Looking for the perfect toy for a toddler, but want to focus on the educational benefits? You’ve come to the right place. It’s not always easy to know where to look, but we’re here to help you find the best educational toys for toddlers. Many of our picks provide a fun and engaging experience. In addition, they will also have early learning capabilities for young children. That includes the obvious numbers, letters, words, etc. We’ll also pinpoint general developmental benefits such as motor and cognitive skills. We’ve got it all covered! If you’re interested, you should also check out our STEM toy guide also.
Educational Toys For Toddlers (Summary)
Top Pick – Manhattan Toy Adventure Activity Center
“It’s great for sparking imaginations, cognitive learning, and hand eye coordination.”
Best Budget Option – Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank
“It also has sounds and phrases plus a sliding switch for different learning levels/stages! Looking for an inexpensive solution? Look no further!”
Best Value – Teach My Toddler Learning Kit
“You’re getting a ton of value and huge literacy and cognitive benefits with this content.”
Best for Late Stage Toddlers – Catch & Count Fishing Game
“It has the obvious benefits of reinforcing counting skills, but will also improve hand eye coordination.”
Educational Toys For Toddlers – Our Picks
Kev & Cooper Educational Area Rug
What We Like:
- Colorful & engaging design
- Multipurpose use
There’s no better feeling than killing two birds with one stone. This rug will provide a space (3 sizes available) for your little ones to play and contain a mess. It also displays numbers, colors, letters, words and more. Functional furniture to spur an impromptu counting lesson or work on memorization. And it’s one toy you won’t lose track of.
Teach My Toddler Learning Kit
What We Like:
- Long lasting value
- Wide range of content
During our review, we found many of the educational toys for toddlers are geared toward fun with some teaching built it. This learning kit doesn’t hide its intentions. You’ll find lesson-like material across four categories (numbers, shapes, colors and alphabet). Each set is accompanied by flashcards, puzzle pieces and more to teach the material. You’re getting a ton of value and huge literacy and cognitive benefits with this content.
Manhattan Toy Adventure Activity Center
What We Like:
- Top notch design
- Longevity and motor skill benefits
Early learning for toddlers comes in a number of forms. One of those is a more hands on kind and this Tree Top Activity Center checks that box in a huge way. Young children love its beautiful design and it’s activities. They’ll be able to interact with all 4 sections which have bead runs, counting, animals and more. It’s great for sparking imaginations, cognitive learning, and hand eye coordination.
Catch & Count Fishing Game
What We Like:
- Simple, educational and inexpensive
- Great option for group play
Toddlers like to keep it simple too and the Catch and Count Fishing Game fits the bill. It comes with a magnetic fishing board that allows you to “catch fish” while working on your counting skills. Play solo or with multiple players. It has the obvious benefits of reinforcing counting skills, but will also improve hand eye coordination. We love the ease of play here. If you’re looking for educational toys for toddlers, you won’t be disappointed. We see this a as a particularly great fit for late stage toddlers.
LEGO My First Number Train
What We Like:
- Stacking and building
- Interactive learning
The train is a classic toy option and LEGO’s Duplo Train Set is customizable and educational. Colorful bricks are numbered 0-9 and are stackable across the rolling pieces. The entire set comes with 23 pieces and includes a locomotive and a caboose. Toddlers will love the building. It’s also a great, interactive way to learn and memorize new numbers.
VTech Touch & Learn Activity Desk
What We Like:
- Loaded with educational content
- Hands on learning keeps kids engaged
VTech’s Touch and Learn activity Center has many fans for good reason. It comes at a reasonable price for all it provides. 20+ activities, 100+ words, 20+ songs and more. The desk comes with a bright LED display to guide lessons using letters, numbers and shapes. Lessons are also varied, which means it can grow with young children and continue to challenge them. It’s no surprise this is one of our top picks for educational toys for toddlers.
Educational Toys for Toddlers – Budget Options
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Piggy Bank
10 colorful coins come with this piggy bank. The coins have numbers on one side and animals on the other. Children can place coins in the piggy bank sing along with 40+ songs. It also has sounds and phrases plus a sliding switch for different learning levels/stages! Looking for an inexpensive solution? Look no further!
Another simple option. For under $10, you get 4 sets of Playskool flash cards that are Mr/Mrs Potato head themed. You’ll get a set for the alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes, and first words. While it doesn’t have the bells and whistles, it does have the added bonus of allowing one on one interaction while reciting the content.