum cleaner for children
Our son in particular was fascinated by the vacuum cleaner, so it was clear that he had to have one too. He loves it and drives it through the whole house.
We have one that can actually suck up Styrofoam balls! That's not so great for the housewife, but there are worse things.
However, you should definitely pay attention to how robust the vacuum cleaner is. Our children pull it behind them very hard, which resulted in our model breaking apart at the fasteners quite quickly.
In addition, the children's vacuum cleaner should definitely have the suction noise; a melody was not desired in our case. Therefore, be careful, there are some models that play songs.
Children's vacuum cleaners are available in almost every toy store and at Amazon
Toy kitchen for children
We were initially a bit unsure about the kitchen because it's not that cheap, but when I saw at a friend's house how great they play with it, I decided to go for it – and it was a good thing.
The children love their kitchen, and we parents and grandparents are wonderfully cooked for. We deliberately chose a kitchen where you can work on both sides, i.e., there are buttons and doors to open and close on both sides. When the buttons are pressed, there is a cooking sound.
The only thing I don't like so much about our model is that there are no compartments in the fridge. But I have already seen on the internet that some people make the compartments themselves out of cardboard.
A kitchen for children is available in almost every toy store, at discounters, or at Amazon
Extra tip: We also took Accessories
Toy microwave for toddlers
A microwave is a great toy for our children: it has many buttons, makes light and sounds. Both children play with it very often and intensively. However, it also has to endure a lot, because unfortunately it is still often thrown down.
Our model didn't always take the throwing down well and therefore already got a piece of adhesive tape. Since then, however, nothing has happened again and it still holds up very well.
The children don't mind at all, they still like playing with the microwave and everything has to be warmed up. They are very familiar with it and understood how to operate it quickly. Of course, all buttons always have to be pressed very often, you have to be on the safe side so that everything gets nice and hot.
A microwave for children is available in almost every toy store or at Amazon
Toy tools for toddlers
When mom or dad comes with tools, the children's eyes light up, they really want to work along and help. So it was obvious that they would get toy tools from us.
We took a whole suitcase at a flea market so that both have something, because a lot has to be repaired in a house. Now there is always eager hammering and drilling in the house!
It's great if the devices also make noises, just like a real drill.
You can find tools for children in almost every toy store, at discounters, or at Amazon
Toy buggy for the doll for children
Our two love riding in a buggy, and that includes our son. Although our son usually has to repair the buggy and has to look at the wheels very closely, whereas our daughter takes care of the doll and also goes shopping with a shopping bag. They then walk through the house with their buggies. Really sweet to watch and a clear purchase recommendation.
With our model, the only thing that isn't that special is the seat cover. Unfortunately, it comes off the bars very easily, so both children come running alternately and think the buggy is broken. Otherwise, the buggy is really very robust and can withstand a lot, for example when our children sit in it themselves.
You can find buggies for children in almost every toy store, at discounters, or at Amazon
Extra tip: We also took a baby doll with the buggy.
Toy shopping cart for children
After our children wanted to take the small shopping carts from various drugstores home with them, it was clear to me that I wanted to give them one like that.
Now they are very proud and go shopping with it very often! We have a model where even the stuffed animal or the doll can sit in the front.
By the way, the small carts are also very practical for mom or dad in the evening: you can pack the toys in and drive them into the children's room!
You can find shopping carts in almost every toy store, at discounters, or at Amazon
Garbage truck and cars for children to play with
Our children are totally fascinated by the garbage truck, so everyone got one as a gift and they are very enthusiastic. The trash can is often filled and emptied for minutes.
Unfortunately, I haven't found a garbage truck yet where the trash can works smoothly, usually I have to help. Garbage trucks are available in every size. We found a medium-sized one that is very stable. The Duplo garbage truck is also very good, where the emptying of the trash can works very well already.
You can find garbage trucks in almost every toy store, at discounters, or at Amazon
Threading toy for children – threading chains
After a friend told me that her son likes threading so much, I thought I'd try that too. I was very surprised at how skillful both of them are already.
Of course, they don't have that much patience, but my daughter is really very keen on it. First, it is sorted and then she sits for quite a long time and tries to thread them on. When the beautiful chains are finished, they are knotted and carried around very proudly.
I always find such creative games great because the children can always redesign them themselves and nothing is predetermined.
We have really large stones in various shapes and sizes with nice large holes so that the thread fits through. Unfortunately, the string frays a little after some time with our model, but that doesn't stop the two of them at all.
You can find wooden beads for threading in almost every toy store, at discounters, or at Amazon
Books for children from 2 years old
As a bookworm, I can't help it and shower my children with books. There are so many great books and I notice that our children also like to read. Especially in the evening before going to sleep, we always read a few books.
Therefore, here as a separate point, a few books that we have or know and that I can recommend for two-year-olds:
- Books from the series: Why? What? How? Junior
- Mini dictionaries: e.g.: Mini dictionary – Farm
- Children's Brockhaus: e.g.: My little Brockhaus. From A to Z
- Children's songs: e.g.: My first children's songs
- First words: e.g.: First pictures – First words
Books for two-year-olds are available in bookstores, toy stores, discounters, and at Amazon
Extra tip: At two years old, children are still very rough with books, here I recommend cardboard picture books. They can leaf through them alone and they really withstand a lot.
Conclusion
Children naturally want to have as many toys as possible and parents also tend to like to buy them. But you don't always have to buy everything new. For me, flea markets are a very good way to buy toys. I think it's great when parents or even the children sell their things there and can advise you. We have often bought really great things that are then also really very robust for our two-year-old children.
Furthermore, you can also buy many things used and therefore often cheaper via eBay, online flea markets, or Amazon.
I hope these tips were helpful and there is something for everyone. If something is missing, please write an email or a comment right away so that this list becomes complete!
Also read: Toys for three-year-old toddlers
Photos by Sabine, meinhaushalt.at
