23 of the best toys for 2 year olds
Our pick of the best toys suited for boys and girls aged 2 years, which we've tested to ensure they delight, entertain and boost key toddler development skills
What are the best toys for 2 year olds? Well, first things first, they've got to "indestructible," after all they don't call it the terrible two's for nothing!
According to Helen Brown, author of Parenting for Dummies: "Your 2 year old is full of energy and curiosity." At this time, your toddler will also start to "pretend more during play, using familiar objects and situations to copy the grown-ups in their lives," says Helen, thankfully there's a huge range of real-life products available like hoovers, or food counters like this Leapfrog Ice Cream cart.
Helen also recommends: "Toys that offer opportunities to explore and repeat, ride-on toys get a big thumbs-up, as do anything that lights up or beeps when you press its buttons. Simple puzzles and construction toys can also come into the mix, now that your child's hand-eye co-ordination is improving."
Above all, though, it's got to be fun: "There's no point a toy having amazing development-boosting potential if it's simply not much fun to play with."
So, to help you decide what to buy your 2 year old we've gone out and reviewed over 20 of the best products, below you'll find products for every occasion and honest feedback from our child testers.
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Best toys for 2 year olds at a glance
Best educational toys for 2 year olds
- Great for building and learning: LEGO DUPLO Town Dream Playground, £42.98
- Great for early number and letter skills: Early Learning Centre Wooden Stacking Train, £23.99
- Great for learning colours: CoComelon Colour Learning Sheep, £14.99
- Great for fine motor skills: Playmobil 1.2.3: Doughnut Truck with Stacking and Sorting Feature, £16.99
- Great for cause and effect: Musical Hop Out Mizzie Music Box, £24.99
- Great for spatial awareness: Janod Sweet Cocoon Stacking Stones, £19.99
Best outdoor toys and ride-ons for 2 year olds
- Great outdoor ride-on: Little Tikes CozyCoupe Ride-On, £70
- Great for balance skills: Kidvelo Rookie 12 Balance Bike, £130
- Great indoor ride-on: Cocomelon School Bus Ride-on, £36.99
- Great eco-friendly choice: Dantoy Blue Marine Large Dumper, £19.90
- Great for ride-on thrills: Xootz Big Bumper Car Electric Ride-On, £199.99
- Great for superhero-themed fun: Marvel Spiderman 6v Light-Up Web Slinger Mini Quad, £100
Best interactive toys for 2 year olds
- Great for dancing and fun: Fisher-Price DJ Bouncin' Beats, £29.99
- Great for vehicle role play: Bing Lights & Sounds Fire Engine from Golden Bear, £29.99
- Great for interactive learning: Fisher-Price Little People Light-Up Learning Garage, £44.99
- Great for active fun: VTech 3-in1 Sports Centre, £39.99
Best travel toys for 2 year olds
- Great for early maths skills: LEGO DUPLO Number Train, £17.99
- Great handmade option: Little Fox Quiet Book, £44.95-£49.95
Best role-play toys for 2 year olds
- Great for bathtime fun: Toomies Bath Barista, £20
- Great for shopping role play: LeapFrog Count-along Basket & Scanner, £29.99
- Great for food role play: LeapFrog Scoop and Learn Ice Cream Cart, £46.99
Best soft toys for 2 year olds
- Great for cuddling: iFrodoll Personalised Deep Skin Tone Plush Doll Nevaeh, £16.99
- Great for learning body parts: CoComelon Boo Boo JJ from Bandai, £43.99
Jump to:
- Best educational toys for 2 year olds
- Best outdoor toys and ride-ons for 2 year olds
- Best interactive toys for 2 year olds
- Best travel toys for 2 year olds
- Best role-play toys for 2 year olds
- Best soft toys for 2 year olds
What are the best toys for 2 year olds?
