Choosing the right toys for your little one can feel so overwhelming! I definitely went down the open ended, Montessori play, all-natural wooden toy “rabbit holes” a time or two myself. What I’ve learned is there is not one right way to raise your child. The key is to find out what not only works for you child, but for you too!
I decided to curate this list of tried-and-true toys based off of my real-life experiences as a nanny, teacher, and a mom of multiple kids to help you save time, money, and stress. Selecting quality toys that last through the ages both in durability and function increase fun and learning while decreasing the stress on your wallet and from having to constantly cleaning up mounds of toys your littles quickly lose interest in and toss to the floor.
When I was little, I remember all I wanted for Christmas more than anything was a Ferbie. They were flying off the shelves! Mom were desperately scrambling from store to store trying to find one still in stock, fights would break out when product ran low, the craze was real! My poor mom ended up resorting to winning mine from a radio station. Getting that Ferbie made my Christmas…
Sadly, like so many other toys, after five days of it randomly waking up and creepily talking throughout the night, I was no longer a fan. I ended up taking the batteries out of it and burying it in the abyss that was my closet and lost complete interest. All the stress, time and money my parents sacrificed for me went down the drain in FIVE days.
Don’t let this happen to you!