Having a baby girl is different than having a baby boy for lots of reasons. One of those reasons is that your baby girl enjoys playing differently than a little baby boy. And that means different toys. I know because I’ve had both! They just seem pre-wired that way.
While my son loved toys as a baby, and it was easy to pick his favorite, my daughter on the other hand showed little interest in them in general. That’s a personality difference. From a very young age she loved books and it was hard to get her interested in much else. However, as she has gotten older, we have found a better balance and I’d like to share what toys helped engage her.
The top 4 toys that have been the biggest hit with her as a toddler-
Toys for Baby Girl:
1. Wooden Latches Board – It was hard to hold my daughter’s interest with toddler puzzles but we did much better with the Melissa and Doug Wooden Latches Board Learning Tool. It has six different wooden doors that each open with a different lock, or latch. She enjoyed learning to open the doors on this board over and over again. I’ve seen “activity boards” that people build themselves but I got this for a good price and didn’t spend much time in building it, which is a win. Buying a bunch of small objects can add up. Plus, the colors and pictures that are painted on the board make it more interesting.
2. Wooden Shape Sorting Cube – This is a nice, simple, traditional toy that got some good hours of play time. I like that it wasn’t a cheap plastic version or one that had a lot of extra parts or electronic pieces. She had already learned her colors and some shapes about the time we got it for her, but playing with it and finding all the holes and looking for the individual shapes helped her along. It also made her think and problem solve. I think that was great for her. She likes challenges. She was not quite two when we gave it to her although the suggested age is 2+ I think if we had waited to give it to her we would have missed the window.
3. Build-a-Bouquet – I thought it was a little pricey but decided to give it a try and I’m happy with it. She isn’t quite three yet but is finally hitting that building stage. I’m really pleased that she gets it out on her own and she is so happy to share her creations with me.
4. Kitchenette – Before we got a kitchenette ourselves, my little girl was drawn to every one that she saw and loved playing with the food and the dishes and the buttons. It drew her in because it was big and had lots of accessories to discover. It was also familiar with what mommy does in the kitchen and children love to be like the adults they are around. This also builds on her imaginative play. For older girls around the age of 3-6 (and even older!), check out this awesome grocery playset. It can go well with a kitchenette but either way kids LOVE this!
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