Additional writing and product selection by Gill Crawshaw
Best educational toys for 2 year olds
1. LEGO DUPLO Town Dream Playground, £46.99
– Great for building and learning
Available at: John Lewis and Amazon
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2 | Size: 54cm x 28.2cm x 9.1cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
Climb a rocket, spin on a whale tail merry-go-round then whoosh down a toy slide with the LEGO DUPLO Town Dream Playground, a versatile brick-based playset that offers multiple ways to play and learn. The colourful and eye-catching set features buildable DUPLO-sized playground equipment including a moving swing and seesaw, whale-shaped merry go round and slide, and a rocket climbing frame. The set includes a diverse range of five character figures that can be used to play on the equipment once built. In an additional touch, the bricks are printed with numbers and letters to help with learning as they play.
I want to go to this playground. I want to go on the whale slide. This is amazing.
2. Early Learning Centre Wooden Stacking Train, £35.99
– Great for early number and letter skills
Available at: The Entertainer and Early Learning Centre
Age suitability: 12 months+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L45cm x W10cm x H16cm | Batteries: None
The little wooden engine pulls 2 wagons, all made from FSC-certified wood, that you build from a set of wheels, a flatbed with a stacking pole and 15 stacking blocks – 6 of which have numbers on one side and letters on the other. It’s sturdy, bright and well designed. With all the colours, numbers and letters, it offers lots of stacking and learning opportunities on top of simple push-along train play.
“She plays with it a least once a day, building the bricks into a tower or pushing it around and going, ‘Choo choo!’ She laughs and giggles the whole time.”
3. Cocomelon Colour Learning Sheep, £13.98
– Great for learning colours
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 12 months+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L13cm x W8cm x H14cm (sheep) | Batteries: 2 x AAA (not included)
This grabbable sheep glows a different colour to match the object it’s placed on – and then plays Baa Baa Black Sheep with the ‘black’ changed to its glow-colour. It’s definitely got the thrill factor – and that’s even before you add in the Cocomelon association. Our child tester Eadie, 2 (pictured), loved dancing and singing along to the music, and Eadie’s mum Amanda was impressed with how well it helped her get to grips with matching colours.
4. Playmobil 1.2.3: Doughnut Truck with Stacking and Sorting Feature, £29.99
– Great for fine motor skills
Available from: Amazon and Very
Age suitability: 18 months+ | Best for age: 2 | Size: 28.4cm x 9.3cm x 18.7cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Bronze, MadeForMums Awards 2023
Anyone for doughnuts? The Playmobil 1.2.3: Doughnut Truck is a toy that is sure to draw in your toddler with its stacking and sorting feature. It might make everyone hungry though! The Doughnut Truck consists of a wheeled truck and trailer that can transport four brightly coloured doughnuts that are included with the set. The truck and trailer can be pushed around individually or clicked together. The set includes a smartly dressed doughnut delivery figure that can be played with in and out of the vehicle.
They toy is great for fine motor skills and Pearl enjoyed rolling it across the room. She counted the doughnuts when stacking them.
5. Mizzie The Kangaroo Hop Out Music Box, £24.99
– Great for cause and effect
Available at: Amazon and Not On The High Street
Age suitability: 18 months+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L13cm x W13cm x H14cm | Batteries: None
A retro-style, battery-free jack-in-the-box toy: you wind the lever and, to the tune of Pop Goes the Weasel, out of the tin pops soft and furry Mizzie the kangaroo. It’s a great toy to teach cause and effect, while guaranteeing plenty of giggles too.
He kept saying ‘Again! Again!’ He thinks it’s hilarious and couldn’t stop laughing.
6. Janod Sweet Cocoon Stacking Stones, £32.50
– Great for spatial awareness
Available at: Amazon and Kidly
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: Varied | Batteries: None
This clever set of 20 wooden pieces in a mixture of shapes and sizes with pastel-coloured accents and geometric lines is designed to replicate a whole bunch of natural stones. They can be stacked in numerous ways, and offer a slightly more unpredictable and challenging alternative to classic building blocks – while still being just as much fun to knock down.
The ‘stones’ are lightweight and lovely to hold. Alfie loves wrecking the towers I build and he also loves picking up the stones and placing them them in piles – we’ve been starting to sort them by colour and size.
