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Whether your toddler likes to play outside in the sprinkler or looks forward to bath time each night, enjoying the water is natural for some little ones. So finding the best toddler water toys is a must to keep them entertained, and since getting kids to do things that don’t include screens is a huge plus on its own, it’s best to stick with water toys as long as you can.
There’s the standard sprinkler of course, but also fun water table stations to engage your child and allow their imagination to come out during playtime. In general, water play is a perfect sensory activity for pretty much any child and finding the best water toys for your toddler can help continue that play in a variety of ways.
In most cases, water toys help engage your child’s fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination in a way that some other toys don’t, so in that regard, they’re even more beneficial for your toddler. Of course, at times, it can be difficult to use some of these unless outdoor play is possible, but even so, these water toys for toddlers are sure to keep them entertained for hours on end.
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- Best Water Toys for Toddlers
- 1. Step2 Waterfall Discovery Wall Playset
- 2. Intex Gator Inflatable Play Center
- 3. Little Tikes Spiralin’ Seas Waterpark Play Table
- 4. Playboom Baby Bath Toy Waterfall Water Station
- 5. Little Tikes Beach Ball Sprinkler
- 6. Munchkin Fishin’ Bath Toy
- 7. Banzai Sprinkle And Splash Play Mat
Best Water Toys for Toddlers
1. Step2 Waterfall Discovery Wall Playset
If your toddler loves playing with water toys, but they’re past playing with their water table, then the Step2 Waterfall Discovery Wall Playset is probably the perfect solution. It’s almost like a never-ending cycle of water, as your little one can scoop water from the basin at the bottom and pour through the top and then watch it trickle down, throughout each spout and container along the wall.
There are 13 different pieces that come with the wall to make it as fun and interactive as possible. From an educational standpoint, your child can also learn from the water wall, as they use the wheels to change the direction of the water flow and watch the cause and reaction happen before their eyes.
- Child Age Range: It’s recommended for children ages 1-½ and up.
- Where To Buy: You can find it on the manufacturer’s website and Amazon or in-store at Bed Bay and Beyond and Walmart.
- The Best Part: More than one child can easily play with the wall at once.
- The Not So Great: There are times when the different accessories will fall out of their holes and slots during playtime.
2. Intex Gator Inflatable Play Center
Having a baby pool is one thing, but having an interactive set like the Intex Gator Inflatable Play Center is a whole other ball game.
Mainly, it’s an inflatable baby pool, but it also has a slide built-in, along with an inflatable attached dragon that sprays water and a little umbrella your little one can sit under while he or she splashes around. It provides the best of both worlds when it comes to outdoor water play and baby pools, and will likely keep your baby entertained for hours on end.
However since it does include in-depth water play, it’s recommended never to leave your child’s side while they’re playing with this water toy.
- Child Age Range: It’s designed for children ages two and up.
- Where To Buy: You can purchase it on the manufacturer’s website and Amazon or in-store at Walmart.
- The Best Part: When the comes time to clean up, you can pull the drain plug out at the bottom of the pool to get rid of all of the water easily.
- The Not So Great: With all of the different inflatable areas, it can be difficult to inflate the entire play center properly.
3. Little Tikes Spiralin’ Seas Waterpark Play Table
The Little Tikes Spiralin’ Seas Waterpark Play Table might be a water table, but it is unique in its design, in that your child can drop balls down the middle water spout and watch them shoot out into the water basin. This makes it a little different than your standard water table and provides an extra interactive play aspect for your toddler to have hours of fun with it.
They can also turn the little Ferris wheel with its handle to catch some of the floating balls. Overall, the table is sure to help improve your child’s exceptional motor skills in addition to entertaining them along the way. Included with the set are five squirting water toys and one water cup.
- Child Age Range: The water table is for children ages two and up.
- Where To Buy: You can find it on the manufacturer’s website and Amazon or in-store at Walmart and Bed Bath and Beyond.
- The Best Part: It’s the perfect water toy for the younger toddler who may not understand how to use other water toys or may not be old enough to yet.
- The Not So Great: For some, water might continuously leak in a slow trickle out of the bottom of the water table.
4. Playboom Baby Bath Toy Waterfall Water Station
The Playboom Baby Bath Toy Waterfall Water Station is proof that you really don’t have to be outside to enjoy water play. Since it’s designed for bath time use, your child can make a mess without being messy at all. The entire thing is interactive and can be attached to the bathtub wall and is designed to make your baby or toddler want to discover and play on their own.
