Liked this post? Why not share it?
If you click on my affiliates/advertisers links, I am going to receive a tiny commission. AND… Most of the time, you will receive an offer. Win/Win! The products that I advertise are the ones I believe in.
Recently updated on September 24th, 2020 at 03:36 pm
Are you looking for the best boy toys for 1-year-old?
Or maybe interactive or educational toys for 1-year-old boys?
Boy toys that can develop and stimulate your toddler’s motor skills?
Or imaginative play? Hand-eye coordination?
Simply good stuff for your boy?
Then this article is definitely for you!
Keep on reading to find out the best boy toys for a 1-year-old.
For your convenience, I sorted them on types of play.
As a parent, I know how hard it can be to choose the appropriate toys for your little one. That’s why I listed some of our favorite toys here. Feel free to use them as inspiration.
Best of Construction Play
It is very important in your child’s early development stages. Studies show that this makes a huge difference in the way kids think or complete certain tasks.
Besides fun and engaging, constructive play also offers several benefits:
- fine and gross motor skills
- creativity
- problem-solving
- hand-eye coordination
- perseverance
- teamwork
Lego Duplo My First Bricks
This is the perfect first Duplo set to introduce to your toddler. It has 80 colorful pieces in various shapes and colors.
In the box, there are 5 cards with instructions to build a heart, a flower, a helicopter, a fish and a duck.
But the building possibilities are endless. Includes double-sided decorated bricks and a propeller.
These are the perfect finishing touches to showcase the end project.
5 out of 5 stars
Wooden Building Blocks
These are beneficial for any baby or toddler. Not only they will improve your child’s fine motor skills.
It will also develop their cognitive skills and brain development.
The market is full of lovely wooden building blocks and colorful ones.
It doesn’t matter what blocks you have, they all do the same thing.
Magnetic Blocks
These are better suited for older children, but toddlers can enjoy them too.
They get to experiment and learn about tridimensional shapes.
It’s a great way of learning and developing shape recognition and patterns. It’s great for sorting and stacking too. The possibilities are endless.
Wooden Race Track
These are a great way to incorporate fun and creativity. It’s 50+ piece set that include scenery items and 3 cars.
It may be a bit advanced for a 1-year-old, but it’s one of those pieces that last a long time. So great as a gift.
VTech Baby Toot-Toot Drivers Deluxe Track Set
We got this as a gift at my son’s first birthday. He didn’t play with it as much at first, but he started enjoying putting the track together.
The only downside to this track set is that you’d have to buy the cars separately.
For older kids, there are some extra items (garage) that can be added in order to form a more advanced toy.
You might also like:
- What is open-ended play {+accessible toy ideas}
- 5 Valuable Construction Play Benefits for your little one
Best of Letters & Numbers
The alphabet is very important in any person’s life, but even more VERY important for any child, especially toddlers.
We all know that letters and sounds form words and sentences. That’s how we are able to communicate with one another. This is exactly why it’s important for your toddler as well – that’s how they learn to speak and communicate with others.
This list includes number toys, simply because many of them have numbers too. I guess it’s simpler that way. Kids can learn them together.
Abacus
If you are looking for a neat and tidy learning toy, an abacus is perfect for you.
Everything is in its own place, very easy to put away, compared to letter blocks for example.
Lego Duplo My First Number Train
It’s 3 into 1 if you ask me. On one side your child can develop building skills and on the other side, he can learn numbers.
All these while enjoying and experimenting with movement.
In this building set, you are going to find a buildable locomotive and three wagons.
The figurines are great for imaginative play. Plus the decorated bricks (0-9) will teach your child numbers and sequences.
Personalized Wooden Letter Train
These are a great way to teach names. It integrates both play and learning, which make everything more fun.
I bought one for my son last Christmas and he loves playing with it.
When he gets bored, I can easily put it as a decoration in his room. Won’t go to waste.
Leapfrog Laptop
I absolutely love this laptop and my son too.
It has 4 different modes where your little one can learn and explore more.
In the letter mode, your child can listen to phonic letter sounds and a word that begins with that letter. In message mode, your child can pretend that he sends a message to a friend. In games mode, he can learn while playing.
This is a little bit advanced for a 1-year-old, but great for later. And finally, in music mode, your child can listen to 16 different songs.
In this mode, the keyboard makes lots of different animal or musical instruments sounds.
Very interactive.
Munchkin Bath Foam Letters and Numbers
Designed for bath time, but they can be used outside of bath too.
We have 2 sets of these – one for bath and one for outside the bath.
We play a lot with these. We hide them under pillows or in his ball pit.