Best outdoor toys and ride-ons for 2 year olds
7. Little Tikes Cozy Coupe, £69.99
– Great outdoor ride-on
Available at: Argos
Age suitability: 18 months+ | Best for age: 2 | Size: H41.61cm, W72.72cm, D38.74cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Awards 2023
The iconic Little Tikes Cozy Coupe now has an update to the tried-and-tested design that has long delighted children. The newer design of the four-wheeled, brightly coloured ride-on car features a friendly face on the front, a parent grab handle on the roof and a removable floor. With the floor inserted, toddlers’ feet are protected while an adult can use the grab handle on top to push the car. Once your child is old enough to propel themselves, parents can remove the floor out and let them enjoy getting about using foot-to-floor power.
The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe also has fun features for more realistic car-themed play, including a working door, clicking ignition switch, beeping horn, and open-and-close petrol cap.
Every morning he rushes to the car door, throws it open, jumps in and slams the door. His favourite part is the horn. Would he play with it again? More like, will he ever stop playing with it?
8. Kidvelo Rookie 12 Balance Bike, £130
– Great for balance skills
Available at: Kidvelo
Age suitability: 18 months+ | Best for age: 2+ | Weight: 2.89kg | Maximum child weight: 30kg | Batteries: None | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2022
A balance bike is a great buy for a 2-year-old, allowing them a good couple of years to become a pro at steering and balancing on two wheels before moving on to a ‘proper’ bike with pedals. And we really like this balance bike, with its sturdy frame, 12in wheels and bouncy tyres, because it's very lightweight and super-adjustable.
The saddle height can be fine-tuned between 30cm and 48cm at the pull of a lever and the handlebars can be rotated with an Allen key (included) to alter the reach depending on your child's arm length. There are also angled integrated footrests with non-slip grip riders, a control-improving threadless alloy headseat (a feature more usually seen on adult performance bikes) and – a huge hit with our testers – a little bell. It’s worth knowing that the tyres are air-filled (lovely for smooth riding on any surface, but you'll need a foot pump) and there are no brakes (tricky for a toddler to master but included on some balance bikes).
At first look, I thought that this was pricey for a children’s balance bike, but this quickly changed. Now I think that it is great value for money, as it’s so well made and will last Chester so many years.
9. CoComelon School Bus Ride On, RRP £32.99
– Great indoor ride-on
Available at: Argos and JD Williams
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2.5| Size: 54cm x 23cm x 35cm | Batteries: Yes (not included) | Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
This bright yellow toddler ride-on is shaped like a school bus, with window stickers featuring CoComelon character favourites including JJ, Cece, Ms Appleberry, Cody, and Ello. Pressing the steering wheel button activates sing-along nursery rhymes from the show (noise-sensitive parents should note there’s no feature to turn this off). Designed for comfort, the bus has a moulded seat and inbuilt anti-tip feature and puncture-proof wheels for stability and grip. There’s also under-seat storage that is handy for taking toys on the go.
Sing the song with me. Look, Mummy, see how fast I'm moving on it!
10. Dantoy Blue Marine Large Dumper, £19.90
– Great eco-friendly choice
Available at: Amazon
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L28cm x W13cm x H15cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2022
Made from reclaimed and recycled marine plastic including nets and ropes, this Danish-designed dumper truck is really sturdy and robust. Thanks to its giant-sized dumper and large twin wheels that can push through sand, water and mud, it’s a great choice for outdoor play. The handle on the dumper makes for easy carrying as well as acting as a lever for tipping the huge bucket and emptying its contents.
It’s more than just a great dumper truck for role play. It’s also a platform to start conversations about environmental issues and recycling.
