While I am a big proponent of “non-interactive” toys and activities, that is, the non-techy gizmos that forces the kid to use their own imagination and creativity – there is no denying that interactive toys for babies can foster motor skills, curiosity and can actually be a wonderful tool for cognitive benefits.

It is true, I feel ashamed and discombobulated to admit that there is much evidence that interactive video games, the same ones we all told our kids would rot their brain, can actually increase your capacity to learn (video games make you smarter?!).

Be that as it may, you don’t want your kids to make video games their life. What good is an increased capacity to learn if all you do is sit on your bum all day, eating potato chips and playing Call of Duty?

I guess what I am trying to say is, interactive toys are cool and have awesome educational benefits, but don’t put all your faith into these toys! After playing an interactive safari game, for example, take your toddler to the Zoo or Petsmart to see them in real life, to spark real world curiosity and wonder. That is just a suggestion though, of course. 😉

Below I have compiled a list of what is arguably the coolest & best interactive toys for young babies and toddlers.

 

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VTech Bright Lights Soccer Ball

*Recommended Age – 6 Months to 3 years old*

 

I really like this one because not only does it act as a entry-level baby learning toy, but its also a soccer ball. And certain sounds and music are only activated through its motion sensor. Which means healthy exercise play! By the way, a healthy fit body goes hand in hand with learning capabilities.

The soccer ball displays a colorful set of interactive buttons. When pressed the ball plays encouraging phrases and teaches about colors, numbers, opposites and sportsmanship, saying things like “Let’s work together!”. 🙂

Teaches “tactile awareness” with the two crinkle hands of the soccer ball friend. All in all this is a great interactive toy that encourages exercise ad learning at the same time.

 

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VTech Little Apps Tablet

*Recommended Age – 25 Months to 5 years old*

This toy is for older toddlers, once your baby is ready they can start brushing up o their tablet skills. Introduce your child to the adult world of apps and tech devices that we all enjoy and use in our daily lives.

This toddler learning tablet has 12 learning activities with progressive levels. The screen has multiple color options so your child can choose their favorite color to play on. Play activities with letter buttons and piano keyboard sounds.

 

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VTech’s Musical Rhymes Book

*Recommended Age – 6 Months to 3 years old*

This book is filled with so much magically fun learning activity and engaging colorful imagery, even you will find this book fun to go through! Musical rhymes book comes with 6 classic nursery rhymes Early education learning center build fine motor skills by sliding and twisting the fun play pieces; pre-K reading book has 40+ songs, melodies, sounds and phrases

Talking book features 5 colorful piano buttons that make sounds and introduce colors and instruments;

2 modes of play: music mode and learning mode Interactive toddler book is visually stimulating with bright pages and a light-up star that flashes with the sound; early learning toy is great for babies and toddlers Baby book is intended for kids 6 months to 3 years of age;

 

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Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Smart Stages Puppy

*Recommended Age – 6 Months to 3 years old*

This interactive baby toy is a really cool one. Integrated with what Fisher-Price calls “Smart Stages technology” that will change the learning level as your baby grows – 3 Levels of Interactive Play.

Here are the different stages of learning..

Level 1 – Explore – 6 months+
This stage is meant to spark curiosity with certain activities, like figuring out if you grasp the puppy’s hands or feet, the puppy starts makig sounds! The puppy will play songs and phrases as well as simple single words like “green” in order to acclimate your child to a variety of vocabulary sounds (baby’s minds are like a sponge!)

Level 2 – Encourage – 12 months+
This level extends to number counting, colors, letters and will interactively encourage your baby to play and learn what is what. For example, if baby presses the puppy’s ear to hear prompts like, “Can you find your ears?”

Level 3 – Pretend – 18 months+
It’s time to play pretend! This is the part that I like this most because it encourages your toddler to focus on using their imagination for play rather than direct eye-to-screen display.  Your toddler can start imaginative play with their puppy friend and “stomp their feet like an elephant” or play peek-a-boo.

