As our newborn essentials list went down so well with all of you lovely mamas, we thought it would be a good idea to create a toddler 'must have' list! As our adorable, testing, frustratingly gorgeous, cute little humans, entered the stage of havoc inducing chaos (with a bundle of laughs alongside of course) we quickly began to realise that certain toys and products suddenly became our new white noise machine, or sleepyhead.
We have listed below our fave items for you, to help make those toddler years a little less stressful and a lot more fun!
Colouring pad and pens/ sitcker books
Sounds pretty boring, but let us tell you THESE genius creations are life savers when it comes to restaurant dining with your toddlers. Especially when we are desperate for just 5 minutes piece to sip on our lovely glass of wine, or enjoy our Sunday roast. We have listed some of our faves for you:
KidloLand App
And if the above fails, unless you are 'no phones allowed' (which we always swore we would be....) this app is GENIUS. KidloLand isn't just a mind-numbingly, non-educational bunch of video c**p, but instead is full of counting and alphabet games, puzzles, nursery rhymes, stories and other interactive games for the kids to focus on and actually learn from.
App Store
Play Doh and Peppa Pig
And of course, what household with a toddler (or more) does not have play doh in it!! This hideously messy product ends up absolutely EVERYWHERE. It dries up and crumbles into teeny, tiny pieces and ends up in the bed, stuck in the sofa, in-between our toes, under the kid's nails, and even in the bath!!! However, it is GENIUS and keeps the kids entertained for long enough for us to actually get some sh*t done. Another great toy we came across was the Peppa Pig one below! It's great for those who love Peppa Pig and teaches them about colours and numbers at the same time.
Peppa pig counting
Role play toys
Of course, the older the kids gets, the more they start to develop their imagination and role play skills and what comes with that, are larger and definitely pricier toys. From kitchens to supermarkets and ice cream stands, they may be big and may be expensive, but they are definitely some of the best buys we have made and they both LOVE their kitchens in particular. See our fave large toys below that also includes a fabulous ice cream cart :)
Ikea Kitchen (which you can personalise however you wish!)
Ice cream cart
Outdoor toys
Summer or winter, as the kids get older, they love being outdoors, so our recent garden toy purchases have been life savers. From play houses, to slides. Below we have listed a couple of our faves for you that will hopefully keep your little ones entertained as much as ours!
Slide
It's so hard to get a good slide! Are they big enough? too steep? not steep enough? Sophie got this one for Zack and its perfect for toddlers!
Snack Saviours
Obviously snacks are the bane of our lives when it comes to Zack and Delilah, so having copious amounts on us at all times are mandatory! However, snack times have been made so much easier since discovering Skip Hop's GENIUS Snack Cup. It holds things like cereal in it and it DOES.NOT.SPILL. And what's even better, is they don't end up scoffing a whole a packet of crisps down their throat in 30 seconds (and spilling half of it on the floor), as they have to carefully (and slowly) pry the snacks out, ultimately meaning they consume less in a longer amount of time.
High Chair Goals
The kids started getting agitated being in their old highchairs, as they couldn't move around much and we could tell they wanted to be closer and more interactive at the table and feel more involved with us. We recently came across Stokke Tripp Trapp high chairs and Zack and Delilah LOVE them and instantly began to behave so much better when sitting in them, rather than constantly trying to escape. What's also great about this highchair, is that you can purchase a baby seat and cushion for the younger ones.
Toddler Dining
Cutlery, plates and cups are also items that they of course use daily, but items that we have upgraded along the way. As they are both past the age of 2, we have tried to teach them more table manners and how to use their cutlery properly. It's always best to try and make meal times a fun experience, as we have found that the older they get, they just aren't bothered about sitting down nice and quietly eating their food, rather throwing their pasta up the walls and wiping their hands all over whatever they can reach and screaming for 'CHOK-LIT'. So to help them feel 'more grown up' and gauge their interest, we love mini, adult style spoons, knives and forks, as they are easier to use and help them learn how to cut and pick up their food properly. We also love plates that are not only practical (stick to the table!!), but cute and fun for the kids to use and make meal times a little more interesting! See our faves below.
Potty Training
If you are in the midst of, or thinking of starting the process soon, we both loved this training set from Amazon, that comes with a little seat for the toilet, a step to help them access, and a portable potty with a fantastic 'pour away' feature at the back!
Pourty Toilet Training Pink Combo Bundle - Potty, Flexi-fit Toilet seat & Step
Bath Life
Toddlers and bath time is always a mish-mash of laughs, lots of splashing, wet floors, bath toys finding their way into every nook and cranny in the bathroom and a LOT of mess to clear up at the end.... so when we came across this (not so pretty but) fabulous toy holder for the bathroom, we were VERY excited. It also comes with a set of letters and numbers which is great for their development and then when bath time is over, you can make tidying up and putting everything a way, into a game! Voila! We also love this adorable fishing kit for the bath.
Back Packs
Not only do these look ADORABLE, but they LOVE wearing them and carrying their fave toys and snacks in them when we go out for the day! (Oh, and it's less for you to have to carry...). Obviously, you can't over fill them or the poor kids will be toppling over backwards, but if you find your little one's love carrying their own belongings, then these gorgeous mini backpacks from HA Designs ltd are our definite faves. AND, they come in adult size too, so you can twin with them!
Anyway, we hope the above was useful for you all! As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or any other products you feel you can't live without for your toddler! We LOVE something new we have never come across before!