Image: MomJunction Design Team
Eat, sleep, cry, repeat! That’s the schedule of a one-year-old in a nutshell. Babies are inquisitive and are easily distracted by sounds, colors, etc. It is essential you get them the best interactive toys for 1-year-olds to develop their senses and balance and keep them occupied.
You should ensure that the toys you choose for one-year-olds produce sound, and flashlights, and are textured to let your baby experience a taste of the real world. Further, they should be made of safe materials and not pose a choking hazard.
The whole idea of buying interactive toys is to make your toddler learn about the environment and improve their basic skills. These interactive toys focus on multiple skills that your little one can learn while playing.
Keep scrolling as we’ve curated some interactive and entertaining toys that’ll aid in your baby’s development and keep them engaged whenever they are awake and cooing.
Top Picks
11 Best Interactive Toys For 1-Year-Olds
1. Best Musical:Hahaland Activity Robot Baby Toy
Hahaland brings you this interactive and musical activity robot toy to keep your one-year-old entertained for hours. The colorful piece emits lights and music, providing visual and auditory stimulation. Additionally, the various movable and adjustable parts make it highly interactive, thus encouraging your child’s imagination. This trusted musical toy for one-year-olds is made of non-toxic, BPA-free, and phthalate-free materials, free of small detachable parts, and features rounded edges, making it safe for your baby to play with.
Pros
- Colorful and creative design
- Improves hand-eye coordination
- Enhances fine motor skill development
- Made of child-friendly ABS plastic
Cons
- May be smaller than expected
- Batteries may not be included
"The clicking sounds from the arms and legs of this toy keep my kiddo engaged without being overwhelming. Its cute, vibrant design is another reason why he's so fond of it. Also, it glides smoothly on our wood floors�a boon for uninterrupted playtime."
2. Best For Learning:Best Learning Mushroom Garden
With several awards under its belt, this interactive toy for one-year-olds is pretty cool with mushroom buttons that light up and help toddlers to learn numbers, colors, and memory games. This parent-recommended toy also features wacky and cool sound effects and children’s songs. Your toddler can learn numbers while counting the white dots on the mushroom, learn colors with light-up mushrooms, and melodies and sounds by pressing the mushrooms— the patterns get longer as you progress. It has two levels of volume adjustment, and is free of PVC, phthalates, and BPA, following multiple international safety standards. This interactive toy is an ideal skill-building tool that helps to hone eye-hand coordination, imagination, motor development, creativity, logical thinking, concentration, memory, verbal skills, and manual dexterity. Click here to watch a detailed review of this light-up toy for toddlers.
Pros
- Made of ABS plastic material
- Includes three alkaline batteries
- Pre-assembled
- Easy-accessible battery compartment
Cons
- Battery may exhaust soon
- Sound may be a bit loud
Point to consider
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
The 5,441 reviews on Amazon indicate that this product has a loyal following.
3. Best Durable:ToBe Ready ForLife Premium Soft Baby Book
The handmade cloth book is a fun interactive toy for one-year-olds. It is developed by experts and has a stimulating feature on each and every page. Toddlers love hearing the stories and rhymes of the book, which develops bonding, sensory, and language skills. This language development toy for one-year-olds features extra-strong stitching and a strong handle with which you can attach it to a car seat or stroller. Crafted with soft polyester, this book is safe, durable, non-toxic, and machine-washable and can endure rough handling. This interactive toy book for toddlers comes packed in a beautiful and luxurious gift box and makes a great baby shower gift too, with its peek-a-boo flap, mirror, touch, feel, and sounds.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Ideal for tummy time
- Bright colors to get baby’s attention
- Soft textured pages
- Reinforced stitching
Cons
- Pages may be a bit thick for some
- Animal sounds may not work as expected
4. Best Smart Stage Technology:Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Chair
The musical interactive toddler chair comes equipped with 50+ sing-along tunes, songs, and phrases that teach your precious toddler their first words, shapes, numbers, colors, opposites, and more. Whenever your kid sits and stands, the seat activates the songs, phrases, and tunes. It includes a light-up remote control with buttons to press, and an illustrated flip-book. Depending on your toddler’s age and stage, you can choose from three levels to change the learning content as your baby grows, thanks to its smart stages technology. There is a whole range of developmentally appropriate songs, sounds, and phrases, and all you need to do is slide the switch or enter your toddler’s age for the level to change automatically. To understand the nuances of this pretend play toy for one-year-olds in detail, you can check out this product testing video review.
Pros
- Sturdy leg base
- Easy-accessible buttons
- Flip-book pages designed for tiny hands
- Encourages hand-eye coordination
Cons
- Some may find it small
- Volume may be a bit low
"Besides its entertainment factors, I also appreciate this chair's thoughtful design�it seems to accommodate my growing child without being too snug. It's mostly durable, just a more stable base would be great. Plus, its versatile learning features have been beneficial for his early education."