He finds it very entertaining. Definitely, something to have around your home.
Jacootoys Number Wooden Chunky Puzzle
This is a very nice puzzle for preschoolers, but very helpful for young toddlers as well.
It’s one of those pieces that grow with your child.
Great for Montessori education as it has countable objects underneath the numbers.
If you remove the chunky pieces, your child can practice tracing and how to write them.
Vtech Educational Bus
Very similar to the laptop listed above, but this is a bus. Which makes it even more fun. I can guarantee that any little boy would love this one.
When I bought it for my son, he played with it for an entire day! He just couldn’t get enough of it. Good for speech development, words, phonetics and much more. Highly recommend it!
Melissa & Doug Self-Correcting Alphabet Wooden Puzzle
Another great puzzle for older kids, maybe 2-3 years old. But 1-year-olds can still learn a lot of things while playing with it.
The Puzzle comes with 52 wooden pieces – 26 with letters and 26 with images.
Your child can match the letter with its corresponding image.
The “self-correcting” feature means that each letter can be matched with its pair, so kids can’t match a dog image with letter C for example.
Magnetic Letters & Numbers
This is a fun way to teach letters and numbers.
They are very versatile and will last for a really long time.
Later on, these are a great tool for spelling, writing and so on.
You can pair them up with a magnetic board or keep it simple by using your fridge or washing machine 🙂
Alphabet Flashcards
Flashcards are an awesome way to teach your child anything. It’s proven to be very effective. So why not introduce them to your toddler as well?
In fact, I made these personalized alphabet printable flashcards for my son. But you can get them too!
Click here for more details and find out how you can get them!
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- The Importance of Learning the Alphabet for Toddlers
Best Puzzles for Boys
As an adult, I love puzzles. I own a lot of puzzles, but I don’t have time for them anymore. I can’t wait for my toddler to get old enough to solve puzzles together. But until then, it’s very important to lay the foundation. That’s how your child develops interest and passion for puzzles.
These may be very simple or even boring for us, adults. But for the little ones, these are great. Find out more about the importance of puzzles here.
Puzzles are an amazing learning tool for kids. Offering many skills and mental learning benefits and opportunities to children of all ages.
You can find them everywhere! The market is full of them. I listed a few of our favorites here for inspiration.
Melissa & Doug Construction Tools Sound Puzzle
When I saw this in a shop I thought it’s very cool.
Honestly, I never thought these existed. I find them very fascinating and useful at the same time.
What I love about these the most is that my son can learn and hear realistic sounds.
Sounds that he can’t really listen too at the moment.
This is why I highly recommend this puzzle.
Jigsaw Puzzles
Set of 5 wooden puzzles.
These are cute, fun and colorful puzzles that will teach your child how to fit pieces together.
Are great for fine motor skills and problem-solving.
Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle Set
This is a set of 4 wooden board puzzles. I LOVE these boards.
These are one of the perfect toys to teach your child letters, numbers, shapes, animals, fruits and so on.
There a large variety, all you have to do is just pick and choose a few for your little one.
Depending on what you choose for the puzzle, you’ll notice that he will learn new words and where to put the pieces. So it’s great for language development.
After a while, he’ll memorize where everything goes and whenever I ask where a certain thing is, he’ll always point to them.
Melissa & Doug Touch and Feel Puzzle
These are great for sensorial development.
It’s one of my favorite puzzles. Learning animals, shapes and different materials.
3 into 1. Definitely worth trying it out.
Wooden Car Puzzle
This is fun if you ask me. It’s very visual and interactive with 3D wheels.
Your child can explore and rotate the wheels.
Plus he’ll learn different types of cars (ambulance, police, bus).
Shape Puzzle Board
Looking for a puzzle that will teach your toddler shapes?
This is a great one! Your child can learn shapes and feel them. Good for color recognition and line tracing with tiny fingers.
ABC Wooden Puzzle Flashcards
I think these are super fun to play with.
All the letters are colorful, show a word that begins with the letter and all the letters are 3D.
Your little one can create words with them, learn about shapes, matching, and many other nice things.
6-in-1 Wooden Puzzles for Toddlers
It’s a set of 6 puzzles that teaches 6 different animals: lion, cow, dog, cat, monkey, and elephant.
Fun and colorful, for sure your toddler will love playing with it.
All the animals are individually created so it makes it very easy for traveling.
Layered Chicken Wooden Puzzle
It comes with multiple layers that show evolution – from an egg, baby chick to mature chicken.
It’s a very good way of learning how chicken grows and develops.
