12-15 Month Buying Guide
A few weeks ago one of my followers on Instagram asked me to make toy and book recommendations for her 13 month old son. During this second year of their lives, children are learning so many skills at such a fast rate. Every child has different interests, so it’s also necessary to sit back and observe what areas in particular they are interested in at the time, and provide them with items that will challenge them just the right amount to develop these interests further.
I’ve compiled a list of items that Elise enjoyed from 12-15 months old. I hope they give you some ideas!
Nesting stacking cups
Elise loved using these for nesting and for playing in the bath.
Mushie Staking Cups from Amazon
Shape Sorter
We had a few variations of this given as gifts, and the one she got the hang of first was the one that also had colours associated with the shapes.
Melissa & Doug Match and Roll Shape Sorter from Amazon.
Wooden Relief Puzzle
This was given to Elise as a gift and was her first puzzle. The wooden blocks were easy for her to grip and the felt made it easy to slide the shapes into place.
Djeco Wooden and Felt Relief Puzzle from Bird Kids.
Wooden Stacking Tower
At around 12 months Elise learned how to put the rings onto the rod. She would put them on then take them off one at a time and place it in a box and would do this over and over again.
Raduga Grez Stacking Tower from The Kid Collective.
This stacker has a 3+ suitability rating - this is due to the fact that all wooden toys in Russia need to have a 3+ rating. Their paints are all eco paints and safe from 0+. There are versions of this stacker that have a suitability rating of 1+ but I wouldn’t have left Elise alone with this item at that age so each person needs to make their own judgement on toys.
Small Blocks
At this age they’re used more for destroying what you’ve built than for construction. Construction will come later and they are the perfect size for little hands. Age suitability 3+.
Raduga Grez Cubes - Forest Soul from The Kid Collective.
Nesting Doll
We had an actual Russian Doll that she was obsessed with for months and months. We had to remove half of them though as they were a choking hazard. I was thrilled to find these that are age suitable!
Rosa & Bo Nesting Dolls from Amazon.
Activity Walker
At this age a lot of kids are learning to walk and develop gross motor skills. Elise loved pushing her walker around well beyond when she was learning to walk. She’s nearly 2 and she still enjoys pushing it around now!
Le Toy Van Walker from Amazon.
Activity Cube
We got Elise this activity cube quite early on and she use to use it for coasting around as well as for playing. I really liked this one because there are a lot of fun activities on each of the sides.
Hape Activity Cube from Amazon.
Vehicle with Removable Passengers
Elise was obsessed with vehicles, particularly the one with people that she could take in an out. She still is!
Indigo Jamm Camper Van from Amazon.
Tricycle
The Bee Hive trikes are wonderful first bikes. They are a great preface to balance bikes because they have a single wheel at the back which means they need to learn to balance more than they would on a typical trike. These also help develop motor skills and can encourage walking. They are recommended from age 1-2 but the seat is not adjustable so it’s best to get it earlier to maximise usage. We keep it as an indoor trike and it’s really good for this because it has a very tight turning radius.
Bee Hive Trike from Amazon.
Rocker
This is the rocker we have for Elise. She loves riding on it and when she was too little to go on the see saw in the park, this was perfect. It’s not the most ergonomically designed one, but it’s exceptionally cute.
Kids Concept Woolly Mamouth from Kidly.
