Stacking toys are a great way to help encourage babies and young toddlers to develop fine motor skills. While these activities seem simple enough to us adults, it does take quite a lot of concentration and hand-eye coordination for our littles to accomplish.
Fine motor skills are super important for our children’s development and is also closely related to cognitive development as well.
Here are the best stacking toys for 1 year olds at varying “levels” that both my boys have really enjoyed throughout the years.
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Silicone Stacking Blocks
This one is so great for younger babies! Really great for tummy time, and also doubles up as teethers!
Ring Stack
This one is great for babies who are just starting to sit up. The bright colors and easy-to-grab rings are super perfect for this age group.
My 1 year-old still loves playing with these! And it’s actually still great for teaching my 3 year-old about order and size.
Wooden Stacker
Similar to the one above, but I love that these are wooden. Fun for babies, and pretty to look at for mommies.
Spin Stacking
We actually don’t have this one at home, but my boys got to play with it at the local library, and they loved it! My 3 year-old was really into the spinning action.
Finger Crayons
These finger crayons are what actually inspired this post! Just the other day, my one year-old started stacking these, and it kept him occupied for a while. He stacked them then knocked them over, and then he would start over again.
These are also great beginner crayons since the bigger base makes it easier to grab.
Stacking Pegs
This one can keep my boys occupied for a while. My one year-old loves stacking them on his fingers.
I love that this set comes with a string and also a cube to work on sorting as well.
Stacking Cups
These stacking cups are so versatile. They are great for stacking, but my boys also love playing with these in the bath. My 3 year-old uses these to serve me “coffee” when we “cook”. We also use this for when we do a sensory bin with water beads, and also was fun for building sand castles when we did our 2 Ingredient Homemade Sand sensory bin. Love it!
Shape Sorting Stack
This one is looks like it would be great for preschoolers. A fun way to introduce shapes and numbers as well!
Rainbow Stacker
I’ve heard so much about the Grimm’s Rainbow Stacker, but it is quite pricey! I found this one on Amazon for a fraction of the price and it has amazing reviews!
It’s great that it’s “multi-functional” in that it can stack on top of each other and also be nested within each arch. It would also look so pretty on top of shelves!
Mega Bloks
Awesome introduction to building blocks! Easy to grab for little hands and easy to connect.
Duplo
And last but not least, we have Duplo! This one is a bit more advanced than the Megabloks, but my boys love them! My 3 year-old has gotten quite good at building towers and different vehicles over the past year. And my 1 year-old is just starting to get the hang of it.
I love that this set comes in a box, so it’s awesome to keep things organized.
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This is an awesome list! My toddler loves her ring stacker, cups, and those finger crayons. We’ll have to check these other toys out, thank you!
Thanks for reading, Rebecca! These toys keep my toddlers occupied–love them!
I love toys like this that help kids to learn, develop, and grow while having fun.
I really want the finger crayons and my son loves the silicone stacking blocks.
Thanks for reading, Caressa! The finger crayons are awesome! So versatile 🙂
What a great list! This would be perfect for my kids thanks for sharing.
Thanks for reading, Yana! Hope it’s helpful!