6 Toys That Work When You Have a Baby and a Toddler
Sorted by the only question that matters at this stage: can I put it on the floor with both of them, or does one of them have to wait?
Verified age ranges · No batteries · Nothing that needs refereeing
Updated August 2026
Mine are 22 months apart. Everybody warned me about the jealousy. Nobody warned me about the floor.
Because the actual problem is not that they fight over toys. It is that almost everything my toddler owns is a choking hazard for the baby, so the moment she starts crawling I am either following her around picking things up, or the toddler's things live on a shelf and he loses them too.
So I stopped sorting toys by age and started sorting them by one question. Can this go on the floor with both of them in the room?
Three answers, and they are how this list is ordered. Some things work for both. Some are the baby's alone. And some are genuinely toddler-only, which is fine as long as you know it before you buy rather than after.
Ages below are the ones Toddla publishes, not my guess.
The problem is not sharing. It is that a nine-month-old puts everything in her mouth and a two-year-old owns twenty things she should not.
1. Montessori Busy Board
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5, 1,148 reviews
"My boys are in love with this busy board! They take it everywhere as it keeps them entertained. We love the fact that we can zip up and down the pages, so the boys can share. Screen-free entertainment? Yes, please! Would definitely recommend :)"
Steffi D.Verified
- Ages
- 6 months to 5 years. Under 18 months, supervised
- Why It Is First
- It comes apart. The pages unzip, so one board becomes two and they get a half each. That is the entire reason it is at the top, and it is the only thing here that does it.
- The Floor Test
- Nothing detaches from a page. No buttons to prise off, no pieces to lose. It is the one thing in this house I can put down and walk to the kitchen.
- What Each Of Them Does With It
- She pats the textures and pulls the ribbons. He works the buckles and the laces. Same board, and neither of them is waiting.
2. Soft Building Blocks
★★★★★ 4.7 out of 5, 85 reviews
"These blocks are really well made. They come in the cutest colors (not obnoxious colors!), are durable for teething, soft enough to not hurt baby’s face mouth, and our son loves them."
L***BVerified
- Ages
- 6 months and up
- Why It Made The List
- Food-grade silicone, soft enough to chew on, and deliberately made too big to be a choking risk. That combination is rarer than it should be.
- The Floor Test
- Passes. She gums them while he builds towers out of them, and when he knocks the tower onto her nothing hurts.
3. Sensory Fruits and Veggies Sorting Set
★★★★★ 4.7 out of 5, 128 reviews
"MY 3 MONTH OLD BABY LOVES THESE TOYS. Very soft, many colors and different textures. My baby favorites were the corn, strawberry and Carrot. Beware , this toys HAVE TO BE HANDWASH, no laundry machine. Very cute toys, good size for infants. Good quality for the price."
S***MVerified
- Ages
- 6 months and up
- Why It Made The List
- All plush, no small parts, and washable, which matters more than it sounds when one of them is teething on it. At six months it is texture and crinkle. At two it is sorting by color.
- The Floor Test
- Passes. It is the only set here where the pieces are safe for the baby and still interesting to the toddler.
4. Rattle Toy Socks
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5, 36 reviews
"My baby loves the feet rattles… the hand ones are meh. I got him them when he was just over 3 months old and he’s older but still love them. They are great to slip over socks that are already on too. The fact there are no sizes makes this good to grow with and fit all foot sizes."
M***sVerified
- Ages
- Around 3 months and up, from what parents report
- Why It Made The List
- Hers alone, and the only thing on this list the toddler has no interest in taking, because it is on her feet. When you are outnumbered, a toy that cannot be confiscated is worth something.
- The Floor Test
- Not applicable. They go on, they stay on, there is nothing to drop.
5. Montessori Geometric Eggs
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5, 1,148 reviews
"We are very pleased with the geometric eggs - my granddaughter really enjoys opening and closing them, they are a good size for her hands. They were easy to order, and swiftly dispatched. Regular tracking information was provided too. Thank you for a great shopping experience."
Ela M.Verified
- Ages
- 12 months and up
- Toddler Only
- The eggs come apart into halves that are small enough to matter. This is a table toy or a high-chair toy in our house, not a floor one, and it goes back in its tray when we are done.
- Why It Is Still Worth It
- The twist is the same wrist movement as a doorknob or a lid, and it is one of the few things that holds him while I am feeding her.
6. Montessori Farm Animal Set
★★★★★ 4.8 out of 5, 55 reviews
"This are a favorite in our house. This set helps my kiddos learn colors numbers animals and it helps with there motor skills too"
S***LVerified
- Ages
- 1 to 5 years
- Toddler Only, And Be Honest About It
- Twenty pieces. On a page about a crawling baby I am not going to pretend that is nothing. This one lives on the table, comes out when she is asleep or in the high chair, and gets counted back into its bag.
- Why It Earns The Trouble
- It is the longest he plays with anything. Twenty pieces is enough to sort, count and then invent something out of, which is how you get forty minutes instead of four.
One Last Thing
If you take one thing from this, make it the sorting question rather than any particular toy. Once I started asking whether something could go on the floor with both of them, half of what we owned quietly moved to a shelf and the house got easier.
Most orders arrive in about a week. There is a 30-day trial if it turns out not to suit.
If I were buying one thing it would be the Busy Board, because it is the only one that solves the actual problem. It splits. They get a half each, at the same time, and nobody is waiting for a turn.
Savannah