11. Xootz Big Bumper Car Electric Ride-On, £199.99
— Great for ride-on thrills
Age suitability: 18 months+ | Best for age: 5+ | Size: H69cm x W48.7cm x D93cm | Batteries: 1 x 12V (included) plus 3 x AAA (not included) | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
Bring fairground fun to your living room with the Xootz Big Bumper Car, an electric ride-on designed in the shape of a bumper car. This ride-on can be used in the house or garden, but don’t worry, parents – there is a rubberised bumper to protect your furniture. The ride-on has room for 2 passengers and can be controlled with a steering wheel or a parental remote control.
While this isn’t the smallest of toys, you don’t need a huge area, with the mum of our child tester being surprised at how little space was needed (it can do a full 360° spin on the spot). You will need to charge it first — charging time is up to 8 hours — and the running time is around 45 minutes. It also has flashing lights, plays music and comes with stickers for customisation.
“This is AMAZING! I love it because you can chase people around. I love it because it lights up and drives like a real car because it goes super fast!”
12. Marvel Spider-Man 6v Light-Up Web Slinger Mini Quad, £100
— Great for superhero-themed fun
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2.5 | Size: H46.5cm x W65cm x D39.5cm | Batteries: 1 x 6V battery required (included) | Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
Sling web discs with the Marvel Spider-Man 6v Light-Up Web Slinger Mini Quad, a child-sized quad bike decorated with colourful character graphics. Featuring Spider-Man characters, web-shaped mouldings and glowing headlight eyes, this Mini Quad is activated using a foot-operated pedal control with both forward and reverse gears. It can be driven around your house or garden at a max speed of 2.5mph. While you’ll need to charge it before use, once the battery is full there is an estimated playtime of 60 minutes.
I do think this toy is worth the money. Due to the stability of it and speed it can be used from a very young age up to around 6 years old. A big appeal to all Spider-Man fans and the shooting disc is a great bonus
Best interactive toys for 2 year olds
13. Fisher-Price DJ Bouncin’ Beats, £46.99
– Great for dancing and fun
Available at: Amazon and Argos
Age suitability: 9 months+ | Best for age: 18 months+ | Size: L17cm x W30cm x H33cm | Batteries: 4 x AA (included) | Awards: Editor’s Choice, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2022
A musical learning toy with an interactive, hopping twist, this fun plastic rabbit bounces around when your child presses the buttons between its ears. Ears flashing and face glowing, it plays more than 75 songs, sounds and phrases at 3 levels, aimed at different stages of development and including letters, colours, numbers and opposites.
His face lit up and he was screaming in delight. Once he got used to the vigorous hopping, he found it enormously fun to play and his older sisters have enjoyed using the recording feature with him.
14. Bing Lights & Sounds Fire Engine from Golden Bear, £29.99
– Great for vehicle role-play
Available at: Amazon, Argos and Very
Age suitability: 18 months +| Best for age: 2+ | Size: 10cm x 23cm x 16.5cm | Batteries: 2 AAA batteries (included) | Awards: Bronze, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
A toy fire engine with real lights and sounds? It’s a Bing Thing. Fans of the cartoon will recognise the distinctive rabbit-shaped Bing figurine that’s included with the vehicle (a red fire engine complete with movable ladder). The Bing fire engine episode has more than 1.2 million views on YouTube, but children don’t have to have seen the show to engage in imaginative play with this toy.
The fire engine can be pushed along, and all four doors open to reveal two compartments for the Bing character. While there are some edges that might be sharp for littler fingers, Bing fans will not be disappointed with the functionality. The ladder lifts and extends with clicking sounds, and includes a rotating bucket for Bing to sit in. For added fun, the vehicle has flashing lights and sounds including a siren.
It goes newnah,it has little wheels, and the ladder goes up and down.
15. Fisher-Price Little People Light-Up Learning Garage, £44.99
– Great for interactive learning
Available at: John Lewis and Very
Age suitability: 1+ | Best for age: 1+ | Size: 25.4cm x 82.5cm x 40 cm | Batteries: 3 x AA (included) | Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
Beep beep! Toddlers can fill up, tune up and wash their car before racing along to the next adventure with the Fisher-Price Little People Light-Up Learning Garage. This interactive car garage also has lights, songs, and sounds. There’s a lot of child-activated detail — lights flash as toddlers send their car through the car wash and there is a working elevator for figures and cars. Once cars are clean, you can send them racing down the ramp. Cars can also be filled up or charged at the station, and mini mechanics can ‘fix’ them with the wrench pieces.
