Two-year-olds often play with more than one toy at once, like setting toy food on a toy plate. That is early pretend play, and imagination grows quickly in these first years.
Pretend food, chunky blocks and little figures give those first stories a place to happen, and our picks for a two-year-old girl start just below.
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Dolls and figuresAges 1 to 5
In a doctor's waiting room, a toddler who invents little stories can open this case and begin a new one.
The Forest Friends set hands her a ready cast, and it all closes up again when her name is called. She can line the characters along the chair arm and let each one take a turn talking.
Building sets
Infantino's Press & Stay blocks let a 2-year-old girl new to stacking push pieces into towers.
The maker labels them for 6 months and up, so a toddler her age is well inside that range. Once a tower gets tall, she tugs the pieces off and starts again on the rug.
Dolls and figures
American brand
If the toddler on your list names her stuffed animals and chats with them, this GUND Cozys bunny joins that circle.
She gives each soft toy its own voice, so a new rabbit means a fresh character for her stories. The rabbit takes the seat across from her at a playroom tea party.
Arts and crafts
American brand
These Play-Doh cans put a row of jewel shades in front of a 2-year-old girl who wants every lid off at once.
At her age she mashes a fistful from every can together, and the supply means nobody has to save any.
MusicFrom 9 months
American brand
The toddler who stomps and claps whenever a song comes on wants a DJ of her own to keep the tunes going.
Bouncing to a beat is how she plays most, and this Fisher-Price toy supplies the music for it.
Games and puzzlesAges 1+
American brand
When you want a gift a toddler girl can finish without help, this farm puzzle leaves the job to her.
She grabs every handle and lid within reach, and each knob gives that grip something to lift. The completed board, every creature back in place, gets carried over for you to see.
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From 18 months
American brand
After her nap, a toddler who pulls things off and puts them back can thread each ring into place on her own.
At her age she repeats a small job again and again, and each piece gives her hands a clear place to go. The bare post waits on her bedroom floor until she gathers every piece back up.
Made in Denmark
Plus-Plus BIG pieces give a girl with a growing pile of creations her own shapes to click into flowers, rainbows or towers.
Plus-Plus rates them from age 1, so her hands can already join each piece to the next. Sorting them by color at the kitchen table makes a quiet game of its own.
Ages 2+
Danish brand
This Peppa Pig train set comes with Grandpa Pig, Peppa and George, so a Peppa fan can drive them through the arch.
The 35 pieces snap into a train and a station. She can wait on the platform, then climb aboard.
Ages 2+
Danish brand
Penguin and lion families in 10 Duplo pieces give a 2-year-old girl animals she can snap together herself.
Then she plays out the lions hiding and the penguins sliding down.
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VTech's giraffe belongs with a toddler who counts out loud on every stair and skips half the digits.
She chats with anything that has a face, and a long-necked companion gives her someone to recite those digits to. Her own wobbly version of the sequence becomes a little show she puts on for you from the bottom step.
American brand
Should your handset keep vanishing into a toddler's grip, the LeapFrog Chat and Count gives her a receiver of her own.
She mimics each hello and pause you make, and this toy lets those little talks go on as long as she likes. Her made-up conversation ends with the receiver held out so you can say goodbye too.
(price and availability terms)
$12.74 at Amazon.com*See price at Amazon.com* (LeapFrog Chat and Count pretend-play phone, green)(price and availability terms)
$12.74 at Amazon.com*See price at Amazon.com* (LeapFrog Chat and Count pretend-play phone, black)The VTech Busy Learners cube hands a toddler girl with restless fingers something to work on.
Poking and prodding at whatever she finds is how she plays, and this cube keeps that game in one place. Set it beside her on the rug while you fold laundry nearby.
This VTech Snap and Giggle camera has a turning lens that reveals animal friends, so it works for a girl who loves posing everyone.
She can switch between Learning and Music modes and press the shutter to hear camera sounds.
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From 1 month
American brand
A guessing story fits a girl who shouts out answers before you even finish asking the question.
She likes being the one who knows, and each page hands her another chance to call it out first. On the bus to the park, rest it on your lap and let her decide when to flip ahead.
Letter-loving toddlers can bounce along with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault.
She claps to the rhythm as a parent reads it on the rug. Soon she shouts the title line before the page turns.
American brand
LeapFrog's Learning Friends book works for a toddler who hauls her favorite story over and climbs into your lap.
She asks to hear the same pictures called out again and again, and a volume full of everyday things answers that request each time. Its cover rests across your knees until she reaches over to flip forward.
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Ages 1+
American brand
A Melissa & Doug maze suits a toddler who pokes at every zipper and switch she can reach.
She wants things to move with a fingertip, and each piece here follows a curving path she can trace again.
American brand
This Fisher-Price coffee machine gives a 2-year-old café fan a counter of her own to run.
The maker labels it 18M+, so it is within range. She can press the buttons, hear the sounds and serve you a pretend latte.
Arts and crafts
A girl who smears yogurt across her high chair tray wants marks of her own that can go on the fridge.
At her age she grips anything her fist closes around, and Honeysticks crayons turn that grip into streaks of color.
Music
American brand
During a family sing-along, a toddler who sways to every tune can strum a LeapFrog guitar of her own beside you.
Moving to the beat is how she joins any song, and an instrument in her hands puts her in the band. Its neck rests across her lap between songs, waiting for the next chorus.
Music
American brand
LeapFrog's music player is made for a toddler who begs for the same song again the moment it ends.
Hearing a favorite tune over and over is her fun, and owning this puts her in charge of the encore. Her living room concert, a wooden spoon for a microphone, ends with a bow just for you.
Games and puzzles
American brand
While you unpack the grocery bags, a toddler who hands you each apple and banana can set out a market of her own.
At her age she mirrors each errand, and matching play foods by color gives her a stall to keep stocked.
Outdoor and sports
The Little Tikes First Slide gives a 2-year-old girl a low slide to climb and ride at home.
It folds down without tools, so it moves from the living room rug to the backyard. She climbs, sits and glides again.
Outdoor and sports
Balls rolling across the yard draw in a toddler who runs after each one and hurls it back with both hands.
Her throws fly anywhere for now, and the Little Tikes Easy Score hoop hands them a target. The shot that drops through the rim becomes the one she lines up to copy over and over.
Vehicles
The VTech Drop and Go dump truck gives a 2-year-old girl a truck to load and push.
Rocks drop in the top and tumble into the bucket. Then she lifts the bucket to tip them out again.
Any price
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Handing you each apple points to the pretend produce set, which lets her lay out a market and match the fruit herself.
The Little Tikes hoop suits a toddler who chases and throws with both hands, giving those throws somewhere to land.
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Chosen by our team from store data and what readers pick, not hands-on tests. Nothing is paid to be on this list. Recall notices checked . How we pick
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Updated Nov 4and 2 more
