what to get a 2 year old little girl for her birthday
Parents usually dread the day their sweet baby morphs into a screaming toddler. But hither'southward the good news: It'due south relatively piece of cake to store for 2-year-old birthday gifts. At this age, a child'due south natural marvel makes her an avid fan of virtually whatever kind of toy—she's not too caught upwards in specific interests or gender conventions. Plus, she's nonetheless trying to principal basic skills: walking and running, belongings a crayon and scribbling on paper, increasing her vocabulary, putting sentences together, etc.
Sheri Gurock, possessor of Magic Beans children's toy shop in the Boston area, says the best 2-yr-old altogether gifts improve your child's development while providing a fun experience. Read on for our superlative picks for girls and boys.
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Choosing the Best Gifts
Choosing the all-time 2-year-former altogether souvenir comes downwards to a couple of factors. First, remember that toddlers still don't accept high expectations for gifts; they're grateful for any new detail. 2d, think that long-lasting toys are probably the all-time investment. Look for ones that are made of high-quality materials (forest and loftier-class plastic) and volition entreatment to children with a wide range of ages. Third, call up about what your child will truly enjoy. "Betrayal 2-year-olds to new things," says Lisa J. Lewis, OTD, a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Kids Therapy Fabricated Elementary in Los Angeles, CA. "There'due south always the opportunity for growth and change at that historic period, and you want to provide them with new challenges."
Endeavour to avert toys with excessive packaging; toddlers don't accept much patience for delayed gratification. If you suspect that a souvenir will accept a while to extract from a box, consider unpacking and wrapping it once more so it'll exist ready to be played with equally presently equally the paper comes off.
Buttoning, Buckling and Coordination Toys
During the coming year, your toddler volition develop the paw strength and coordination to go dressed every day. Consider toys that provide opportunities to practise fine motor skills such as buttoning, buckling, zipping, lacing, and tying.
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What's more, as tots brand progress feeding themselves, they'll learn to use a fork and to beverage from a loving cup without a lid. Let them practice these skills with fun toddler-size cutlery sets that take broad, easy-to-grip handles, sectioned plates, and colorful identify mats.
Building and Constructing Toys
Simple square wooden blocks are the hallmark of a toddler'south basic construction work: stacking, building, knocking downwards, rebuilding. Towers volition get-go out small-scale (2 or iii blocks at most), but as fine motor skills improve, they'll get higher and higher. Choose alphabet blocks considering they serve a dual purpose: They're the correct shape and size for stacking and they help familiarize children with the ABCs.
Toddlers are also fascinated with anything rolling or magnetic, so expect for wooden railway sets to combine both interests. Your 2-year-former probably isn't concerned with the tracks—he just likes assembling and pushing the trains around—only within the side by side twelvemonth or two, he'll learn the coordination to put tracks together into unproblematic paths.
Toys for Walking and Running
Ii-year-olds love to chase things, which increases gross and fine motor skills, muscle tone, endurance, coordination, remainder, and core strength. "When children are age 2, you want to see them navigate their environs with stability," says Dr. Lewis. "Running helps toddlers get in touch with their bodies." Games of catch allow a kid to do taking turns—a key skill for social development. Balls also make a terrific gift, specially if you can become a drove of different sizes and materials, as each 1 will offer a fun challenge.
Pedaling and Pushing Toys
Two-year-olds aren't ready to pedal a tricycle, then look for high-quality options with a push bar. "Pushing toddlers on a tricycle helps them learn to move their feet and concord themselves upright, forming a foundation for eventually riding the trike alone," Dr. Lewis says.
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Balance bikes are some other option that teaches 2-year-olds with how to ride without pedals. If a child can learn how to balance with her anxiety upwardly, she tin transition hands to a two-wheeled bicycle. You can notice residuum bikes in a diverseness of sizes and materials, including wood, metal, and plastic.
Reading and Talking Gifts
Expand your family library by giving engaging picture books every bit 2-year-old birthday gifts. "Reading aloud contributes so much to language evolution—by building vocabulary, educational activity children that stories have a beginning, middle, and end, and showing them that words move from left to right and from top to bottom," says Amy Flynn, M.S. M.Ed, an early childhood education specialist with New York'south Head First program.
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Stick with board books, since they're sturdy enough for pocket-sized easily. Get a mix of classic stories and interactive ones with touch-and-feel pages or flaps to lift and lower. Also consider adding longer storybooks to the shelf, every bit 2-year-olds are starting to pay attention for longer periods of fourth dimension. "It's important for parents to offer a multifariousness of reading materials to children, from storybooks to poetry to nursery rhymes," Flynn says.
Gifts for Creating and Expressing
Some of the all-time 2-twelvemonth-old birthday gift ideas encourage creativity and artistic expression: crayons, washable markers, finger-paints, brushes, and more. For your 2-year-old, fine art is not virtually the product—it'due south about the process. Children get a nice boost of self-esteem from seeing their creations displayed proudly. Utilize a simple clothesline and clothespins to hang artwork to dry and be displayed at the same fourth dimension.
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Museum trips also make a special altogether present. "Exposing a child to art is actually of import for creating and developing visual imagery in the brain," says Diane Quiroga, a board certified and registered art therapist and mental wellness consultant in Livingston, New Bailiwick of jersey. But if you tin't get to a museum, there are easy alternatives. "I like to buy postcards from museums and laminate them," Quiroga adds.
Gifts for Pretending and Imagining
Two-yr-olds love "pretend play" that exercises the imagination.Invest in some fun props to inspire your growing toddlers to participate in brand-believe. Options include a set of plastic nutrient, accessories for tea time, toy trucks, and more.
Gifts for Floating and Splashing
Bathroom time tin be an opportunity for exploration, so consider gifting bathroom toys like condom ducks, squirting animals, and floatable boats. Other unique bathtub gifts include a foam alphabet set, stacking cups, and water-soluble bathtub crayons (a sponge easily removes what toddlers draw all over the tub and the walls, but be careful of staining the grout between tiles.)
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