If you are looking for inspiration to buy the best toy for a one year old, then look no further. This Ultimate Guide To Buying The Best Toys For 1 Year Olds 2023 lists all the best toy ideas for 1 year olds.
We also share the decision making factors to consider when buying the best gifts for one year olds that will make Christmas and birthday toy buying for this age group easy for you.
Whether you are searching for the best toys for 1 year old boys or the best toys for 1 year old girls, the best 1 year old birthday gifts or the best 1 year old Christmas gifts, keep reading as we’ve identified the most popular toys for 1 year olds in general and the best developmental toys for one year olds to suit their developmental milestones and every budget and preference. After reading this article deciding what to buy a 1 year old will be easy.
In our experience the best gifts for 1 year old boy Australia and the best gifts for 1 year old girl Australia are the same. What you should be aiming to buy is the best developmental toys for 1 year old children. Having girl/boy twins I can tell you from my experience that both my twins loved the same toys equally at this age, there were no gender differences.
Best Toys For 1 Year Olds Australia 2023 Comparison Chart
Browse our best 1 year old toy ideas quickly and easily in this comparison chart.
More detailed information about each of these recommended toys for 1 year olds is included further below.
Click on the links provided for each of the 1 year baby toys to take you to the relevant online website for that toy so you can see the current price and buy it immediately if you wish, as the best toys for one year olds tend to sell out fast just before Christmas.
| TOY | IMAGE | DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES & SKILLS ENCOURAGED | PRICE |
| Stacker Toys |   | Fine motor skills, hand eye coordination. Colours & sizes. | Click HERE to see a variety of different stacker toys & their prices. |
| Shape Sorters |   | Fine motor skills, hand eye coordination. Colours, shape recognition, & tipping items out. | Click HERE to see popular shape sorters & their prices. |
| Baby Walkers |    | Gross & fine motor skills. Role play. Walking. | Click HERE To See Currently Available Walkers & Their Prices |
| Wooden Pull Along Toys |     | Gross and fine motor skills. Walking. | Click HERE To See Currently Available Pull Along Toys & Their Prices |
| Board Books & Cloth Books |     | Fine motor skills. Language. | Click HERE to see the best cloth books for one year olds & their prices. Click HERE for the best board books for 1 year olds. |
| Ride On Toys |   | Gross motor skills. Role play. | Click HERE to see the best ride on toys & their prices. |
Decision-Making Factors To Consider When Buying The Best Gifts For 1 Year Old Australia
Developmental Milestones
First and foremost, consider the developmental milestones of a one year old and the activities they love doing. Toys can be considered as the tools of childhood, helping kids practice their new abilities and develop additional skills. The best toys for one year olds are those that encourage newly gained skills.
So, what are the developmental milestones and new skills of one year olds? One year olds are standing, cruising and starting to walk. They are saying their first words and learning more language skills. One year olds love seeing cause and effect, they love opening and closing things, tipping items out of containers, pressing buttons, banging and shaking things, role play and mimicking other people.
Open Ended Toys
Consider if the toy can be played with in numerous different ways? Open ended toys are the best toys for one year olds. An open ended toy is one that can be played with in many different ways and is not limited to just one method of play. Open ended toys encourage imagination, thinking and creativity. Playing with open ended toys is often described as 90% child and 10% toy as these toys leave loads of room for a child’s input.
Safety
Choking is a real risk for children under three years of age as they have a tendency to put everything into their mouth. Ensure the toys you are considering have no small parts that could be swallowed accidentally and that the toys are suitable for one year olds.
Best Toys For One Year Old Boys & Girls
Best Stacker Toys
Stacker toys are not only fun but they help one year olds develop their gross motor, fine motor and problem solving skills. They are one of the best toys for a 1 year old boy or a 1 year old girl to also teach them about both colours and sizes.
Stacking toys were a definite favourite with my twins at the age of one.
Fisher-Price Giant Rock A Stack Toy
This giant stacking toy is 38cms tall. One year olds will love stacking the brightly colour rings onto the wobbly base and then knocking them off to start again.
