Wooden Toys For 2 Year Olds – As your child grows it becomes harder and harder to choose toys that they will enjoy and learn at the same time. Toddlers ignore most of their toys and focus on just a few. It can be a waste of money. Toys are not cheap, especially wooden Montessori toys.
What are the best wooden toys for 2 year olds? The best wooden toys for 2 year olds are Montessori-aligned. They promote independence, build their capacity to focus and provide a multi-sensory experience. Wooden toys should teach a skill, achieve a milestone, or strengthen them. Wooden should be fun but intellectually challenging, safe, non-toxic, tasteless, with no choking hazards, no pinching points, no sharp edges, smooth without splinters, made of high-quality wood, and topnotch design.
Things to Consider When Buying Wooden Toys for 2 Year Olds
Wooden toys are expensive compared to plastic toys. Make sure that you get the right one and that you buy it from a reliable store.
Check the Quality of the Wood
Avoid impulse buying. Check the quality of the wood by checking the labels and inspecting them physically. For online purchases, check the product description, and ask for actual photos if the pictures available are not clear. Check for reviews and star ratings.
Always buy wooden toys that are made from high-quality wood that is strong and durable. Low-quality wood often warps and develops problems shortly after purchase.
Two-year-olds are rough with their toys because they do not have full control of their movement. They smash, drop, and bump things unintentionally. They also love smashing, dropping, and throwing toys to get a reaction. 2-year-olds are starting to understand cause and effect so they love to experiment.
Look for Reliable Sources
Today, online stores are the go-to places when it comes to shopping. If you have brick-and-mortar toy stores in your area, visit and inspect your options. Compare stores and their products. Usually, you have limited choices in these stores because they have limited stocks.
For online options, check several online stores or use your favorite ones. Online stores have a wide selection of wooden toys which can be overwhelming. Check for store reviews and star ratings. Check for reviews and star ratings for specific products too.
Research and compare stores before deciding on one or two that you like. This way, you are increasing the chances that you are buying a good product.
Check the Toy Company
Once you have a toy(s) in mind, check the manufacturer’s information. Choose toys that are made by companies with good reputations.
Find out how long they have been in business. the longer the company has been in operation, the more references you can get.
Be a conscious and conscientious buyer.
Seek Warranties
Check if the store has return policies, guarantees, and warranties. Check with the manufacturer if they do the same.
There are toy companies that provide warranties for their toys while most companies don’t.
Warranties are important because it assures you that the toy you are buying is of high quality. Wooden toys are expensive.
Wooden Toys for 2 Year Olds
Let us help you narrow down your choices and save you the trouble of researching. Here are our recommendations.
Natural Wooden Blocks
Building blocks are the best toys you can give your 2-year-olds. They learn so much from them by building, creating, imagining, sorting, and many others. Buy the ones similar to those that you will find in Montessori preschools.
Wooden blocks foster independence, confidence, patience, persistence, and perseverance. It develops fine motor skills, balance, and coordination. It builds imagination and teaches shape, size, and weight recognition.
Wooden blocks encourage independent and collaborative play and improve social interaction skills, language, and communication skills.
Wooden Shape Sorter
Shape sorters are classic toys that encourage early learning skills in mathematics. Two-year-olds learn about colors, shapes, positions, and sorting.
It builds their confidence in their abilities, independence, concentration, and persistence. It develops shape-matching skills, color recognition, fine motor skills, and visual-spatial skills.
Wooden Pull Toy
Wooden pull toys are simple but can bring so much joy to your child. It will help them improve their walking and balance while they are enjoying the company of their new friend. This is a toy that can grow with your child.
Wooden toys help develop motor skills, and hand-eye coordination improves dexterity and manipulation. It stimulates imagination and creativity. It encourages imitative and imaginary play, fantasy storytelling, and role-playing as they interact with their toy.
Wooden Puzzles
Wooden puzzles benefit children more than parents realize. Puzzles promote fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, visual perception, positioning, patience, and image memory training.
It also teaches toddlers about letters, numbers, names, etc. It improves their language and communication skills, expands their vocabulary, and prepares them for math and reading.
Wooden Wagon
Wagons are multi-purpose toys. The play opportunities the wagon provides are endless. They can put all their favorite toys in it and go on an adventure.
Wagons improve grip strength, walking, balance gross, and fine motor skills, and promote imaginative play and creativity. It encourages independence, and self-reliance, and builds their confidence in their abilities.
FAQs
Why are wooden toys expensive? Natural materials like wood are expensive, unlike plastic. Wooden toys are also durable, safe for children, and non-toxic. Wooden toys are not mass-produced. They are handmade and take a long time to finish.
Are wooden toys Montessori? Not all wooden toys are Montessori toys. To be considered a Montessori toy, it has to have the characteristics, features, and provide benefits that Montessori toys do.
Are wooden toys better than plastic? Wooden toys are definitely better than plastic. Wooden toys are safe to put in their mouths, providing a multi-sensory experience, durable, and easy to use.
Summary
The best wooden toys for 2 year olds are Montessori-aligned. They promote independence, build their capacity to focus and provide a multi-sensory experience. Wooden toys should teach a skill, achieve a milestone, or strengthen them. Wooden should be fun but intellectually challenging, safe, non-toxic, tasteless, with no choking hazards, no pinching points, no sharp edges, smooth without splinters, made of high-quality wood, and topnotch design.