Toys my one year old actually plays with!!

Toys are everywhere in my house, it's like a sea of coloured plastic wherever I turn. If you happen to watch my Instagram stories you will know this is not an exaggeration. But what toys does my one year old actually play with? In a recent post I talked about the toy rotation realisation and I still stand by this concept, however there are definitely some toys my little girl enjoys lots more than others. 

1. Tea set - Her obsession with tea cups is at an all time high, its particularly the stirring of the tea cup that she enjoys, although a close second is force feeding whoever is in touching distance what ever make believe beverage she has just been stirring. I actually went as far as to purchase some pretend biscuits for her to dip in her imaginary tea which she really enjoys, although we do have tears if she isn't allowed to dunk said plastic biscuit in your real 'very hot' tea. We love this Kettle from Leapfrog which makes pouring sounds and also sings. 

2. Kitchen - I would suggest that the main appeal with the kitchen is the opening and closing of the doors and draws. It seems to be a universal hit with all toddlers, a toy kitchen is a worthy investment. To go along with the kitchen some baskets of pretend food are great, she can put them in and out and pretend to munch on them - a great time waster. At this age they are really enjoying copying what you are doing so these type of play pretend toys are bound to be a hit.

3. Toot Toot/Happy Land - This is a relatively new one for us but these type of play sets have become a staple game in our house. I am very excited that she is enjoying it as for me I can see it paving the way for Barbies (YAY!) Out of the two I personally enjoy Toot Toot more, the people interact with each other which is very engaging. Lylie will spend ages putting the people on and off of different activity stations. She also really enjoys sets that have slides, she will send the characters down them while saying "weeeeeee". To buy these things new it can be quite costly, I would suggest checking in your local charity shops first or trying Facebook market place. 

4. Ball Pit - Velinda very kindly sent me a ball pit to review last year and it is still one of the top toys in our house. Lylie enjoys climbing in and out of it (burning off some energy) she also likes throwing the balls and watching you try to catch them or running after them. I would definitely invest in a ball pit, it is a toy that I know will be fun for years to come.

5. Play Door - This product has actually been discontinued however there are other variations available on the market (or you may find this one second hand) It's a Fisher Price interactive door and again, same as the kitchen, the main appeal is closing the door and slamming the window shut. This one has little letters you can post through the letterbox which always gets a few giggles.

6. Doodle Board - Drawing is definitely one of the favourite things to do in our house, if my daughter sees a pen and isn't allowed to use it we will have a full blown break down, real life tears and everything. (so obviously all pens are hidden) to stop the chances of my child drawing on my walls I recently invested in a doodle board, and it has been such a hit, more than I expected. The big bonus being there is no mess and she is able to wipe the board clean easily and draw again and again. Only issue I have with this particular one is that the little stamps that accompany it do keep finding their way into her mouth, however the age suggestion is older than one so just make sure you supervise playtime with this.

If you are looking to update your child's toy selection I hope this post has given you some inspiration on what type of toys you could invest your money in.