Melissa & Doug Toys That Grow With Your Child

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Melissa & Doug toys are the best because they grow with your child. It’s no surprise Melissa & Doug is a household name in the world of toys. Their toys are high quality, durable, and built for longterm play.

Designed to promote imaginative, open-ended play, Melissa & Doug toys keep up with your child’s changing abilities. Perhaps one of the best qualities of Melissa & Doug toys is they are screen-free and combine learning with play. The company makes lots of great toys that suit different interests.

I love Melissa & Doug toys because they are built to last. I knew these toys could be played with by my first child, and my next. They truly are some of the biggest hits in our playroom!

We gathered some of the best Melissa & Doug toys that last from babyhood to toddlerhood and beyond. You’ll really get a good bang for your buck during playtime.

Read more below about our favorite toys and how to play through the years!

01: Soft Cars for Babies

Melissa & Doug Pull-Back Vehicles

These pull-back cars are one of our most-loved Melissa & Doug toys. There are lots of ways to play.

Pull-back cars are toys that keep up with your little one’s changing abilities. They’re a great motivator when babies start showing an interest in crawling. Introduce between 6-12 months of age and let baby watch them go! Soon, they will be trying to catch the cars.

As your little one gets older, you can practice functional language like, “ready, set, go!” Do this as you pull the cars back and watch them race down hallways. You can even take them outside! Toddlers can use the vehicles during pretend play as well.

We have loved our set for years. I appreciate that they’re soft for little ones yet durable. You can take the foam covers off and wash them if they get dirty, too.

02: Pretend Play Cleaning Set for Kids

Melissa & Doug Dust, Sweep, Mop Set

This is an awesome toy for pretend play. It’s also great for the toddler who loves to help around the house! Melissa & Doug’s pretend play cleaning set is a Montessori-aligned toy. Its child-sized cleaning tools look and feel realistic.

Toddlers can use the broom, the dustpan, and brush for real cleaning. The mop and duster could be used for real-life cleaning, but we wouldn’t recommend it as they would be harder to clean.

This toy teaches practical life skills like how to clean and tidy up. It also gives children the ability to mimic cleaning alongside their caregivers. So it helps little ones feel a sense of independence and purpose.

While your little ones are “cleaning”, they are working gross and fine motor skills!

03: Smoothie Maker Pretend Play

Melissa & Doug Blender Set

I got my son this blender when he was 15 months old and he’s still playing with it at age 4. The blender toy encourages skills that evolve as your child does. It supports ongoing development and we love it for kitchen pretend play!

When he was a young toddler, he would use the blender to mimic me while I made him a smoothie.

Model functional language like “in, out, mix, pour” as you add the fruit pieces and ice to the blender. As Paul grew, he started asking me what I wanted in my smoothie. He pretended to make and sell his own smoothies!

It’s a great toy to put in the play kitchen. Use it to act out kitchen routines and let your little one “prep” beside you. Or, start your own smoothie shack together.

04: Pretend Coffee Maker for Toddlers

Melissa & Doug Coffee Maker

This is another one of our favorite toys! In my opinion, the coffee maker is one of the best Melissa & Doug toys.

It’s made mostly of wood and such a good-quality toy. My little ones started using this around 1 year old. They still use it today as 2 and 4 year olds. One of my favorite things to do is bring this toy out while I make my own coffee. The little ones can mimic me and act out morning routines.

Playing with the toy coffee maker is great for modeling functional language and turn taking. Paul and Penelope use it in their play kitchen and take each others’ coffee orders. Vanilla latte with foam, please!

05: Wooden Blocks for Kids

Melissa & Doug ABC/123 Blocks

Blocks are classic, open-ended toys for kids. I love these Melissa & Doug blocks for many reasons. They’re wooden, the perfect size, and you can use them for years.

Introduce these blocks to baby and let them bang and tap them together. As your little one gets older, use these blocks to stack, then build. There are so many ways to play!

Once your child is around 3 or 4 years of age, you can use these blocks for color and number identification, too! Find different letters, sing the alphabet, put them in order, sort them by color, and count them.

06: Pretend Play Birthday Cake Toy

Melissa & Doug Birthday Cake

Another fan-favorite Melissa & Doug toy we have on constant rotation at our house. Ever since we got it when Paul was around 18 months old, it’s been a hit.

Work on decorating the cake, putting the candles in, blowing out the candles, and slicing it. This is the perfect toy for practicing social routines like going to a birthday party. You can use it in the play kitchen and in pretend play for years to come.

I recommend this toy for 18 month olds and older. Start with pretend play and letting your toddler decorate it how they see fit. As your child gets older, give them a custom order. Ask them to put your favorite toppings on your slice with a blue candle.

07: Barn Toy for Babies & Toddlers

Melissa & Doug Latches Barn Toy

We own this Melissa & Doug Latches Barn have lots of fun with it. It’s one of my favorite toys for pretend play and imitation.

The toy includes the barn and the farm animal figures. They’re great to play with together. You can add your own animals, too!

Label the animals and prompt your baby or toddler to imitate animal noises. Create play scenes together. As they get older, work fine motor skills with the different latches on the barn doors. This is part toy, part busy board.

I love that the animals can fit in the barn for easy storage. It’s an easy toy to take on-the-go, or just outside for a change of scenery.

07: Wooden School Bus Play Set

Melissa & Doug Wooden School Bus

This wooden school bus is a must-have toy for any child. It’s high-quality and great for pretend play.

The 7 wooden figurines that come with it are great for acting out routines and scenarios. For 1 year olds, take turns pushing the bus back and forth. Model functional language loading the people “in” the bus and taking them “out.” As your child gets older, you can act out social routines like getting on a bus for school.

I love that it combines imaginative play, social learning, and fine motor development. Moving the figurines in and out and opening the bus door all work smaller muscle movements! This is a durable toy that will last years.

08: The Best Ice Cream Scoop Toy

Melissa & Doug Scoop & Serve Ice Cream Counter

We love this Melissa & Doug ice cream counter. I wish we bought it sooner!

Let your toddler scoop and make their own ice cream cone. It’s fun to stack it as high as you can. Take orders and serve each other ice cream.

This toy is perfect for modeling phrases and longer sentences. For example, “I want a BIG ice cream cone! I want MORE scoops!” It’s also great for modeling colors and descriptive words. Think about phrases like, “Ooooh my ice cream is SO COLD!” Practice ordering and taking turns making ice cream with your little one!

Use the ice cream as pretend play food. Or, use this toy as part of imaginative play. Let your kids have their own ice cream shop and serve their “customers.”

09: A Great Wooden Animal Puzzle for Toddlers

Melissa & Doug Wooden Chunky Puzzle

I love puzzles to target fine motor skills. Melissa & Doug has great puzzle options. I list a chunky puzzle here because it really can grow with your child. Let me explain.

When your child is nearing 1 year old, they can start working on this type of puzzle. Even before 1, they can interact with the puzzle. Allow them to manipulate the puzzle pieces and explore the puzzle board. This is how they learn!

When children play with puzzles, they work on grasping, hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and more. Once they master putting the puzzle together, you can use the pieces in other ways. The wooden pieces stand up to be used as play pieces during pretend play!

Looking for more?

Find the best toys for babies and toddlers, including ways to play on our website!