Lewo 6 in 1 Wooden Animal Block Puzzle Big Cube
Another 6 into 1 puzzle.
I really like these! It can be a huge life saver.
These are the animals that you can find on the cubes – elephant, monkey, fish, bear, lion and crocodile.
Very Hungry Caterpillar Puzzle
Cute little caterpillar puzzle, made after the famous Hungry Caterpillar book.
It teaches shapes and numbers. It’s good for counting too.
Jumbo Goula Wooden Interchangeable Puzzle
An 18 piece puzzle set with interchangeable pieces.
Your child can use all the pieces to create a bigger picture.
Every piece has a certain figure on it which can be removed as well.
Viga Farm Animals Figures Shape Block Puzzle
I love this one!
While playing with it your child can learn shapes, colours, farm animals, shapes and matching. Not to mention all the amazing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
You might also like:
- Puzzles. Why are they so good for toddlers?
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
Best of Creative Play for Boys
The list of creative play is endless. There are so many ideas! But of course, you can’t do a lot of the activities you see on Pinterest with a 1-year-old.
You can still include creative activities with some of the resources listed below. I’ve tried them out with my son and he loves them all.
Warning! Be prepare for a lot of mess, especially if you are using paint.
Let them explore and play around. That’s how they learn and that’s what it makes their tiny brains work.
Finger Edible crayons
This set of edible crayons was the first thing I bought for my toddler.
I wanted him to draw and color even though he’s quite young for that. I was searching for something that was non-toxic and safe.
He will put anything into his mouth (now that he’s older not as much).
I was very happy when I came across this set.
It’s waterproof, non-toxic, edible, non-stick and most importantly, safe.
Your child can use it for drawing or stacking. If he decides to put it into his mouth, it’s safe because it also comes with a hole that will allow your child to breathe.
Crayola Washable Markers
My son loves markers! I just discovered it recently. So I decided to invest in these washable ones simply because regular markers are very difficult to remove.
I predicted that he will write everywhere with them.
But, even though they are washable, they do stain the skin a little if you leave them for too long.
This comes with a set of 3 – markers, pencils, and crayons.
Play-Doh
My son adores playing with play dough. I love this particular set because it comes with accessories and lots of colors.
If you are worried that your child will try to eat it, you can always create one at home.
It’s cheaper and quicker to make.
Crayola Washable Paint
I’ve introduced paint quite early for my son.
He made a lot of mess, paint everywhere, but he loved it.
We used this exact set and didn’t have any issues to remove it from his skin or clothes.
Highly recommend it.
Magnetic Doodle Board
Perfect for your child to draw and doodle.
You can use it to teach letters or numbers too.
It comes with stamps and a pen. My little guy likes stamping a lot so this is a great way to keep him entertained.
It’s not a big board, so it makes it very easy when traveling.
Water Magic Book
This book is so cool!
You can reuse it over and over again! Which means that it will last a very long time.
How does it work?
You add water to the pen that comes with and then you start “coloring” the pages.
Water will magically reveal colorful images.
I love this book! After it dries up, you can use it again.
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- 7 Developmental Toys for your 6-month-old
Best Cars for Boys
If you are a boy mamma you already might know that your child never has enough of cars. Boys generally love playing with cars and it doesn’t matter how many they have at home, they are constantly asking for more.
I would highly recommend starting investing in good quality and versatile vehicles instead of a lot and cheap ones. In order to save money, you could rotate them.
Playing with cars is very important for both fine and gross motor abilities. It involves a lot of physical movements such as running, bending, reaching, pushing and pulling.
They also help them grip and experience with actions like:
- fast & slow
- up & down
- left & right
Toddlers love to explore movement, especially when they are going through the trajectory schema. This is a phase where any child is interested in movement and things that go. This includes them climbing or moving onto things, such as bikes, cars, etc
Therefore, I’ll also like to mention ride on cars or scooters which are great for both indoor and outdoor play.
Click Clack Racing Track
We have a very similar one that I bought from Lidl here in the UK.
It’s very relaxing to play with. Everyone loves playing with it.
Melissa & Doug Car Transporter Truck & Cars Wooden Toy Set
This car set is a great example of a versatile toy. If you ask me it’s 5 into 1 simply because it comes with multiple cars.
Your child can play in various ways with it.
We have a very similar one and my son loves it.
Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Truck
Another versatile toy is both educational (the puzzle) and fun (the truck itself).
Your child will learn about animals, shapes and how to sort.
It’s great for pretend play as well. Where you can re-create a zoo.
