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27 Toddler Playroom Essentials: Toys, Storage, & Safety

Updated: May 31, 2019




Lio and I spend a lot of time at home, so having a safe and fun play area for her to explore is important to us. We've set up her play area with intention to maximize her freedom of curiosity. Her kitchenette is mounted to the wall, the flooring is covered with foam tiles, and toys are organized into places like storage baskets and mounted shelving - all within her reach so she is free to explore at her own will. Although some toys that need closer parental monitoring are lifted to higher places. Keep scrolling for our list of "27 of our favorite toddler toys, storage, and safety items for your toddler's playroom".



27 of Our Favorite Toddler Toys, Storage, and Safety Items for Your Toddler's Playroom:





We often set these out for her to stack, nest, and knock down as her first toy to play with in the morning. It helps keep her busy while we cook breakfast.



(2) Tent




We added a couple pillows to the floor of this tent; Lio likes to bring a book inside to read by herself. She also loves when we squeeze inside with her.





This was Lio's Christmas gift. It's been so fun to watch her grow into it. She pretends to wash her hands, fill cups, and she loves to put various items inside the different compartments.









The Fill & Roll Grocery Cart has been one of the best toy purchases to date, if you're rating on toddler's actual usage. Lio loves to fill her grocery cart with play food and even put her babydoll inside and stroll around the apartment in a busy manner.



(5) Cooking & Baking Sets: Cupcake Baking Set & Pasta Set




Lio likes to put the cupcakes in and out of her play oven, and arrange the cupcakes in their baking pan. And I attribute her absolute love for the pasta set with her Italian blood. I actually keep the pasta set above our refrigerator and give it to her while I cook dinner. It has been the best toy to keep her busy for that purpose. She loves to stir the pots with the pasta ladle vigorously and she always allows mama to have a taste. ;)





I actually keep Lio's foam climbing blocks in her bedroom for space reasons. She loves to pull them out and practice walking and climbing all over them. We flip the semicircle upside down and she loves to play a game of balance.






I believe a toddler can't have enough board books. We organize Lio's books on two book shelves mounted on the wall at her level. She chooses the books and can put them back onto the shelf. The set I list here is great to help in communication. We pack a couple with us in Lio's diaper bag for dining out and traveling.





(See above.) I believe a toddler can't have enough board books. We organize Lio's books on two book shelves mounted on the wall at her level. She chooses the books and can put them back onto the shelf.







This toy is fantastic to learn shapes. Lio also uses the wooden shapes to stack & sort in small boxes and cups. Tip: The small blocks are great to pack for travel (I leave the larger cylinder container at home).





These puzzles are great for fine motor development and learning their content as well. Lio actually likes to use the puzzle pieces as pretend cell phones, putting them up to her ear (or mama's ear) and saying "hello" plus endless babbling.






Lio and I usually play with this toy together. I begin stacking the tiles and she helps add the triangle pieces to the top. She also LOVES the destruction of knocking the tiles down.





Another toy we actually keep in her bedroom, Lio's favorite nighttime play is to rock on her rocking horse. I push it around her room on the carpet and Marcello will pick her up in it and have her "fly" around the room.







I was so excited when Lio started getting into pretend play with her babydoll. It's so interesting to see how much she's been observing Marcello and me, and how that translates to her caring for her babydoll. i.e., Holding her babydoll to her shoulder and patting its back; and using all the babydoll accessories listed below to take care of it.







Lio loves her babydoll stroller so much, we actually have to hide it from her sometimes. She loves to strap her babydoll in the belt and stroll around the apartment, and she especially loves to stroll around outside with her stroller. She even packs her water cup in the back before we head outside.







The best thing about the bath play set is the bathtub. Lio loves to put her babydoll in the tub and move her about the apartment. She will take care of the baby in the tub, covering it with a miniature blanket and wiping it down with the small cloth that's included in the play set.


Another good accessory set is a feeding set, however, you can also use one of your toddler's spoons and there is a good chance he'll have fun pretend feeding his babydoll. Lio also loves to use her own diaper changing essentials on her babydoll: diaper, changing pad, and wet wipe.







Lio is obsessed with her slide. It's a rather bulky item to keep in our small apartment, however, she gets so much exercise from its use and I'm always thankful on a rainy day that we have it.





These Grimm's nesting bowls are really well made and versatile in use. Lio likes to practice stacking them tall and putting various small objects inside.







This is an item that we keep out of reach from Lio, in an attempt to keep our walls and flooring free of crayon marks. Lio will point to it for us to bring down for her to play with. She loves to color by herself and also with us. We will draw small objects and she likes to hone in on them to color.


Travel Tip: When we are traveling with Lio, we take the hotel room's notepad and crayons from a restaurant we've dined at with us in Lio's diaper bag. She will use it throughout our trip.





Lio loves this pull behind train toy because it's multifunctional but it's not over complicated. She takes the giraffes in and out of their seats and loves pulling it around the apartment.







Another toy good for fine motor skills. Lio loves to use the drumsticks to tap all over the board. Marcello and I also loves to play with this toy because who doesn't love to bang on the drums all day? (We keep the drumsticks out of reach from Lio, because she often sticks them in her mouth.)







Perhaps her longest used toy on this list, Lio has been enjoying her stacking cups since she was playing within her walker. She still uses the cups to stack, sort smaller objects in, and as drinking cups with her kitchenette.





These have been great to help cushion Lio's many spills in her playroom. I love this particular one because it has different color options to help you best match the flooring in your home.






Lio loves sorting through her toys in each basket. We keep them on the floor so she can easily look inside and access her various toys. I particularly like these baskets because they are soft as your toddler learns to walk and move around.





We paired two of these gates together to create a large play space for Lio in our apartment. Each gate has a mini "door" with a child lock. Lio loves opening and closing the gate like she is welcoming you into her home. They also have several notches that you can lock into place, so you can form them around wall corners or expand out for more space.






Toddlers find outlets very interesting, so definitely be sure to cover all around your home with plugs.







A video camera in your playroom is helpful for when you need to use the restroom or want to check in on your toddler while someone else is taking care of her. We love Amazon's Cloud Cam because the video image is clear and mostly we love that it records when there is any movement and you can go back and watch the video clips.







We love using our Alexa at home, and I'm grateful to have access to it from our "playroom". If I'm busy with Lio and I want to check the weather, play music (and have a dance party with my toddler), or call Marcello I can simply speak to Alexa right from our playroom floor.





If you're interested in more toys similar in style to our list above, these are our Favorite Montessori-Style Toy Brands:

- IKEA

- Melissa & Doug

- Grimms

- Hape




For more on Motherhood & Style, follow me on Instagram: @thelionsmama



xx Lauren


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