Great gift ideas for two-year-olds

Parenting expert Nikki Bush of Toy Talk® explains that this is an age where your child has just learnt that they can build up and take apart, rather than simply bash down – which means that there is loads of creative building in your future. 

New skills you can focus on developing 

Their fine motor skills have also come a long way, so they can now manipulate their fingers without using the rest of their arm. They're also learning to name and differentiate colours and shapes. 

“What your child needs now is concrete interaction with real objects, because they digest information through their senses. For example, to understand that a square has four sides, they have to feel a square,” Bush says. 

Feed their developing brain with these great toy ideas:

Shape-sorters

These encourage children to manipulate and feel shapes and also link to the action and reaction sequence that is so important at this age. As the child fits the shape into the correct opening, they are rewarded with a satisfying thump as they piece hits the bottom of the container. It sounds simple, but it teaches kids that every time they do an action, something else happens in response. Shape-sorters are also great for encouraging hand-eye coordination. 

Puzzles

Puzzles are elemental in teaching problem solving as well as matching. Bush recommends picking progressive puzzles, which include puzzles with an increasing number of pieces in each box, so that your child can move on as soon as they're ready.

Board games

While your child isn’t quite ready for Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly just yet, basic board games can impart critical lessons around, for example, taking turns.

Bath toys

They’re far from high tech, but the bath is an excellent place for play because it is calming and has a multi-sensory element.

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