Ride-On Car
I highly recommend you to be careful about what ride-on car you purchase for your child. We’ve had a very bad experience with a cheap one. My son kept falling down and he hit himself quite often (we had a couple of really bad falls).
Until we decided to take it away and buy something bigger and sturdier. It’s very similar to this one.
Since then, he didn’t fall and he can play safely.
Scuttlebug Beetle
What a cute and fun way of introducing a tricycle?
Perfect for playing indoors, where the space is quite limited.
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- 7 Developmental Toys for your 6-month-old
Best of Stacking & Sorting for Boys
Both sorting and stacking are a great way to learn and master fine motor capabilities for toddlers and babies.
While playing they learn how to recognize various shapes, colors, numbers and so on.
They also learn about the differences and how to stack them so they won’t fall down.
Another thing your child will be able to learn is patience and control. He needs these capabilities in order to build a tower of cups for instance. If he is too quick, all the pieces will fall on the ground.
Stacking cups
These are a great way to boost fine, motor skills and hand-eye coordination for any child. You can use them at home or when traveling.
Very easy to play with and you can use them during bath times too!
Melissa & Doug Stacking Train
I absolutely love this train and my son does too! I find it very relaxing and creative.
Every time we do something different. He also uses the shapes to stack them on top of each other.
Farmer’s Market Food Colour Sorting Set
This set is great for color recognition and sorting, but also for learning fruits and veggies.
What I really like about this set is that the foods look like the real ones. Unfortunately, there are food sets that don’t even look like the real-life ones.
Rainbow Stacker
This rainbow stacker has become very popular lately. It’s one of the best open-ended toys, that will basically grow with your child.
There are a lot of things you can build with this simple yet complex toy.
There are so many articles and accounts on Instagram that will teach you or give you ideas on how to play with a rainbow stacker.
Wooden Stacking rings
Another versatile toy that will teach your child various things – color recognition, counting, and stacking.
This is everything you need to keep your toddler busy.
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- 7 Developmental Toys for your 6-month-old
Best Water Toys for Boys
Playing with water is both fun and good for any child. Water toys also keep your toddler busy while you bathe him.
Here are a few reasons why playing with water is good for your child:
- splashing, pouring and playing with water are all very good for hand-eye coordination
- playing with water is also relaxing and therapeutic
- helps with concentration
- motor skills development
- science and math learning
- stimulates creativity and imagination.
Munchkin Bath Foam Letters and Numbers
Designed for bath time, but they can be used outside of bath too.
We have 2 sets of these – one for bath and one for outside the bath. My little guy plays a lot with them. We hide them under pillows or in his ball pit.
He finds it very entertaining. Definitely, something to have around your home.
Watering Can
It’s great to teach your toddler to water the flowers or just to pour water.
My toddler loves watering our little garden with me.
It also teaches them about responsibility (the fact that they have to water the plants in order to grow).
Non-toxic Bath Crayons
I like these, but they are very messy. They are easily washable and do not stain the tub.
Encourages creativity, imaginative play and color recognition.
Water Pipes
These 5 little pipes can be used separately or together to make a chain.
Each pipe comes with a different shape and function. When the water passes through them it activates the little valves making it very interesting to watch.
Bath time Waterfall
This cute little waterfall comes with 4 little stacking cups.
Your child will use them to pour water through the toy which will create a beautiful waterfall.
The toys are perfect for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
I can guarantee that your toddler will absolutely love it.
Bath Swimming Penguin Toy
I absolutely love this toy. It’s battery-operated and it swims on its own.
My toddler loves it too! It’s suuper fun to watch.
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- 7 Developmental Toys for your 6-month-old
Best Pretend Play for Boys
Also known as imaginative play has a lot of good benefits and encourages healthy development.
Some of the benefits are
- social development
- language development
- thinking skills
- physical development
- emotional development
- creativity
- planning and organizational skills
Fruits & Veggie Magnetic Set
While playing with this set your toddler can learn about fruits, veggies, colors, and shapes.
Because of the magnetic pieces, your little one can learn to cut. My son loves this set.
I highly recommend it. It’s great for matching too.
Melissa & Doug Cleaning Set
Whenever I’m cleaning around the house, I always ask my son to clean with me.
He likes sweeping around and mopping.
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- 7 Developmental Toys for your 6-month-old
Best Outdoor Toys for Boys
Outdoor play is very important for children’s development. Not only it will keep your child busy, but it’s also very good for their health and wellbeing.
Try to keep them as much as you can outside. It helps them build their immune systems and helps them breathe and many other amazing benefits.
It doesn’t matter how cold it is, make sure that your child will have at least an hour of outdoor play or walks.
