Eat, sleep, cry, repeat! That’s the schedule of a one-year-old in a nutshell. Babies are inquisitive and are easily distracted by sounds, colors, etc. Hence, it is essential you get them the best interactive toys for 1-year-olds to develop their senses and balance and keep them occupied. You should ensure that the toys you choose for one-year-olds produce sound, flash lights, and are textured to let your baby experience a taste of the real world. Further, they should be made of safe materials and not pose a choking hazard. The whole idea of buying interactive toys is to make your toddler learn about the environment and improve their basic skills. These interactive toys focus on multiple skills that your little one can learn while playing. Keep scrolling as we’ve curated some interactive toys that’ll aid in your baby’s development and keep them engaged whenever they are awake and cooing.

11 Best Interactive Toys For 1-Year-Olds

1. Best Musical:Scarlett Wing Bedtime Songs Sound Book

Let your little one sleep peacefully by listening to good music with this 11-button children’s sound book. It is a great interactive learning toy for one-year-olds. This five-page, hardcover book will have kids singing along with these classic and charming melodies. Sporting a wooden inlay which gives it a vintage look and a strong construction, this book teaches an appreciation for together time and music. It can become a fun part of your child’s bedtime routine as they sing along with you. The melody buttons correspond to an icon on each page that encourages your toddler to practice fine motor and matching skills as they listen to the melodies of Twinkle-Twinkle, Brahms Lullaby, Hush Little Baby, I See the Moon and more. Pros

Comes with lyrics Long-lasting Easy-to-push buttons Attractive illustrations

Cons

May be a bit loud Melodies may be slightly fast

2. Best For Learning:Best Learning Mushroom Garden

With several awards under its belt, this interactive toy for one-year-olds is pretty cool with mushroom buttons that light up and help toddlers to learn numbers, colors, and memory games. They also feature wacky and cool sound effects and play children’s songs. Your toddler can learn numbers while counting the white dots on the mushroom, learn colors with light-up mushrooms, and melodies and sounds by pressing the mushrooms— the patterns get longer as you progress. It has two levels of volume adjustment, and is free of PVC, phthalates, and BPA, following international safety standards. This interactive toy is ideal for honing eye-hand coordination, imagination, motor skills, creativity, logical thinking,  concentration, memory, problem solving, and manual dexterity. Click here to check out a detailed personal review of this product. Pros

Made of ABS plastic material Includes three alkaline batteries Pre-assembled Easy-accessible battery compartment

Cons

Battery may exhaust soon Sound may be a bit loud

3. Best Durable:ToBe Ready ForLife Premium Soft Baby Book

The handmade cloth book is a fun interactive toy for one-year-olds, developed by experts, and has a stimulating feature on each and every page. Toddlers love hearing the stories and rhymes of the book, which develops bonding, sensory, and language skills. Crafted with soft polyester, this book is safe, durable, non-toxic, and machine-washable, and can endure the rough handling by toddlers. It features extra-strong stitching and a strong handle with which you can attach it to a car seat or stroller. It comes packed in a beautiful and luxurious gift box and makes a great baby shower gift too with its peek-a-boo flap, mirror, touch, feel, and sounds. Pros

Lightweight Bright colors to get baby’s attention Soft textured pages Reinforced stitching

Cons

Pages may be a bit thick for some Animal sounds may not work as expected

4. Best Smart Stage Technology:Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Chair

The musical interactive toddler chair comes equipped with 50+ sing-along melodious tunes, songs, and phrases that teach your precious toddler their first words, shapes, numbers, colors, opposites, and more. Whenever your kid sits and stands, the seat activates the songs, phrases, and tunes. It includes a light-up remote control with buttons to press, and an illustrated flip-book. Depending on your toddler’s age and stage, you can choose from three levels to change the learning content as your baby grows, thanks to its smart stages technology. There is a whole range of developmentally appropriate songs, sounds, and phrases, and all you need to do is slide the switch or enter your toddler’s age for the level to change automatically. To understand the nuances of the product in detail, you can check out this review. Pros

Sturdy leg base Easy-accessible buttons Flip-book pages designed for tiny hands Encourages hand-eye coordination

