Toy Insider Mom Laurie Schacht shared interactive and educational toys for ages 0-2 with Grandparents.com’s Toy & Gift Finder. Unsure what to buy? Here are her suggestions:

The Wonderworld Counting Ball is a counting toy that encourages learning subtraction and addition and will keep kids entertained for hours. Equipped with five colored balls and an upper and lower level, kids can hit a lever to bring a ball up to add to the upper level or twist the knob to subtract and bring a ball down to the lower level. This eco-friendly company plants two trees for every one that is cut down and used for products.

The Roll & Play by ThinkFun is designed specifically for toddlers to be your child’s first game! To play, kids toss the big plush cube and identify which colored side faces up. They choose a matching color card and perform the simple activity shown. “Make a happy face,” “Moo like a cow”— the activities are designed to help kids shine, supporting healthy development and celebrating success!

Beep beep! Time to go to school! Kids love lowering the ramp and loading this smiley Sing-along School Bus by TollyTots with its three Baby Genius friends. When everyone’s in, close up the ramp and they’re on their way! Cheerful songs, fun sound effects and cute character voices are activated as little ones push and play.

Playskool’s Rocktivity Sit to Stand Music Skool features over fifty musical activities, including songs like “ABC”. In music mode, tots can create rockin’ songs with the built in instruments, lights, and sounds. In learning mode, kids can learn simple concepts about shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and opposites in either English or Spanish. Table legs detach for sitting play.

Wondering what art activities are appropriate for a toddler? Here are six perfect activities, and everything is included. Alex Toys’s Tot Art Start has colorful projects include sticky collage frames, easy grip crayon, stickers, tissue paper, and more.

The Alphabet Activity Cube by VTech is an interactive learning cube that has five sides of fun to discover! Little builders will love the 13 building blocks that also teach the alphabet. The blocks can be stacked on the top of the cube or they can be inserted into the slot on the electronic side to learn more about each letter. The electronic side also features piano keys, a number keypad, and telephone. Other sides feature fun mechanical elements such as a peg maze, put-and-take holes, sliders, gears, a mirror and more!

For more gift ideas for other age groups, check out Laurie’s suggestions for kids 3-5, 6-8, and 9+!

About the author

Ali Mierzejewski

Ali Mierzejewski

Ali Mierzejewski is the editor-in-chief at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider. With more than a decade of industry experience, Ali is a trusted source for parents, gift-givers, manufacturers, retailers, and more on the latest trends and hottest products. Whether you’re shopping for the best toys for kids — or looking for the latest in geek culture and entertainment for yourself — Ali’s expertise has you covered. When she’s not building LEGO sets or unwinding with a puzzle, Ali is obsessing over the latest season of The Bachelor, scrolling through Gritty’s Twitter, or rewatching The West Wing (for the 100th time). She is also a self-proclaimed expert on the history and lore of the entire Bachelor franchise. Ali has been featured on TODAY, The Wendy Williams Show, Yahoo Finance, Fox & Friends, HLN, The Weather Channel, ABC World News Now, and more. You can follow her on Instagram @hashtagtrendy.

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