 

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VTech Pull and Sing Puppy

*Recommended Age – 6 Months to 3 years old*

Not only does Vtech’s Puppy & Sing toy offer fun interactive play, it also serves as a pull toy to help encourage walking.

This awesome interactive puppy will get your kid up and about, learning to walk their little playful puppy;. When your toddler pulls the puppy by his leash, it will activate music and sounds and the puppy’s legs move back
& forth and he shakes his keys in his mouth to top this off as a rattle toy as well. 🙂

The Puppy introduces numbers, colors, puppy body parts, and plays A LOT of music, with a total of 60+ songs, melodies, sounds and phrases. Your baby can explore drum, piano and saxophone sounds by pressing the buttons to enjoy 30 melodies in classical, jazz and pop music styles

 

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Marsjoy’s Interactive Electronic Movements Plush Puppy

*Recommended Age – 30 Months to 3 years old*

 

The next best thing to a real puppy, is this interactive electronic puppy! The only thing you need to feed this doggy is 4 AA batteries, do that and your puppy will do all sorts of tricks with voice commands!  The electronic dog makes barking sounds as your child interacts with it. And you can teach the puppy to do things like sit and bow, a total of 8 different fun moves – check out the chart below to see all what this interactive pup can do!

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Baby Einstein Glow & Discover Light Bar Toys

*Recommended Age – 3 Months to 3 years old*

This is a great interactive toy to start your baby off with, as you can let them play with it as early as 3 months old, and is great for engaging babies with its bright light-up colors and fun sounds.

Great toy to use for tummy time. You ca lay the bars flat during tummy time and prop it back up when baby wants to sit & play. The light up colors, animals, sounds and melodies make this an all around great learning toy for infants.

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WolVol Educational Kids Toddler Baby Toy Musical Activity Cube 

*Recommended Age – 18 Months and up*

 

Just looking at this thing stirs wonder and imagination. Just look at it! It is like an endless tower of possibilities and fun interactive play. There is so much going on with this toy your baby will probably be toying with it for hours trying to figure it out.

Some of its features include; A built-in microphone to sing their favorite songs. Turn the mic function on and a glowing baby-animal will appear on the mirror with a mic in the hand; A detachable cell phone to call and talk; Steering wheel and motor functions with real sounds and driving skills; Activity Tools; Music will continue while turning the little water tank gears; and the cutest of all is to ring the bell and awake the little sleeping child with various cute songs.

 

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VTech Touch & Teach Word Book

*Recommended Age – 18 Months to 4 years old*

I really like this interactive toddler book, perhaps even more than VTech’s Musical Rhymes book. You can think of this as the next level after the musical rhymes book as it is a little more advanced, with a suggested age at 18 months (compared to VTech’s 6 months).

This educational toy book for toddlers features 12 incredibly detailed and touch sensitive pages that help teach children over 100 words is six categories; four modes of play including: what’s that word, letter fun, music time and find it. Pages react to your toddlers touch with sounds, music, and words; early learning center teaches fine motor skills along with words, and ABCs.

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Although there are TONS of interactive toys for your baby to play with, I would recommend these because they have the highest ratings and most positive reviews. Plus after searching & researching for hours on end, I am under the opinion that these are the best learning toys to pick for young toddlers and infants.

However, there are always new and exciting toys coming out, so if I change my mind and find something better out there I will update this page. I would also appreciate any feedback from parents, and if you disagree with this list and believe there are more worthy interactive toys for babies.

One last thought, if you’ve never heard of ZooBooks, they are an AWESOME education tool for young kids. Obviously you will have to wait for them to learn to read well, but if you subscribe to their magazine subscription you can bulk up on these magazines, because children love them. And you can always read to your young toddler while they look at all the amazing pictures.  I know that may seem a little off topic, but trust me, you will thank me later!