Gifts for a 1-Year-Old

A one-year-old has just worked out how to stand up, and everything now is about testing that. Pushing, dropping, standing, falling, standing again.

The gifts that get used are the ones that survive being thrown and reward being repeated.

What to pick

A shape sorter or a pounding bench for cause and effect. A busy board with doors and latches to open. A balance board for the standing-up project — it works from the first steps and is still in use at five.