He loved dancing to the music and repeating the letters, numbers, and colours. He loved the car and putting the characters in and out of it.
16. VTech 3-in-1 Sports Centre, £49.99
– Great for active fun
Available from: Very, Amazon and Argos
Age suitability: 12 months+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L58cm x W44cm x H66cm| Batteries: 3 x AA (included)
This little interactive sports centre lets you shoot a basket, net a goal or throw to hit a target (that’s round the back behind the scoreboard). It comes with a pint-sized football, a pint-sized basketball and small throwing ball. The electronic scoreboard counts the shots that score and plays encouraging phrases. It also features buttons to press that trigger songs and encourage learning about shapes and colours.
This toy is amazing, it’s well worth the money and will last for quite some time. Lucas goes running to it every morning. He caught on pretty fast to how to play and was so pleased with himself when he scored.
Best travel toys for 2 year olds
17. LEGO DUPLO Number Train, £17.99
– Great for early maths skills
Available at: Argos and Amazon
Age suitability: 18 months+ | Best for age: 18 months+ | Size: L37cm x W6cm x H10cm | Batteries: None
This buildable, wheeled locomotive has 3 carriages, with numbered bricks to load on board. It’s colourful, easy to build and push along, and introduces numbers and counting in a fun way. It also comes with 2 child figures and a very cute cat. It was a real hit with our toddler testers, especially Sam, 2. It’s nice and light too, and would be a good toy to stash in a carry bag when you’re travelling.
18. Little Fox Quiet Book, £44.95-£49.95
— Great handmade option
Age suitability: 18 months + | Best for age: 18 months| Size: 15cm x 15cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
The Montessori-inspired Little Fox Quiet Book is a fabric book with sensory play activities on each page. There are interactive scenes with human and animal characters as well as fabric features like moving pieces, buttons, zips, Velcro, and elastic for little hands to engage with. Activities include feeding animal characters with fabric food, threading a mouse though a piece of cheese and playing with a friendly fox’s tail.
The book is 100% handmade and all the components are hand-sewn, which is reflected in the high price for an activity book. Despite this delicate touch, the book is designed to be sturdy, durable, and reusable. It is useful for travelling as it contains multiple activities in one small fabric book.
After playing with it, it is an investment worth making; whether that be to hand down to family or buying for a special birthday or occasion. We took it on a recent car journey; it was brilliant as it is compact and lightweight, perfect for little hands to carry and play with.
Available at: Little Camie
Best role-play toys for 2 year olds
19. Toomies Bath Barista, £22.99
– Great for bathtime fun
Available at: Amazon and Argos
Age suitability: 18 months+ | Best for age: 18 months+ | Size: H23.3cm x W23.5cm x D10.2cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2023
The Bath Barista is a pretend coffee machine designed to be played with in water. The toy allows children to mimic adults making coffee by placing a cup under the filter, twisting a handle and serving a drink into one of the 3 plastic cups (included). Want to add foam to your drink? Create frothy foam bubbles by pumping a plunger. For adding a finishing touch, a sprinkle shaker is included with the Bath Barista. Suction pads also allow it to be easily attached to wall tiles, bath sides or any smooth surface.
The Bath Barista is an absolute bargain considering the endless hours of fun it provides. The Bath Barista is now a part of our daily bath routine, bathtime has never been this fun and easy.
20. LeapFrog Count-along Basket & Scanner, £39.99
– Great for shopping role play
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L17cm x W24cm x H32cm | Batteries: 2 x AAA (included)
This vibrant shopping basket comes with 8 pieces of play food and an interactive ‘scanner’ that recognises each food item as it’s scanned. It has 3 game modes based on colours, shapes, counting and food groups. The handle on the basket can also be pulled out to turn it into a rollalong trolley basket. It’s solidly made, brightly coloured, with well thought-out games (and a friendly, encouraging voice to guide you through them) – but it’s the scanner that's the absolute star feature. The fact that it recognises each piece of play food captivated all our toddler testers.