The smallest ring is filled with swirling beads like a rattle to shake, enjoy and make some noise.
This giant stacking toy often sells out but always seems to eventually be restocked due to its popularity.
More Stacker Toys
There are so many different beautiful stacker toys currently available. Some I’ve recently seen are even a clever combination of a teething toy and a stacking toy as at the age of one most toys do end up in the little one’s mouth. This is another best toy for 1 year old toddlers.
Best Shape Sorters
Shape sorters are a fun toy for one year olds to learn about shapes and colours. They are great for developing hand-eye coordination, strengthening motor skills and concentration.
Tipping the shapes out of the container at the end also appeals to one year olds a lot.
Best Walker Toys
Walker toys are one of the top rated toys for 1 year old toddlers. Walkers are a fabulous way to encourage walking with a sturdy support. The best walkers are multi-tasking and double up as a different toy as well, for example containing blocks or being a pram or incorporating an activity centre. Pick the walker that you think will most appeal to your one year old.
This adorable pink wooden stroller walker is perfect for your one year old’s favourite doll. One year olds love mimicking adult scenarios such as caring for babies and they will enjoy walking their favourite doll using this stroller as a walker.
This toy is great for building a one year old’s walking skills and encouraging imaginative play as they create endless scenarios with their little doll and the stroller. This is one of the best toys 1 year old girls, and boys for that matter, will absolutely love.
There is a huge range of different design walker toys available on the market that are all perfect for one year olds. Some have built in activities in addition to being walkers, some are shaped like cars, others like elephants, others are simpler, more open ended walker toys. Browse the selection available and choose the walker that you think best suits your one year old and their interests.
Best Wooden Pull Along Toys
Walking is such a huge milestone in the life of a child and wooden pull along toys are a perfect toy for one year olds around this milestone.
Pull along toys can be used as push toys in a seated position for pre-walkers and then as a pull along toy once they start taking their first steps.
Pull along toys are great for little hands and wonderful for fun imaginative play, for encouraging movement and for stimulating a child’s development.
There is a huge range of cute pull along toys currently available, just look at the cute ones pictured below!
Best Board Books & Best Cloth Books
Help your one year old develop a lifelong love of reading by introducing them to books from an early age. Cloth books are one of the best 1 year old baby gifts.
Board books and cloth books are especially sturdy and safe for little one year old hands to hold and manipulate. The best board books for one year olds have rounded corners for safety.
One year olds also love sensory touch and feel books. Sensory books are great travel toys for one year olds.
An extra special type of book loved by one year olds are those with buttons to press for sounds. I would recommend adult supervision with these delightful sound books however.
Best Ride On Toys
Ride on toys are wonderful to increase balance, coordination, and strength.
They can be used indoors and outdoors and there are many different designs to choose from including tractors with and without wagons behind them, princess carriages and plenty more.
One year olds can choose to push them whilst walking or sit on the seat and use their legs to propel them. My twins loved ride on toys from the age of 10 months onwards when one would sit on the ride on toy and the other would push them forwards.
Ride on toys are one of the best Christmas presents for 1 year olds as have good longevity with most children still enjoying riding them up to the age of 3 years.
I hope the above recommended toys for 1 year old children has helped you find the best toy for your one year old and made your Christmas, or birthday, shopping that little bit easier this year.
More great toy gifting inspiration can be found in our Best Water Play Tables Buying Guide, Best Pool Toys Buying Guide and of course in our Ultimate Guide To the Best Christmas Gifts Australia.
We also have a guide to buying the best toys for 2 year olds HERE.
It you are interested in learning more about setting up a new family Christmas tradition of gifting your children Christmas Eve Boxes CLICK HERE.
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Ingrid is a lover of all things Christmas who has been helping make Christmas time easier and less stressful for her family and friends all her life with Christmas tips, Christmas gift suggestions, Christmas recipe inspiration and Christmas event planning.
Ingrid now shares all this Christmas information here on her Christmas Time Made Easy website. She also shares information about the best Christmas events and activities happening in her home town of Sydney, Australia.