Quick tip5. Best Machine-Washable:Move2Play Interactive Animal Sounds Crawl Ball
This intelligent ball has sensors that can recognize a tap, hit, kick, roll, toss, catch, or shake, and responds accordingly with 40+ sound effects and phrases. Your toddler can have loads of fun while learning different animal sounds and listening as well as singing along to the three catchy animal songs. This colorful ball encourages your baby to crawl after it. The plush and extremely soft exterior of the ball ensures that your baby doesn’t get hurt, promoting healthy and safe play. It can be used outdoors too, and the removable cover is machine-washable. This interactive learning toy for one-year-olds is tested for quality and conforms to all USA and EU safety requirements. Check out this YouTuber’s review, detailing this product’s trusted quality and entertaining features.
Pros
- Made from recycled bottles
- Has no harmful chemicals
- Machine-washable
- Includes volume adjustment
Cons
- May have slightly flimsy seams
- May not roll as expected because of the velcro
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
It's no wonder that this quality product has earned over 6,444 positive reviews on Amazon.
6. Best For Hand-Eye Coordination:G-Wack Bath Toys
Bathing time just took on a whole new level of fun with these plastic bath toys that will make your toddler eagerly await bath time. When water is poured into the toys, it makes the stars and the monkey’s eyes rotate, the monkey spits out water from its mouth, and the body of the caterpillar pours out water like a beautiful waterfall, which makes the windmill propellers rotate, making it one of the most exciting water play toys for toddlers. It also includes a yellow cup that sprays water and an extra blue cup so that you can participate too. These vibrantly-colored bathtub toys improve motor development and eye-hand coordination, encouraging interaction as your baby recognizes animals and colors. It also encourages team skills and cooperation when they play with siblings or parents. BPA and lead-free, these interactive learning toys for one-year-olds are safe to play with well-finished and smooth edges, and their size prevents them from being a choking hazard.
Pros
- Made of thick plastic
- Comes with two suction cups
- Compatible with bathtub, ceramic tile, marble, and glass
- Available in two colors
Cons
- Red funnel may not snap well
- Top bowl may be somewhat flimsy
7. Best For Safety:Yiosion Musical Flapping Duck
Made of non-toxic ABS plastic, this interactive toy for one-year-olds is especially designed to hone your toddler’s sensory skills, cognition, imagination, motor skills, and coordination. With rounded edges, it’s totally safe for kids to even put it in their mouth. This musical duck flaps its wings and moves around, and turns around and goes the other way when it hits an obstruction. It encourages your baby to crawl after this adorable duck. As per reviews, the music is cheerful and sweet, exploring the buttons on the musical duck promotes motor skills, and improves your baby’s balance. Your kid’s mental and physical development is enhanced with this entertaining yet educational sensory toy for one-year-olds. This durable and sturdy gift can withstand scratches, bumps, and falls, and will give your baby endless hours of musical fun.
Pros
- Features flashing lights
- Easy-access pause and start button
- Includes two-shift volume control button
- Rotates 360°
Cons
- Screws of the battery compartment are smaller than expected
- Wing function may not last long
"My little ones are captivated by this playful duck's adorable movements, lights, and not-so-loud music. Its durability seems promising, especially against their rough play. Moreover, it's easy to operate using those interactive buttons, which beautifully complement their natural curiosity."
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
The 2,607 positive customer reviews on Amazon are a testament to its quality and reliability.
8. Best Water-Resistant:Little Tikes Little Baby Bum Wheels
The wheels on the bus climb and slide activity center is a complete playground for your toddler and includes a climber and baby slide. The steering wheel plays “wheels on the bus,” the horn can be honked, and this interactive playhouse will give your kid hours of fun. The interactive and musical dashboard features a horn, gear shifter, and ignition which gives your kid an opportunity for imaginative play and an understanding of numbers, letters, and animals. The 18-inch high, sturdy, and durable slide is perfectly safe for toddlers to climb and slide. Just like a real school bus, the ‘Stop’ sign folds in and out, giving your baby a real life experience.
Pros
- Slider has a gentle slope for a safe landing
- Promotes role play
- Burr-free corner edges
- Water-resistant and safe for outdoors
Cons
- Assembly may be a bit hard
- Wheels may not be movable
"This ride-on bus is my child's favorite! He spends hours riding it across the rooms while enjoying the music and slide. Its durability is a much-appreciated factor to withstand regular use. I recommend using an electric screwdriver for a smoother assembly."
Quick tip9. Best For Creativity:Best Learning My Spin & Learn Steering Wheel
Make your little one learn different skills with this interactive toy for one-year-olds that can be used in three modes— touch or spin the wheel to learn about shapes, colors, and feelings, and to play lovely music and songs. This multi-award-winning toy stimulates eye-hand coordination and is a parent-recommended educational toy for toddlers. It expands the child’s knowledge of shapes, colors, music, emotions, creativity and imagination, logical thinking, dexterity, and motor functions. Toddlers learn about colors like red, yellow, blue with color songs and colorful lights, basic shapes like square, triangle, star, circle through the shape songs. They also learn about emotions like anger, surprise, sadness, joy, and fear through the feeling songs. It also features a 360° spinning function and vibrantly colored beads and rings to keep them busy. This toy is non-toxic, free of PVC, BPA, and phthalates, and is also covered with protective rubber on all sides of the wheel.
