I love babies. They are cute, and they coo and cuddle and lay wherever you put them. Then they start to grow which leads to crawling and standing and walking and Where did he go?! moments. My three sons all had the nerve to go and grow up from being babies. Suddenly, no longer could I plop my angels down on a playmat with a few toys and expect them to stay there. They’d be on the move, on the prowl, looking for fun things to entertain themselves with or shove into their mouths. This, dear mamas, is the time that activity centers become a godsend.
I have owned a number of activity centers with my three boys. A good basic one kept my tots entertained for more than a few minutes, allowing me to scarf down some breakfast without being worried that they had crawled off to “explore” the toilet brush scrubber. Some of the more advanced ones I have owned have actually taught my children something while they were being entertained. And let’s not forget the development goals that nearly all activity centers help to improve. My sons got to practice their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and even get a jumpstart on their ABCs and numbers, thanks to activity centers.
So what to look for? First and foremost, I recommend choosing one with multiple activities to help keep your kid entertained for more than a minute. After all, your toddler’s attention span barely gets him through an episode of Doc McStuffins, right? While choosing a “cute” or “cool-looking” center may play into your decision, I can tell you from experience, that even if it’s ugly, if it lets you sit on the couch with a glass of wine uninterrupted for five minutes, it’s a winner. And, don’t discount an electronic activity center, just because it needs batteries. A lot of them have cool additional features like cause-and-effect lights, songs, or teaching basic words in multiple languages.
Ready to start shopping? Here are the best activity centers for toddlers
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Best Activity Centers for Toddlers
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Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home
First, the picture is deceiving, because here's the thing: This activity center is big enough for your toddler to climb through. The toy features two modes: Learning Mode that will help your tot learn his ABCs and 123s and Musical Fun mode that highlights classic tunes, fun phrases, and silly sounds. There is a shape sorter, mailbox, house number counter. and much more including over 20 songs, 40 first words, and 20 activities to keep your tot amused and entertained.
Price: $50
Learn morePhoto: Toys R Us
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B Toys Zany Zoo
We love this battery-free, wooden activity toy that features four sides of motor skill challenges and learning activities. There are no loose pieces to lose, but plenty of things to open, spin, flip and move. Best of all, it is a quiet time toy that is actually quiet.
Price: $50
More info
Photo: Target -
Leapfrog Touch Magic Learning Bus
One of the best things about this activity center is how portable it is. Flat enough to easily bring in the car or stroller, it helps kids learn their ABCs, animals, songs, and key early vocabulary words. With three different learning modes (Learning, Letter Exploration, and Music), and more than 40 buttons to press and play, this is one bus that provides hours of on-the-go fun and learning.
Price: $22
More infoPhoto: LeapFrog
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Manhattan Toy Treetop Adventure
We're loving this new activity center from this Manhattan toy shop. The wooden tree top is filled with beads, flowers, and bugs to spin, open, slide, and move giving your toddler dozens of opportunities for fun and learning. Plus, it will look super cute in the nursery.
Price: $100
Learn morePhoto: Giggle
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B. Toys Symphony in B
Have a budding musician in your house? The unique Symphony in B allows your child to learn about and play with different instruments to create their own symphony! The toy includes seven different instruments that can be combined in a variety of ways to see how they change an included collection of songs. Kids also learn about tempo, the difference between between melodic and harmonic instruments, and the parts of an orchestra.
Price: $40
Learn morePhoto: Target
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Leapfrog Learn & Groove Musical Table
Where do we start? Maybe the fact that you can use it leg-less for infants or with legs for kids up to age 3. Or that is teaches numbers, letters, shapes, and colors. In both English AND Spanish! With 15 activities and more than 40 songs, this activity table is a do-all activity center for under $40. What are you waiting for?
Price: $40
Learn morePhoto: Toys R Us
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VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker
From sitters to crawlers to walkers, this walker is a versatile activity center with so much to do! Piano keys to play, gears to spin, three light-up shape sorters, a telephone handset, and more will help your child learn her animals, shapes, colors, and numbers. Plus, it's downright affordable.
Price: $20
Learn more
Photo: VTech -
Hape Zoo'm
Looking for a great quiet time activity? This marble maze will help develop your child's fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and persistence. The dual wands make it perfect to play with siblings or friends and the variety of paths will keep this toy from getting old.
Price: $40
Learn morePhoto: Hape
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VTech Spinning Lights Learning Hippo
Did you have one of these as a kid? VTech re-imagines this classic pull-string toy in a colorful, purple hippo. Kids can choose between letter, object, or song modes. Then they pull the bird on the hippo's back and watch as the light spins, landing on different spaces to teach them about letters, common words, or fun melodies.
Price: $20
Learn morePhoto: VTech
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B Toys Youversity
Looking for an heirloom gift to last through generations? This activity center is a gorgeous, wooden, six-sided masterpiece that provides babies through big kids opportunities to flip, turn, spin, tilt, and move. It's pricey, we know, but we love that this activity center is battery-free, sturdy enough to stand up to teetering toddlers, and designed to teach numbers, letters, motor skills, and more.
Price: $240
More infoPhoto: Amazon
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Vtech Touch & Learn Activity Desk
If your tot always wants to be just like big brother, you'll love this "big kid" desk where he can play with over 30 different learning activities. Choose from four different modes and nine different interactive pages to learn about letters, numbers, farm animals, ocean creatures, and more. Plus, you can flip up the desk to turn it into an easel or chalkboard!
Price: $50
Learn more
Photo: Toys R Us
