In toys, look for a variety of textures they can explore with their hands, says Marie Conti, Director of Regional Community Relations for the American Montessori Society and the former head of The Wetherill School in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.

As a parent, you want your child to develop their creativity, curiosity, and imagination. One way to encourage these traits is through open-ended toys. Development experts agree open-ended toys are best.

Open-ended toys are toys that do not have a specific purpose or function. They are toys that can be used in a variety of ways and are not limited to a single activity or outcome. These educational toys are designed to promote creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills in children.

Let's find out MOMS approved Open-Ended Toys for Toddlers.

Baby activity walker - Instead of a regular walker that no doctor recommends, choose an activity walker for your child, to ignite their interest and encourage stepping their foot forward simultaneously. It comes with puzzle boards and chunky pieces that help with motor skills, sorting, and more. 

Push car toy for toddlers

The Wagon is perfect for taking dolls, stuffed animals, and toys for a ride. It enhances multi-skill development and makes learning fun for your toddler and preschooler.

Building Blocks- 

Blocks painted with different types of colors will greatly enhance the cognitive as well as Motor skills of the Kid. Blocks are wonderful ways for your children to learn about colors, shapes, counting, size, weight, and more. They are also great for developing fine motor skills, which require dexterity and hand-eye coordination, and even gross motor skills such as jumping, swinging, or kicking, with larger building block sets.

Ball pool and Play tent house

We must acknowledge that a ball pit in your home is entirely silly, but it can also lead to hours of sensory fun. You can also enjoy yourself with your little one in the ball pool. what else you can ask for? It is a perfect family time.

Pull along toys

 A child aged as young as 12 months can start playing with pull-along toys. But keep in mind that children develop at different paces. Pull-along toy builds motor skills as the toddler walks along with it, pushing and pulling in different directions. But prefer a Multi-sensory one with multiple uses.

Activity Bead Maze and Cube -Being a MONTESORI TOY, an activity cube can stimulate children to explore time, space, logic, and other skills, stimulate the development of sensory and thinking activities and help improve and cultivate hand-eye coordination, logical thinking, and color Perception ability.

Magnetic tiles

Spark hours of imaginative free play in children. Anything they can dream, they can create! Develops math, science, spatial and tactile skills. STEM approved! 1.5year olds can also start building with magnetic tiles. Nothing major – but they can place a tile if you tell them which where, or they can do small build themselves.

Lego-

LEGO sets are the best educational, brain development, and learning toys for 18 months to 3 years.LEGO® DUPLO® bricks are made safe because they're made big. Meaning there's no swallow risk for teething toddlers, and although we advise against little ones tasting our bricks there's no risk of exposure to any harmful substances if they do.

Sensory table - 

Sensory play engages the body and mind to boost brain development. There are more than 100 ways to set up the table for STEM learning, pre-math concepts, language, logical thinking and so much more.

It can also be used as a regular table for art, craft, studies, etc.

Things You can do with your sensory table include-

• Sink vs float.
• Scooping toys
• shape sorting etc

Play- Dough 

Around 15-18 months, your little one can be ready for play dough! Playdough offers more than just fun, sensory play. It builds fine motor skills and hand/finger strength. As your toddler gets older, they will start to use the dough in imaginary play – making balls, pretend food, people, and more. Create your own following few steps

Multi-functional Wooden Easel Board 

The easel will provide hours of creative activity, like painting, coloring, drawing, lettering and math games, etc. which are both enjoyable and educational.

Balance Board

The balance board offers plenty of space for endless adventures, making playtime even more enjoyable.It's whatever your kid imagines! This versatile toy transforms into a bridge, rocker, slide, boat, and more

Recommended Reading: Best Open-ended Toys for Kids

Open-ended toys are a great way to promote creativity, imagination, and development in toddlers. By incorporating these toys into your child's playtime, you can help them develop essential skills while having fun. Remember, the possibilities are endless with open-ended toys!