By pouring water into different spouts, the toy will help develop strong hand-eye coordination while also enable them to grasp toys on their own. The bath toy will also help improve sensory ability and even help your toddler begin to recognize shapes, which just adds to the educational element of the bathwater toy.
- Child Age Range: The bath toy set is suitable for children ages two and up.
- Where To Buy: You can primarily find it on Amazon.
- The Best Part: It’s interactive of course, but also relatively educational too.
- The Not So Great: In some bathtubs, it might not stick to the wall as much as it should and could fall at times.
5. Little Tikes Beach Ball Sprinkler
One of the most popular water toys for toddler is, of course, an outdoor sprinkler. And the Little Tikes Beach Ball Sprinkler takes the tried and true outdoor toy of sorts to a whole new level.
Not only does it offer hours of fun and unpredictable water play for your toddler, along with his or her friends or siblings, but it’s also safe to the run-up to and touch or run around without getting too close. Since it is a sprinkler, your toddler can even use it well past the toddler years and continue to have plenty of fun with it.
And all you need to do is inflate the ball, hook a hose up to it, and turn the water on for your toddler to begin enjoying the outdoor water fun. They can even roll the ball around, provided of course that it remains attached to the hose.
- Child Age Range: It’s made for children from the age of 1-½ and up.
- Where To Buy: You can find it on Amazon and in-store at Walmart.
- The Best Part: It’s not just a sprinkler, but also an interactive toy that can be rolled around the yard for added fun.
- The Not So Great: It may not have as many holes for water as some kids would expect.
6. Munchkin Fishin’ Bath Toy
With the Munchkin Fishin’ Bath Toy, your toddler will get a fun and interactive fishing pole with accessories that’s meant for the bath, but can really be used with any tub of water. The set comes with one tiny magnetic fishing rod perfect for your toddler’s small hands and three magnetic bobbers that can be placed in the water, whether it’s the bathtub or baby pool in your backyard.
While some children’s water toys can be subject to mildew or mold, though, since logged water can do that, these particular water toys are air-tight and meant to reduce the risk of any unsightly buildup. The game doesn’t offer any outright educational value, but it is a solid hand-eye coordination tool for your toddler, and it’s a fun sort of game for them to be able to play on their own at any time.
- Child Age Range: The fishing rod is designed for children ages two and up.
- Where To Buy: You can purchase it on the manufacturer’s website and Amazon or in-store at Target and Walmart.
- The Best Part: Since they’re magnetic, it’s relatively easy for toddlers to detach the bobbers from the fishing rod.
- The Not So Great: The reel is just for decoration, and while it spins, it does not actually reel in the string, which can be frustrating for some toddlers.
7. Banzai Sprinkle And Splash Play Mat
Who needs a baby pool in your backyard when you can have something like the Banzai Sprinkle and Splash Play Mat?
Instead of being a pool that holds a ton of water and will need to be thoroughly cleaned out every few days, the playmat is attached to a hose and water will sprinkle and squirt out of each of the many holes for continuous water play for your little one. The mat itself is made from a safe and comfortable yet durable PVC, so you won’t have to worry about your child sitting on a hard surface while they play in the water.
And since it doesn’t fill up with water, you can roll up the mat after each use and store it away with ease. Your toddler can also play with it along with other children, since it’s so large, at 54 inches across, and can easily fit more than one child at once.
- Child Age Range: The playmat is designed for children ages 18 months and up.
- Where To Buy: You can primarily find it on Amazon.
- The Best Part: You can turn your hose on high to have more exciting and tall water spouts for your toddler, or opt to keep it low for your smaller baby to have fun as well.
- The Not So Great: Since it’s a matt and not a poll with edges, it can be slippery and therefore a bit unsafe for some toddlers.
Final Thoughts
From sprinklers to water walls and interactive bath time water toys, there are a ton of different ways to get your toddler enjoying water play if they don’t already.
With the warmer spring and summer months here, it’s pretty much the best time to take advantage of the outdoors and more ways to tire out your toddler for nap time, so it’s beneficial all around to pick from some of these fun and useful water toys for your own toddler.
Plus, in most cases, they can use these kinds of toys before the toddler stage and even after. Yes, being a kid, they might not love one or more of these for long periods of a time and maybe ready to move on to the next soon enough, but it’s all in the name of keeping your toddler happy.
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