Holly enjoys playing shop, so this toy with the scanning device took it to the next level. She keeps wanting to show it to anyone that comes round. I can see great potential for this toy in imaginative play for many years to come.
21. LeapFrog Scoop and Learn Ice Cream Cart, £59.99
– Great for food role play
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L52cm x W22cm x H63cm | Batteries: 3 x AAA (included)
This interactive push-along trolley is stacked with ice cream combos for your toddler to create and serve. It comes with 6 activity cards you can insert into the cart to hear ice-cream orders to make and then ring through the till. It’s a definite toddler hit and the ‘magic ice cream scoop’, which recognises the different colours and flavours on offer, really wowed our little testers. The activity cards are great for reinforcing colours and numbers and we like how the cart “gobbles up” all the left-over ice cream.
Edie plays with this non-stop. It's great for learning her colours as we ask her for a pink/green ice cream and also tell her the flavour. Her favourite part seems to be putting topping on to the ice cream. It is certainly a hit – and I would definitely recommend this toy to friends and family.
Best soft toys for 2 year olds
22. CoComelon Boo Boo JJ, £24.99
– Great for learning body parts
Available at: Amazon and The Entertainer
Age suitability: 2+ | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L10cm x W12cm x H30cm| Batteries: 3x AAA (included) | Awards: Gold, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2022
You do pay a bit of a premium for Cocomelon-themed toys but this cuddly plush doll definitely does deliver on the toddler-thrill front. He’s nice and big to squeeze and comes with 3 brightly coloured Velcro-backed fabric plasters – which you put on his head, elbow, knee or foot when that area lights up and JJ tells you he’s got a ‘boo boo’. Get your plaster in the right spot and JJ giggles and tells you he’s feeling better. You can also press his tummy and he'll sing the Boo Boo song.
I’ve never seen a doll like this before. It’s very original. And Amelia is very excited about him – and especially about the plasters!
23. iFrodoll Personalised Deep Skin Tone Plush Doll Nevaeh, £16.99
– Great for cuddling
Available at: iFrodoll
Age suitability: From birth | Best for age: 2+ | Size: L9cm x W14cm x H34cm | Batteries: None | Awards: Silver, MadeForMums Toy Awards 2022
One of a range of soft dolls with brown and black skin tones that can be personalised – for free – with your child's name, Nevaeh has a smiley round face, curly, textured hair in a top-bun and wears a (non-removable) dress with a tutu skirt. She’s super soft and just the right weight (128g) and size for a toddler to carry about or wrap arms around and snuggle tight at bedtime. She’s also machine-washable.
This toy really resonates with me as a black parent to two black daughters because representation is so important, and the lack of black dolls on the market can be frustrating. This doll is attractive, appealing and very well-made. I think any child of any ethnicity will be able to see the beauty in Nevaeh.
How to choose and use toys safely
Here's what to look out for when choosing the right toys for your toddler:- Look for the CE mark, which is the manufacturer's claim that the toy meets regulatory requirements
- Look for the voluntary British Toy and Hobby Association's Lion Mark (a red lion inside a yellow triangle)
- Buy from retailers that you know and trust
- Ensure the toy is appropriate for your child's age. Small pieces (such as plastic eyes on teddy bears that appear 'fastened on' but aren't properly secured) are choking hazards up to the age of 3
- Beware of any items that detach or have sharp edges
- Check toys regularly for things such as loose threads or escaped filling
We've got more top tested and rated toys here...
Authors
Emily is the Digital Content Producer at MadeForMums, working across the brand on everything from pushchairs and car seats to baby names and the latest product launches. She researches topics thoroughly to make sure our content is accurate and helpful for parents and loves bringing the details about latest parenting products and innovations to our audience.
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