Cons

Some may find it small Volume may be a bit low

5. Best Machine-Washable:Move2Play Interactive Animal Sounds Crawl Ball

This intelligent ball has sensors that can recognize a tap, hit, kick, roll, toss, catch, or shake, and responds accordingly with 40+ sound effects and phrases. Your toddler can have loads of fun while learning different animal sounds and listening as well as singing along to the three catchy animal songs. This ball encourages your baby to crawl after it. The plush and extremely soft exterior of the ball ensures that your baby doesn’t get hurt, promoting healthy and safe play. It can be used outdoors too, and the removable cover is machine-washable. This interactive learning toy for one-year-olds conforms to all EU and USA and EU safety requirements. Check out this YouTuber’s review of this product. Pros

Made from recycled bottles Has no harmful chemicals Machine-washable Includes volume adjustment

Cons

May have slightly flimsy seams May not roll as expected because of the velcro

6. Best For Hand-Eye Coordination:G-Wack Bath Toys

Bathing time just took on a whole new level of fun with these plastic bath toys that will make your toddler eagerly await bath time. When water is poured into the toys, it makes the stars and the monkey’s eyes rotate, the monkey spits out water from its mouth, and the body of the caterpillar pours out water like a beautiful waterfall, which makes the windmill propellers rotate. It also includes a yellow cup that sprays water and an extra blue cup so that you can participate too. These vibrantly-colored bathtub toys develop motor skills and eye-hand coordination, encouraging interaction as your baby recognizes animals and colors. It also encourages team skills and cooperation when they play with siblings or parents. BPA and lead-free, these interactive learning toys for one-year-olds have well-finished and smooth edges, and their size prevents them from being a choking hazard. Pros

Made of thick plastic Comes with two suction cups Compatible with bathtub, ceramic tile, marble, and glass Available in two colors

Cons

Red funnel may not snap well Top bowl may be somewhat flimsy

7. Best For Safety:Yiosion Musical Flapping Duck

Made of non-toxic ABS plastic, this interactive toy for one-year-olds is especially designed to hone your toddler’s sensory skills, cognition, imagination, motor skills, and coordination. With rounded edges, it’s totally safe for kids to even put it in their mouth. This musical duck flaps its wings and moves around, and turns around and goes the other way when it hits an obstruction. It encourages your baby to crawl after this adorable duck. The music is cheerful and sweet, exploring the buttons on the musical duck promotes motor skills, and improves your baby’s balance. Your kid’s mental and physical skills are enhanced with this entertaining yet educational learning toy which does not require parental supervision. This durable and sturdy gift can withstand scratches, bumps, and falls, and will give your baby endless hours of musical fun. Pros

Features flashing lights Easy-access pause and start button Includes two-shift volume control button Rotates 360°

Cons

Screws of the battery compartment are smaller than expected Wing function may not last long

8. Best Water-Resistant:Little Tikes Little Baby Bum Wheels

The wheels on the bus climb and slide activity center is a complete playground for your toddler and includes a climber and baby slide. The steering wheel plays “wheels on the bus,” the horn can be honked, and this interactive playhouse will give your kid hours of undiluted fun. The interactive and musical dashboard features a horn, gear shifter, and ignition which gives your kid an opportunity for imaginative play and an understanding of numbers, letters, and animals. The 18-inch high, sturdy, and durable slide is perfectly safe for toddlers to climb and slide. Just like a real school bus, the ‘Stop’ sign folds in and out, giving your baby a real life experience. Pros

Slider has a gentle slope for a safe landing Promotes role play Burr-free corner edges Water-resistant and safe for outdoors

Cons

Assembly may be a bit hard Wheels may not be movable

9. Best For Creativity:Best Learning My Spin & Learn Steering Wheel

Make your little one learn different skills with this educational and interactive toy for one-year-olds that can be used in three modes— touch or spin the wheel to learn about shapes, colors, and feelings, and to play lovely music and songs. This multi-award-winning toy stimulates eye-hand coordination, knowledge of shapes, colors, music, emotions, creativity and imagination, logical thinking, dexterity, and motor functions. Toddlers learn about colors like red, yellow, blue with color songs and colorful lights, basic shapes like square, triangle, star, circle through the shape songs. They also learn about emotions like anger, surprise, sadness, joy, and fear through the feeling songs. It also features a 360° spinning function and vibrantly colored beads and rings to keep them busy. This toy is non-toxic, free of PVC, BPA, and phthalates, and is also covered with protective rubber on all sides of the wheel. Pros

