Playskool Chase 'n Go Ball Popper
Now 21% Off
Credit: PlayskoolJust press the button and colorful balls pop out from the elephant's trunk, leaving toddlers free to run, chase the balls, and put them back in again. It'll help them get their energy out while working on their gross and fine motor coordination. It includes four easy-grasp balls and also plays six fun songs. Ages 9 months+
Fat Brain Toys PlayTab Essentials
Credit: Fat Brain Toys
Each square tile on this busy board has something to engage kids' brains, be it a gear to spin, a button to press or a texture to feel. But, to keep them from getting bored, the tiles can swap out — they attach magnetically — to make the toy feel fresh. It comes with six tiles, but extra tile sets can be purchased separately. And now, there's also PlayTab Go, which lets kids bring two tiles with them and comes with a ring to attach to a car seat or stroller. Ages 1+
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Radio Flyer Busy Buggy
Now 13% Off
Credit: Radio FlyerBeep, beep! While your little one is working on their leg muscle strength, you can still push them around on this previous Toy Award Winner. Then, as they become a more confident walker, they can propel themselves. There are also lots of little features that spin, click and otherwise make noise to keep them interested. Ages 1+
Ms. Rachel Official Speak & Sing Doll
Now 50% Off
Credit: Spin MasterParents' favorite YouTuber is now available in the most adorable soft doll. Just like in the show, this 16-inch doll, which won a Good Housekeeping Toy Award, sings a handful of educational songs and says sweet, encouraging phrases. Ages 6 months+
RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Toy Awards
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More Than 25,900 5-Star Reviews on Amazon
VTech Smart Shots Sports Center
Credit: VTech
Start a sporty toddler off with soccer and basketball with one toy. The set lights up and makes sounds while also keeping track of the baskets and goal on a light-up scoreboard. Ages 1+
Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award Winner
LeapFrog 4-in-1 Learning Hamburger
Credit: Leapfrog
Good Housekeeping Institute parent testers said their kids loved assembling the burger pieces and watching them spin down the pole. But when they get tired of stacking, kids can pop out the shapes in the center of the ingredients and use them as a puzzle, or take the onion, cheese, lettuce and tomato and play ring toss. Ages 1+
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Melissa & Doug Wooden Shape Sorting Grocery Cart
Now 45% Off
Credit: Melissa & Doug This is a push toy, a walker, a role-playing item and a shape-sorter all in one! Early walkers love pushing around the grocery cart, just like their parents do. (It even comes with a little coffee cup to make it more realistic!) Then, food pieces on geometric shapes fit through the holes in tie sides of the cart, acting as a shape-sorter. The same pieces also fit into puzzles that store in the cart. And, after "checkout," they can play with the pretend food just like in a kitchen set. Ages 1+
Crayola Washable Palm-Grasp Crayons
Credit: Crayola
They'll be making their own mini masterpieces in no time with these egg-shaped crayons, which are easier for small hands to grasp. They'll get 12 colors in the pack, which will get them scribbling, coloring and working on their pre-writing skills. Ages 1+
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Montessori-Inspired Toy
Carrot Harvest Game
Credit: KMTJT
These carrots aren't just cute — plucking them out of their holes works on that all-important pincer grasp. Then, it becomes a matching game to get the right carrots into the right-size holes again. Ages 1+
RELATED: The Best Montessori Toys for 1-Year-Olds
Farm Animals Sorting and Stacking Toy
Credit: ShyLizard
Six boxes of different sizes, six animal friends, yet so many ways to play. Kids can stack the different sized boxes vertically and match each animal to its preferred house. Or they can arrange them horizontally to make a village for imaginary play. When that's done, they can use the animals as finger puppets, practice counting the boxes and animals, use the boxes to make other structures — and knock them down again. Ages 1+
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Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner
'Hello Hello Colors' Board Book
Credit: Chronicle Books
Good Housekeeping Institute testers loved the way this book used beautiful illustrations of animals to teach kids their colors. The end offers another look at ever animal, plus information about whether or not they're endangered. "My 3-year-old absolutely loves sitting there describing all the items of that color on the pages after we read the words," one parent said. Ages 1–4
RELATED: The Good Housekeeping Best Kids' Book Awards
Skip Hop Explore & More 4-in-1 Activity Walker
Credit: Skip Hop
This toy is intended to grow with a child: It starts off as a lay-flat item to use during tummy time, turns into a walker for kids taking their first steps, and then converts to either a grocery cart or stroller for older kids getting into pretend play. All in all, there are more than 40 play features, including buttons, spinners, lights and songs. Good Housekeeping Institute parent testers liked how siblings could interact with the toy in different ways. Ages 6 months+
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Playskool Weebles My Smart House
Credit: Playskool
This play set combines the fun of a dollhouse with the excitement of a marble run — all in a toddler-sized package. The two included Weebles figures can roll down the chutes and slides and sit in the chairs and swings. Plus, there are more than 30 sounds they can activate. (The best is when the Weeble slides from the top to the middle floor and "lands" in the toilet!) Ages 1+
Hape Scoot Around Wood Bike
They'll work on balance and coordination when they push themselves along on this wooden ride-on toy. The wheels are rubberized, so they can use it indoors without damaging floors. Ages 1+
RELATED: The Best Ride-On Toys
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Fat Brain Toys Tobbles Neo
Credit: Fat Brain Toys
The innovative shape of these toys means they can do more than just stack into a straight tower. Rounded and uniquely weighted, these toys can also stack, spin, balance, wobble, tilt and roll, and kids can work on their motor skills by nesting them in different ways. Ages 6 months+
Hape DJ Mix & Spin Studio Musical Toy
Credit: Hape
Toddlers can experiment with tempo, rhythm and sounds by playing the piano keys or using the knobs and buttons to add effects to backing songs. They can even use the record to make scratching noises. Ages 1+
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Great Grandparent Gift
Foldable Triangle Climber with Ramp
Credit: Costzon
This one impressed the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute because of how easy it is to adjust the height of the ladder (and the difficulty of the climb). They also liked how you can fold it to store it away when it's not in use. It also comes in a neutral wood color. Ages 6 months+
RELATED: The Best Pikler Triangles for Toddlers
Basket of Babies
Credit: Creative Minds
Toddlers love taking after their parents and taking care of their own babies. With this set of six dolls, there's a lot here to love! Each snuggly soft babe comes with a removable outfit, so your toddlers can mix and match while practicing their fine motor skills when dressing and undressing their dolls. Ages 1+
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More Than 35,900 Five-Star Reviews on Amazon
Alora the Unicorn Animated Plush
This plush really captures a kid's attention with music and movements. It plays two songs — one for ABCs and one for counting — depending on which hoof you press. And it also moves its front hooves to encourage kids to clap along. In addition to a unicorn, you can get a bunny, cow, elephant or penguin. Ages 0+
VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels Spinning Spiral Tower Play Set
Credit: VTech
Car kids will thrill to seeing this play set's van drive through the different levels and courses in this car track. There are also places for them to flex their imaginative muscles, like a gas station and car wash, and certain points along the course trigger sounds and other fun phrases. Ages 1+

Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; previously, she wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her toy-collecting husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found helping out her team at bar trivia or posting about movies on Twitter and Bluesky.
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