30 Best Toys for 18-Month-Old Kids, Because Toddlers Love to Play

A longtime favorite of the toy experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute, this happy hedgehog encourages toddlers to improve their fine motor coordination as they place the spikes into the holes. They can also practice their color recognition and counting skills, too. Plus, parents love that the spikes can be neatly stored inside. Ages 18 months+

Parent testers loved how there are multiple ways to play with this toy: When it's closed, it acts as a ride-on toy (good for working on those toddler muscles), and then it opens up into a play set with animal characters (for imaginative play). “It’s a nice, quality toy with multiple features,” one parent said. Ages 18 months+

Good Housekeeping Institute testers said that these were just the right amount of challenge for their toddlers, who were able to match the pieces and stack them to make builds like fruits, veggies and animals. Parents loved the natural theme of the set, too — in addition to flora and fauna, there are also pieces that show the weather, so kids can learn what makes plants grow. Ages 18 months+

This ingenious play set lets adults squeeze finger paint onto a paper, and then lock it into a board with a flexible covering on top. Toddlers can still make their masterpieces by smushing the paint around, but the covering keeps paint from getting on their hands — and all over your furniture and walls. After the masterpiece is complete, the container and lid can go in the dishwasher. Ages 1+

Each page of this interactive book features animals from a different habitat, and then the book teaches kids animal names, offers fun facts and sings songs in both English and Spanish. Good Housekeeping Institute parent testers loved showing their kids the photos of the different animals. Ages 18 months+

When it comes to comforting plushes, Jellycats are just so, so soft. No one will be able to resist giving this pup a pet. Or, if dogs aren't their favorite animal, you can find Jellycats in tons of shapes, sizes and colors. Ages 0+

This play set is cute enough on its own, with flowers of different shades and shapes that can be popped out and re-planted. But the flowers are also numbered, and the numbers correspond to the number of leaves, so kids can use this to practice numbers and counting, too. It also comes with a watering can that really works. Good Housekeeping Institute Lab experts were pleased that it's made from recycled materials, too. Ages 18 months+

This transitions from a ride-on toy to a three-wheeled scooter, which means it's meant to last them between the ages of 1 and 5. At first, kids sit on the detachable seat and push with their feet, then they can stand and use the O-bar to steer. At age 3, the O-bar can be replaced with the regular T-bar. So, no matter how old they are, they'll always be on the go! Ages 1+

Kids can try to build tall towers with these extra-large blocks, which come in a big set of 80 blocks in 10 different shapes. Amazon users say the set is a great value for the money, and it also comes in a set of pink and purple hues. Ages 1+

If you've ever envisioned the toddler in your life zooming down a European village's cobblestoned street on a Vespa, well, this is the next best thing. Kids push it with their own feet, so they work on their motor coordination and balance, but it's got four wheels to help with stability. There's even a seat in the back for a beloved doll or stuffed animal. It comes in aqua, pink or white. Ages 18 months+

This racetrack can be set up in four different ways, from configurations made for head-to-head races to zig-zag tracks to super ramps and more. In addition, there are three "SmartPoint" spots that elicit specific sounds, including first words, feelings about stunts and songs. If kids press the windshield of the stunt car, they'll get even more sounds. Ages 18 months+

Kids can have all the fun of pretend cooking without devoting a huge section of a room to a play kitchen. The knobs on the play stove really click! In addition to the stove, the set comes with a pot, a pan, a lid, a spatula and a spoon, and when they're not in use they store in a cubby in the back of the stove. Ages 18 months+

Good Housekeeping testers were charmed by this book because of its seven mirrors throughout; the pages encourage kids to look in the mirrors and make different animal noises. Tester families reported this resulted in lots of laughs! Ages 1+

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Get them using their arm muscles and working on their motor coordination with this classic spinning toy. Amazon reviewers say it's easy to set up, and also very durable. Ages 18 months+

Stacking these funny fruits inside each other and sorting them from smallest to largest is fun enough on its own. But each fruit also has two different faces that show different emotions, so kids can start talking about and naming their feelings. Ages 18 months+

Train enthusiasts will thrill to learn that Brio battery-powered trains have been taken down to toddler size. This set comes with 25 pieces — including tracks, supports, a tunnel and more — and one AA battery will send the engine chugging around the track. As the kids get older, these pieces are compatible with other Brio sets. Ages 18 months+

This block set comes with 70 pieces, but the most important one isn't what you build with — it's the booklet of information that explains how kids play with blocks at different ages and stages. Designed to grow with kids, this set has cubes and triangles to stack, pieces that thread, planks for building out horizontally, peg people, magnetic pieces and even a shape sorter. Ages 18 months+

For fans of CoComelon, this set comes with figures of JJ and Cody, which kids can then put into the school bus and wheel them around. The bus also opens to reveal a classroom and playground, and the whole thing also plays songs like "The Wheels on the Bus." Good Housekeeping parent testers said it was a hit with kids into pretend play. “[My 1-year-old] put the characters through their day — nap time, craft time and playground time.” Ages 18 months+

If you want them to hoop like LeBron when they get older, better start them early. (Or, you know, just let them have fun getting these balls into the net.) This has six height pre-sets so it can grow with them as they get older, and it also comes with three balls. You can use it indoors or outdoors, and it also comes in pink. Ages 18 months+

There are so many ways to play with this cart: For starters, it works as a regular push toy, and kids can imagine themselves toting it up and down the grocery aisles. (It even has a coffee cup for verisimilitude.) It's also a shape sorter, and kids can take the time to match up the right wooden food pieces with the right-shaped holes in the side of the cart. But those food pieces can also be used for two different chunky puzzles, one of which also is a color-matching activity. When playtime is over, everything stores in the cart. Ages 1+