If you own a garden, the below list is great for inspiration. If you don’t, parks are even better because your child gets to interact with other children.
The majority of things listed here are great if your child is in the trajectory schema. Not sure what schemas are? Check out the link here to find out more about them.
5 out of 5 stars
Teepee Play Tent
Looks amazing in any toddler’s room, but it’s even more fun if you place it in the garden.
I can’t wait for the warmer days to take it outside and play hide and seek.
Some of its benefits are imagination skills, physical development and socializing.
Sand Pit
We wanted to create our own sandpit, but you can easily find one online.
My son loves it and he plays there non-stop.
We build castles, dig holes, we bury toys or feet.
Sand will also help strengthen muscles and fine motor skills.
Swing
Great for children who are in the trajectory schema.
We decided to create our own when I say “we” I meant my husband. 🙂
Everything is from wood, except the seat. Which we already had from last year.
But if we were to change it, I would lot to have one of the Giraffe seats 😀
First Slide
Another great tool for trajectory schema. It’s great for balance and coordination.
The action of going up the stairs and sliding down is super fun but very hard.
Therefore your toddler will develop both upper and lower body strength.
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- 7 Developmental Toys for your 6-month-old
Best Busy Boards for Boys
These are a great way to keep your child busy! I know this from experience. They learn a lot while playing and exploring them. Most importantly they never get bored. Every day it’s something different. They play with it differently. So it’s a must-have in my opinion.
5 out of 5 stars
Quiet Books
I believe these are GOLD!
They have so many benefits for your child.
Perfect for quiet time or just to keep your toddler busy.
Some of the benefits are fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving, learning skills, creative skills, practical-life skills and lots more.
If you want to learn more about quiet books, click here for an amazing resource.
DIY Latches & Lights Board
This is one of our favorites simply because my husband made it.
We focused mainly on latches and light bulbs and switches.
Sometimes we hide things behind the doors for our son to find, sometimes we hide a biscuit. Not sure whether is the best idea, but I love his little face when he opens the door and finds something yummy.
Maybe I went a bit overboard by adding the stickers to it, but I love it.
We can always remove them. Plus it adds a bit of color to a boring board.
Latch & Learn School House
We got this as a 1-year-old gift and my son loves it and I do too.
Very interactive toy that grows with your child.
Now at 21 months, my son has a different view of the toys. We also learn new words, by naming all the objects we see behind the doors.
The miniature figurines are perfect for pretend play. Not to mention that the latches will develop your child’s fine motor skills.
5 out of 5 stars
Personalized Farm Puzzle Board
If you are looking for a gift, this is it! It’s very unique and interactive.
I can guarantee that any child would be very happy to receive one of these.
What’s awesome about this busy board is that it will keep any child busy.
It comes with numbers, letters, animals, doors, etc.
You might also like:
- Educational Toys for 9 to 12 months old | My Son’s Favourites
- 7 Developmental Toys for your 6-month-old
Best Musical Instruments for boys
Musical instruments are a great way to help your child’s body and mind to work together. Through music, children will learn sounds and words and what they mean.
It will also encourage dancing and movement which are a great way to build motor skills and self-expression.
So be sure to expose your child to music as much as you can because it will help with memory as well.
Whenever I put music, my toddler will jump, dance and start moving. He’s also very content and expressive.
Leapfrog Learn and Groove Music Player
We got this after an impulsive shopping while at the supermarket.
We just needed something for him to be entertained while we were doing our shopping.
It turned out to be very entertaining for him. He loves listening to music from it.
Amazing when traveling, it will definitely keep your child busy. It comes with 20 songs spread over the 4 modes.
Songs that will encourage your child to explore further.
The screen keeps him busy and engaged.
Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Puppy’s Remote
We had this since he was a baby. Now he plays a lot different than when he was 6 months old.
This teaches your child numbers, ABCs, colors, opposites, greetings and lots more.
It’s like remote control, but for children.
You’ll hear more than 35 songs, sounds, and phrases.
Great for fine motor skills development as it comes with lots of buttons.
Toy Musical Instruments
I would highly recommend investing in a set of toy musical instruments.
Another toy that grows with your child. This particular set comes with 15 different types of toy musical instruments.
Great for shaking, tapping, beating and blowing.
A super fun activity for your child, yet very educative.
These will teach your child sounds, rhythm, and beat.
Conclusions
There you have it! 64 best boy toys for 1-Year-Old. I hope you found it helpful.
Which one was your favorite? I’d love to read about it in the comments.
*** most of the images are directly from the sellers (Etsy & Amazon)