Pros
- Features volume adjustment button
- Easy-to-gasp design
- Includes three AAA batteries
- Built-in high-quality speaker
Cons
- Batteries may exhaust sooner than expected
- Side rubber may be slightly flimsy
"I love how this steering wheel toy teaches my kid shapes, colors, and even emotions. It's also durable, holding up to his energetic play sessions impressively well. The volume control is a bonus for our adult ears."
Why We Think It's Worth Buying
With over 1,467 reviews on Amazon, it's clear that many people love this product.
10. Best Portable:Yeebay Interactive Pop Up Animals Toy With Music
This interactive toy for one-year-olds is perfect for kids to begin learning about knobs, buttons, pulling, and pushing. The interactive pop-up animal toy includes two play modes— music and animal sounds, and game and light-up mode. Any time the button, lever, dial, or switch is activated, the corresponding animal pops up and plays either music or the relevant animal sound. In the other mode, lights flash, and when they stop, your kid gets a cheer when the correct animal pops up. 4. This cause-and-effect toy for toddlers also enhances the little one’s fine motor skills and manual dexterity. Toddlers learn about animals, colors, animal sounds, numbers, and the concept of open and close, making it a trusted option. This kid’s educational toy is portable and durable and features a carry handle, which makes it convenient to carry.
Pros
- Strengthens fingers
- Improves hand-eye coordination
- Strengthens parent-child bond
- Introduces shapes
Cons
- Music may be a bit loud
- Buttons may get stuck sometimes
11. Best For Quiet Reading:Cali’s Books Patty Cake Nursery Rhymes Musical Book
Make reading an enjoyable experience for your toddler with this musical book by Cali that is fun and colorful. It is the perfect introduction to books as it combines charming illustrations and nursery rhymes. It features an ergonomic sound button that’s easy to push, and which kids thoroughly enjoy pressing. This fine motor skill toy for toddlers also helps develop eye-hand coordination and teaches them the relation between cause and effect. Your child will learn the alphabet, numbers, story-telling, and nursery rhymes effortlessly, and it also promotes creativity and imagination. This book is durable, sturdy, and safe with rounded corners, and operates with batteries that last up to 300 cycles. They also feature an on/off switch at the back, so that you can do some quiet reading with your toddler.
Pros
- Each page has lyrics
- Includes three AG10 batteries
- Promotes parent-child bonding
- Gentle voice
- Encourages letter and sound recognition
Cons
- Sound quality may deteriorate with time
- May be off tune
"This musical book seems to promote my child's language and motor skills in a fun way. It has ample rhymes�her favorite one is Patty Cake. The finger-led operation is the standout feature, making it easier for her to enjoy it on her own."
How To Choose The Right Interactive Toys For 1-Year-Olds?
- Bright colored toys: Children can distinguish vibrant and bright colors much better than pastel or dull shades. So the chances of them playing with a bright red car, colorful balls, or multicolored stacking cups is more than a toy that has more subtle colors.
- Toys that require coordination: This is the age when toddlers like to experience everything with their mouths and hands. At this stage, it’s important to get toys that boost both their gross and fine motor skills. Toys that require stacking, puzzles, shape sorters, and nesting toys are perfect for them to learn problem-solving skills. Pulling or pushing toys with a handle or string encourages them to move, which is great for 1-year-olds who are probably just learning to walk. Toys that move give them the required practice and make it fun at the same time.
- Toys that promote sharing and parallel play: At this age, toddlers indulge in parallel play which means they like to play independently but around other kids. This is the first step of social development, so toys like a playset or multiple plastic or wooden blocks that toddlers can share will help them in the process.
- Toys that will grow with your child: Children get tired of toys very quickly and may lose interest in them even within a couple of days. It’s a wise decision to buy toys that can be enjoyed by your child in different developmental stages. Toys like plastic toy animals, toddler-friendly dollhouses, trains, stuffed animals, and baby dolls can be enjoyed over the years.
Why Trust MomJunction?
Priti Bose is your go-to person when it comes to understanding toys and games. Her research skills enable her to suggest the best products to her readers. In this article, Priti guides you on choosing the best interactive toy for your one-year-old by taking factors such as toys’ sound, color, light, interaction, durability, and ease of usage into consideration. She has also provided a buying guide to enable a hassle-free purchase.
During the early days, your little one will be soaking in information happening around them. Stimulate them by giving them the best interactive toys to develop their skills and satisfy their curiosity. Some products listed above encourage imagination, while others improve movement and attention, encouraging your baby to crawl, touch, shake, and babble. They also help enhance the child’s visual and auditory skills as they will be able to recognize sounds and shapes. Consider toys with baby-friendly, sturdy designs for safety and long-term use. However, be careful with small parts that may be a choking hazard. With various exciting options available, you can choose one that suits your child’s interests.
Infographic: Points To Consider For Cleaning Baby Toys
Cleaning baby toys is essential for maintaining a hygienic and safe environment. With proper cleaning methods, you can ensure that your little one’s toys are free from dirt, germs, and potential hazards. Explore the infographic below to understand better the basic principles to remember when sanitizing different baby toys.
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
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