Features volume adjustment button Easy-to-gasp design Includes three AAA batteries Built-in high-quality speaker

Cons

Batteries may exhaust sooner than expected Side rubber may be slightly flimsy

10. Best Portable:Yeebay Interactive Pop Up Animals Toy With Music

This interactive toy for one-year-olds is perfect for kids to begin learning about knobs, buttons, pulling, and pushing. The interactive pop-up animal toy includes two play modes— music and animal sounds, and game and light-up mode. Any time the button, lever, dial, or switch is activated, the corresponding animal pops up and plays either music or the relevant animal sound. In the other mode, lights flash, and when they stop, your kid gets a cheer when the correct animal pops up. It’s ideal for learning about cause and effect, enhancing fine motor skills, and manual dexterity. Toddlers learn about animals, colors, animal sounds, numbers, and the concept of open and close. This toy is portable and durable, and features a carry handle which makes it convenient to carry. Pros

Strengthens fingers Improves hand-eye coordination Strengthens parent-child bond Introduces shapes

Cons

Music may be a bit loud Buttons may get stuck sometimes

11. Best For Quiet Reading:Cali’s Books Patty Cake Nursery Rhymes Musical Book

Make reading an enjoyable experience for your toddler with this musical book by Cali that is fun and colorful. It is the perfect way to introduce them to books as it combines charming illustrations and nursery rhymes. It features an ergonomic sound button that’s easy to push, and which kids thoroughly enjoy pressing. This enhances fine motor skills, develops eye-hand coordination, and teaches them the relation between cause and effect. Your child will learn the alphabet, numbers, story-telling, and nursery rhymes effortlessly, and it also promotes creativity and imagination. This book is durable, sturdy, and safe with rounded corners, and operates with batteries that last up to 300 cycles. They also feature an on/off switch at the back, so that you can do some quiet reading with your toddler. Pros

Each page has lyrics Includes three AG10 batteries Promotes parent-child bonding Gentle voice Encourages letter and sound recognition

Cons

Sound quality may deteriorate with time May be off tune

Now that you have been through our review of the 11 best interactive toys for 1-year-olds, let us give you a few pointers on how to choose the best toy for your toddler so that they are able to derive the maximum learning and benefit from it while having fun.

How To Choose The Right Interactive Toys For 1-Year-Olds

Bright colored toys

Children can distinguish vibrant and bright colors much better than pastel or dull shades. So the chances of them playing with a bright red car or multicolored stacking cups is more than a toy that has more subtle colors.

Toys that require coordination

This is the age when toddlers like to experience everything with their mouths and hands. At this stage it’s important to get toys that boost both their gross and fine motor skills. Toys that require stacking, puzzles, shape sorters, and nesting toys are perfect for them to learn problem-solving and develop manual dexterity.

Toys that make them move

Pulling or pushing toys with a handle or string encourages them to move, which is great for 1-year-olds who are probably just learning to walk. Toys that move give them the required practice and make it fun at the same time.

Toys that promote sharing and parallel play

At this age, toddlers indulge in parallel play which means they like to play independently but around other kids. This is the first step of social development, so toys like a playset or multiple blocks that toddlers can share will help them in the process.

Toys that will grow with your child

Children get tired of toys very quickly and may lose interest in them even within a couple of days. It’s a wise decision to buy toys that can be enjoyed by your child in different developmental stages. Toys like plastic toy animals, toddler-friendly dollhouses, trains, stuffed dolls and animals can be enjoyed over the years.

Why Trust MomJunction?

Priti Bose is your go-to person when it comes to understanding toys and games. Her research skills enable her to suggest the best products to her readers. In this article, Priti guides you on choosing the best interactive toy for your one-year-old by taking factors such as toys’ sound, color, light, interaction, durability, and ease of usage into consideration. She has also provided a buying guide to enable a hassle-free purchase.

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